Researching your Jewish ancestry can be an exciting journey into your family’s past. Whether you are a complete beginner or an experienced genealogist, Jewish genealogy has unique challenges and rewards. This article can assist you through the process step by step – from gathering family details to exploring international archives – with friendly advice to help you feel confident as you discover your Jewish roots.
Begin with what you know. Start at home by talking with relatives and collecting any documents, letters, or photographs that contain family information. Record names, towns, and dates that come up in family stories. Pay special attention to:
Family Names: Note your ancestors’ surnames and given names, both in the “old country” and after immigration. Names often changed or had spelling variations when families moved to new countries. For example, a surname like Kohen might appear as Cohen or Kagan in different records. Learn about the origins of Jewish surnames and how they might be spelled in various languages (Yiddish, Hebrew, Russian, Polish, etc.). Keep in mind that names were not changed by officials at Ellis Island – that’s a popular myth. In reality, many Jewish immigrants changed their own names after arrival (or prior to emigrating) to better assimilate; often these changes were informal or later done through court filings.
Ancestral Hometowns: Identify the towns or villages your Jewish ancestors came from. Ask older relatives if they recall the name of the hometown (sometimes called a shtetl for small Eastern European towns). Be alert to variant spellings or old names – a town might have one name in Yiddish and another in the local language. For example, the city known as Lviv today was Lemberg under Austria and Lwów in Polish. Try to find “the towns they came from – variant spellings, today’s country and the country when they left it.” This is important because borders shifted frequently in Jewish history. Many Eastern European Jewish communities were located in places like Galicia, Prussia, or Bessarabia – regions whose names and borders are no longer on modern maps. Use a good gazetteer or the JewishGen Communities Database (Town Finder) to figure out the modern name and nation of your ancestral town. For instance, if family lore says your ancestor was from “Kovno,” you can learn that this refers to Kaunas in present-day Lithuania, which was in the Russian Empire earlier.
Naming Traditions: Understanding Jewish naming patterns can provide clues. Ashkenazi Jews (from Eastern Europe) traditionally named children after deceased relatives, not living ones, so you might see given names repeating every other generation (often named for a late grandparent). Sephardic Jews (from Spain, Portugal, the Middle East) often do the opposite – naming children in honor of living grandparents in a set order (for example, the first son for the paternal grandfather, first daughter for the paternal grandmother). These customs aren’t absolute rules, but they’re common. If you find a first-born Ashkenazi son named “Moishe,” it could be that Moishe was the name of a recently deceased grandfather. Make note of any Hebrew or Yiddish names in the family, too. Jewish individuals often had a sacred Hebrew name used in religious contexts and a secular name used day-to-day. These might differ (e.g. someone called Max in America might have been Mordechai in Hebrew). Understanding these patterns will help you recognize your ancestors in records even if the name forms vary.
Dates and Migration Details: Jot down approximate dates of birth, marriage, death, and especially immigration. If your family immigrated, gather any known details: about when they left Europe, which port they arrived at, and where they initially settled. Even an estimate like “my great-grandfather came to New York around 1910” is a starting point. Family stories about arriving via Ellis Island or another port (Boston, Philadelphia, etc.) can guide your next steps in records.
By compiling these basics – names, hometowns, naming conventions, and migration dates – you build a foundation for your research. Document everything you find in this stage. It helps to fill out a simple pedigree chart or family group sheet to organize the information (free blank forms are available online). Remember, the clues from your family are the roadmap you’ll use to navigate historical records.
Research Strategies in the United States and Europe
Once you have some names, dates, and places, you can begin searching historical records. The strategy will differ a bit depending on whether you’re tracing relatives in the United States (or other immigration destinations) or trying to leap back to European records. Here’s how to tackle both:
1. Tracing Immigrant Ancestors in the United States: If your Jewish ancestors came to the U.S., start with records they left after arriving – these often lead you back to the old country.
Census Records: U.S. census returns are a fundamental resource and typically the first stop for American research. Censuses (taken every 10 years) list family members, approximate ages, birthplaces, occupations, and more. For example, the 1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940 U.S. censuses will state each person’s country of birth (often something like “Russia,” “Poland,” or “Austria” for Jewish immigrants of that era). This at least confirms the general origin (e.g., an ancestor listed as born in “Russia” might have come from a broad area of the Russian Empire). Later censuses also indicate the year of immigration and whether the person was naturalized. Tip: Follow your family through multiple censuses to gather clues – one census might say “Yiddish” as a mother tongue or give an immigration year, and neighbors in a census might turn out to be relatives or landsmen (friends from the same hometown). Census data will not give specific towns abroad, but it’s a springboard for other records.
