I need a copy of my birth certificate from Langenthal, Switzerland, 1938

Dear maxineart,

In Switzerland, the local civil registry office ("Zivilstandsamt") is
competent in all issues of birth registration and keeping birth files.
In your case, this would be the office responsible for your
certificate:

Zivilstandsamt Kreis Aarwangen
Jurastrasse 22
4901 Langenthal
Switzerland / Schweiz
Phone: +41(0)62 916 60 80
Fax: +41(0)62 916 60 81
E-Mail: Info.ZA-Aarwangen@pom.be.ch

Unfortunately, to get a birth certificate ("Geburtsschein"), you will
need to contact the office yourself since the certificates are issued
after verification of identity only. In your case, that would be a
valid identity card or a photocopy of the same. Documents of civil
registration can not be requested by third persons.

Inquiries can be made by personal appearance at the office or via
mail/fax. I assume that you will not travel to Switzerland, so when
writing to the Zivilstandsamt, be sure to include the following data
in your request:

- Your name, incl. birth name
- Given name
- Place and date of birth
- Your full address
- Phone number
- E-mail address, if applicable

And, of course, the ID card copy.

The standard fee for issuing a birth certificate is 25.00 Swiss
Francs, excl. shipping. Normally, the fee is paid via direct bank
transfer (a transfer card is sent together with the certificate).
However, since you are located outside Switzerland, the office may
insist on another kind of payment. Requesting detailed information on
your special case in advance might prove useful.

Sources:

Stadt Langenthal: Homepage
http://www.langenthal.ch/

Visa Reciprocity and Country Documents Finder: Switzerland, by the
Office of Legislation and Regulations
http://travel.state.gov/reciprocity/Country%20Folder/S/Switzerland.htm

Eidgenössisches Amt für Zivilstandswesen
http://www.ofj.admin.ch/d/eazw-Index.html

Search terms used:
zivilstandsamt geburtsscheine persönlich:
://www.google.de/search?hl=de&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&q=zivilstandsamt+geburtsscheine+pers%C3%B6nlich&btnG=Google-Suche&meta=
zivilstandsamt bern gebühren:
://www.google.de/search?hl=de&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&q=zivilstandsamt+bern+geb%C3%BChren&meta=

Hope this helps!
Regards,
Scriptor

I was surprised at how complete an answer I received.  I was all over
the web looking for my answer before I visited this site and I'm
hoping that this is it!  Thank you very much.