Naturalization recordImmigration & Naturalization Records: Next, look for passenger lists and naturalization papers. Over 55 million people immigrated to the U.S. between 1820 and 1990, and Jews were a significant part of this influx. Passenger manifests (ship lists) from major ports like Ellis Island (New York) can be searched for free online. These manifests usually recorded an immigrant’s original town or nearest relative back home, as well as their name, age, and whom they were going to join in the United States. For example, a manifest might reveal that “Chaim Cohen, age 20, from Warsaw” arrived in 1920 to join an uncle in Chicago – now you have Warsaw as a clue. Naturalization (citizenship) records are equally valuable: post-1906 U.S. naturalization petitions often list an exact birth town and birth date, as well as the ship and date of arrival. Search indexes on sites like MyHeritage or FamilySearch for your ancestor’s naturalization. If found, the documents can include declarations of intention or petitions that provide the original name (which might be in a European form) and hometown. These records bridge the gap between America and Europe.
Vital Records in the U.S.: Don’t overlook domestic vital records – birth, marriage, and death certificates. These are usually held at the state or county level. A death certificate might list the deceased’s place of birth (e.g., “Russia” or sometimes a town name) and parents’ names. Marriage records can include parents’ names too. If the family arrived early enough, even marriage licenses or newspaper obituaries might mention the person’s origin or ethnic background (e.g., “native of Łódź, Poland”). Many states have online indexes or you can request records from vital records offices. Use the information from these records to confirm family relationships and approximate dates, which will help when searching overseas records.
Synagogue and Community Records: If you know where your family settled in America, local Jewish sources can help. Check for synagogue membership lists, marriage registers, bar/bat mitzvah records, or burial society lists. These are not centralized, but a local Jewish historical society or synagogue might have archives. For example, the American Jewish Archives in Cincinnati houses some congregational records and community files. Also, look into Jewish newspapers in the area – they often published community news, marriage announcements, and obituaries. City directories are another useful tool to trace your ancestor’s address and occupation in between census years.
Cemetery and Burial Records: Jewish cemetery records and tombstones are especially useful. Visit (or find photos of) your ancestors’ graves if possible. Tombstone inscriptions in Jewish cemeteries often include Hebrew text with the person’s Hebrew name and their father’s name, which can leapfrog your research back one more generation. For example, a stone might read “Here lies Yosef ben Mordechai,” meaning Yosef son of Mordechai – giving you Yosef’s father’s name. Tombstones may also list the Hebrew date of death (which you can convert to secular date) and sometimes the ancestral town. Many Jewish graves also note if the deceased was a kohen or levi (priestly tribes), via symbols like hands or a pitcher, which are interesting cultural clues. You can search the JewishGen Online Worldwide Burial Registry (JOWBR) for indexed cemetery records worldwide. Additionally, Jewish burial societies (often landsmanshaftn, organizations of immigrants from the same town) sometimes kept ledgers of burials – these can hint at the European hometown if the society was named after it.
2. Researching Jewish Ancestors in Europe: Once you’ve gathered as many U.S. records as possible, turn your focus to finding records from the old country. The key is knowing the specific town your family came from in Europe, and understanding the historical context of that place.
Identify the Precise Town and Its History: As mentioned, use tools like the JewishGen Communities Database (Town Finder) to confirm the location of your ancestral town. This database will show alternate names, the district/province, and current country for thousands of towns that had Jewish communities. For instance, if a U.S. record says your ancestor was from “Vilna,” the Town Finder will tell you this is Vilnius, Lithuania (formerly Wilno, Poland and part of the Russian Empire). Knowing the exact town and what country/government it belonged to at the time is crucial, because that determines where records were kept. Boundaries changed often: a city like Czernowitz was under the Austro-Hungarian Empire (as Czernowitz), then Romania (Cernăuți), then the USSR, and is now Chernivtsi in Ukraine – and records might be in archives of more than one modern country. Research a bit of history for your town: Was it in the Russian Empire’s Pale of Settlement? The Austro-Hungarian province of Galicia? This affects what languages and record-keeping systems were used (Russian vs. Polish vs. German, etc.).
European Vital Records and Archives: Most genealogical records in Europe will be civil or religious vital records: births, marriages, deaths, sometimes divorce or census lists. In many parts of Europe, Jewish births, marriages and deaths (BMD) from the 19th century were recorded by local authorities (sometimes in special Jewish registers, sometimes in general town registers). For example, in Russian-ruled areas, Jews had to register BMD with the civil authorities; those records might be in Russian (Cyrillic), but often include Hebrew/Yiddish names or even parallel Hebrew entries. In Polish areas, records might be in Polish or Latin, earlier ones in German for Austro-Hungarian territories. Be prepared for language barriers: documents could be in Yiddish or Hebrew (especially older community documents or tombstones), or in the official language of the country (Russian, Polish, German, French, etc.). Remember that Yiddish and Hebrew use the Hebrew alphabet, and names might be recorded phonetically in a different language. If you don’t read these languages, you can seek help – there are translation guides and volunteer groups for translating Russian or Polish records. A great strategy is to use JewishGen’s regional research groups and databases. JewishGen hosts projects like JRI-Poland (Jewish Records Indexing – Poland), which has indexed millions of 19th-century Jewish vital records from Polish archives. You can search these indexes by surname and town; if you find a match (say, a birth record for your great-grandfather in 1885 in Warsaw), you can then obtain the actual record from the archive or often as a scan online. Similarly, there are databases for other regions: LitvakSIG for Lithuania, Latvia SIG, Hungarian SIG, Bessarabia SIG, etc., all accessible via JewishGen. These volunteer-driven projects have significantly improved access to European records that were once very difficult to find. Use them to find clues, then retrieve the original records which may contain even more details (parents’ names, addresses, occupations, etc.).
European Archives and Resources: Many countries’ archives now have online catalogs or digitized records. For example, the Polish State Archives website (Szukanwarchiwach) provides scans of many civil registers and Jewish records; the Lithuanian Historical Archives has an online catalog; Ukraine has regional archives you can contact via email. If records aren’t online, you might need to write to the archive or hire a local researcher. The FamilySearch Catalog is an invaluable resource too – the Family History Library microfilmed tons of Eastern European records in the 20th century. Many of those microfilms are now digitized on FamilySearch’s website (sometimes with restricted access depending on agreements). Search the FamilySearch Catalog by location (your ancestral town or district) to see if there are relevant record collections. For instance, searching “Brody, Austria” (a town in Galicia) might show Jewish birth records 1820–1870 available on microfilm/digital. You can view those at a Family History Center or often online from home. In addition, MyHeritage offers over 70 Jewish-related databases available for searching. In short, cast a wide net: check JewishGen, national archives, FamilySearch, and local genealogical society publications for your town.
Holocaust-era and 20th Century Records: If you are tracing relatives who remained in Europe into the 1930s-40s, be aware that many records were lost or disrupted due to the Holocaust and World War II. Some communities have no surviving records because the Nazis destroyed Jewish communal archives. However, some records were preserved or have since been recovered in various archives. City administration records, Jewish community registers, or memorial collections might fill the gaps. For example, there might be a 1939 Register of Jews in a certain city, or post-war survivor lists. We’ll cover specific Holocaust research resources in a later section, but as a strategy: once you trace your line forward to the WWII era in Europe, you often have to switch from traditional BMD records to using Holocaust-specific documentation (ghetto records, deportation lists, etc.) to learn what became of those relatives.
Landsmanshaftn and Other Sources: If your ancestors immigrated but maintained ties to their old town, look into landsmanshaft (hometown immigrant society) records. In cities like New York, immigrants from the same shtetl often formed mutual aid societies or burial societies named after their town (for example, a “Sokolivker Young Men’s Benevolent Society” for natives of Sokal). These organizations sometimes kept meeting minutes or membership lists that can link people from the same origin. The YIVO Institute and other Jewish historical organizations have collections of landsmanshaftn records. This is an advanced source, but worth knowing if traditional records in Europe are sparse due to historical destruction.
Research in Europe can be challenging, but don’t be discouraged. Persistence is key: even if you don’t read foreign languages, you can find translators or use community forums to help extract information from records. Celebrate each discovery – finding a great-great-grandparent’s birth record in a 1850s ledger from a shtetl is incredibly rewarding. And remember to document sources as you go, so you keep track of what you’ve found.
Special Considerations: Language, Boundaries, and Lost Records
Jewish genealogy often requires extra attention to historical context. Here are some special considerations to keep in mind as you research:
Language Barriers: As noted, records involving Jewish ancestors may appear in multiple languages. A single individual might be recorded under different names in different languages. For example, a man born as Yaakov (Hebrew/Yiddish) in Europe might appear as Jakub in a Polish birth record, Yankel in a Russian document (since Yiddish names were sometimes recorded in Russian form), and later called Jack in America. Familiarize yourself with common diminutives and translations: Rifka/Rebecca, Yosef/Joseph, Itzik/Isaac, etc. Moreover, documents like ketubot (Jewish marriage contracts) or mohel records (circumcision registries) may be entirely in Hebrew. If you encounter unfamiliar scripts (Old Russian cursive, German Gothic script, or Hebrew handwriting), don’t panic – there are guides and communities to help decipher them. Being aware of patronymics is useful too: in many old-country records a Jew might be listed with a patronymic (e.g. Abram ben Moshe, meaning Abram son of Moshe) instead of or in addition to a fixed surname. This can actually confirm you have the right person when used alongside surnames.
Border Changes and Town Names: As you research, you’ll quickly see that the map of Europe has been redrawn many times. A Jewish ancestral town might have belonged to one empire and later another country, affecting where records are held. Always ask “what was the jurisdiction at the time?” For example, Galicia (home to many Polish/Ukrainian Jews) was part of Austria-Hungary until WWI; after 1918 those areas went to Poland, and after WWII many fell under the Soviet Union (Ukraine). So a birth in 1900 in Lemberg (Galicia) would be recorded in Austrian-controlled registers (likely in German), whereas a birth in 1925 in the same city (now Lwów, Poland) would be in Polish records. Understanding these shifts can explain why your ancestor said they were from “Austria” in 1910 and “Poland” in 1920 – both statements can be true for the same town in different years. Use historical maps and the JewishGen Communities search to find alternate town names and provincial archives. Often the variant spelling or local name is needed to search an archive’s catalog. It’s helpful to make a list of all names your town was known by and the higher administrative unit (county/region) for each time period. This way, if you’re writing to an archive, you can specify the location clearly.
Common Names and Patronymics: Within Jewish communities, certain first names were extremely common (think of how many Moshe or Chaya you might find in one village). This can lead to confusion in records. Naming patterns (discussed earlier) mean you might encounter multiple cousins with the same name, named after the same ancestor. Pay attention to other identifying info in records – ages, occupations, parent names – to make sure you have the right person. A record might say “Mendel son of David, age 60” to distinguish him from the younger Mendel son of Yosef in the same town. Also, remember that Jews in many places didn’t adopt permanent surnames until relatively late (18th-19th century). If you trace back to a time before surnames were used, you might find people listed with patronymics or descriptive names (e.g. “Shmuel the tailor”). In such cases, it may be impossible to go further back on that line, but you can research community history to learn about that era.
Record Loss and Destruction: Sadly, not all records have survived. Wars, fires, and deliberate destruction (particularly during the Holocaust) wiped out some archives. For instance, many Holocaust-era records are incomplete – Auschwitz, which saw nearly a million Jewish deaths, has no single complete list of victims because the Nazis destroyed or never created comprehensive records. Likewise, some civil record offices were burned (the destruction of Warsaw’s archives in WWII is one notorious example, though in that case many Jewish records had copies in local towns that survived). What can you do? First, don’t assume that “everything was destroyed.” A lot of people make that assumption, but in truth many pre-WWII records survived in one form or another. For example, if a town’s register was lost, sometimes a regional or duplicate copy exists. Always check multiple sources: local archives, national archives, religious archives, and databases. Second, when records truly are gone, turn to alternate sources: Yizkor books (memorial books written by survivors about their destroyed communities), post-war testimonies, or surveys done right after WWII. These won’t give you birth certificates, but they might list families who lived in a town or names of those who perished (which at least confirms they were there). In short, while record loss can be a hurdle, you can often find creative workarounds or partial information from other collections. We’ll discuss Holocaust-specific resources next, which are crucial if you’re dealing with missing family from that period.
Being aware of these considerations will help you navigate the twists and turns of Jewish ancestry research. It’s a bit like a puzzle where the pieces are scattered across languages and borders – but with patience, you can fit them together.
Key Record Types for Jewish Genealogical Research
Let’s summarize the key record types you’ll be looking for and why they matter. These records form the backbone of Jewish genealogy research:
Immigration and Travel Records: These include passenger ship manifests, port of entry records, border crossing records, and immigration visas. They are often the first record of your ancestor in a new country. As mentioned, manifests usually list the immigrant’s name, age, marital status, last residence or birthplace, and a relative or friend’s name (both at departure and destination). Some also note physical descriptions. In addition to Ellis Island (1892-1924) and Castle Garden (prior to 1892 for NYC arrivals), remember other entry points: Baltimore, Boston, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Galveston (especially for some Eastern European Jews diverted to Texas in the Galveston Plan), and even Canadian ports (some immigrants came via Canada and then to the US). Naturalization papers (Declaration of Intention, Petition for Naturalization, Certificate of Arrival) are equally valuable, as they tie the immigrant’s foreign origins to their new identity as a citizen. Look for indexes on sites like MyHeritage or the National Archives (NARA). These records connect the dots between an ancestor’s life in Europe and their life in America.
Vital Records (Birth, Marriage, Death): These are the cornerstone of all genealogy. For Jewish ancestors, you may need to gather vital records from both sides of the ocean:
Europe: Many European countries began state-recorded Jewish births, marriages, and deaths in the early-to-mid 19th century (for example, starting 1826 in Congress Poland, or 1788 in parts of the Austrian Empire). Earlier than that, you may rely on Jewish community or synagogue records if they exist. Marriage records can be especially informative, often naming the parents of both bride and groom. Some regions also had censuses or household registers of Jewish residents (for instance, the 1850s “Revision Lists” in the Russian Empire included Jews). Death records might note age and cause of death.
United States: Civil registration started at different times by state (e.g., New York began full birth/death recording around 1890). Jewish families in the U.S. will have normal county or state birth, marriage, and death certificates. Additionally, look for religious certificates – some synagogues issued marriage certificates (ketubah duplicates) or brit milah (circumcision) records. Obituaries in Jewish newspapers can also serve as death records, often listing survivors and sometimes the deceased’s origin or Hebrew name.
Synagogue and Communal Records: Synagogue records can include membership rolls, marriage registers signed by the rabbi, bar mitzvah lists, confirmation classes, Yizkor (memorial) plaques, etc. In the U.S., some older synagogues have deposited their archives with institutions like the American Jewish Archives or local historical societies (Jewish Genealogy — Twelve Steps to Getting Started). These might list families and their contributions or leadership roles. In Europe, very few original synagogue registers survive from before WWII (though in some countries like Germany or UK you might find 19th-century synagogue birth/marriage ledgers). If you do find a synagogue record, it can give you Hebrew names and familial relations (e.g., marriage record with fathers’ names, or a donation list indicating “in honor of my father”). Don’t forget community organization records: Jewish communities often had groups like Chevra Kadisha (burial society) or charitable societies that kept minutes and membership lists.
Census and Domicile Records: Aside from the U.S. federal census, consider any population lists where your ancestors lived. In Europe, Jews might appear in general population censuses or in special registers. For example, Austrian Galicia conducted regular censuses in the 19th century; the Russian Empire had Revision Lists and later All-Russia Census of 1897 (which did record religion and could list entire families, though accessing those records can be complex). Ghetto registers during WWII or post-war Displaced Persons (DP) camp lists also fall in this category of population accounting. Meanwhile, in countries like the UK, Canada, South Africa, etc., normal national censuses or voters lists can help track Jewish immigrants who went there instead of the U.S.
Burial and Cemetery Records: We touched on tombstones earlier, but to expand: the JewishGen JOWBR database indexes over 3 million burial records worldwide – searching it might reveal your ancestor’s grave location and any details recorded. Many cemeteries (especially large Jewish cemeteries in cities) keep burial registers that may list the deceased’s Hebrew name, date of burial, plot owner, and undertaker. Some also list the town of birth. If your ancestor was buried through a burial society, that society’s name can hint at their origin (e.g., a plot belonging to “First Lubiner Benevolent Association” implies the person or their family came from Lubin). Also consider mortuary records and funeral home records; Jewish funeral homes sometimes served specific communities and kept records of the families they served. Those might mention synagogue affiliation or overseas relatives notified of the death.
Holocaust Records: If you have family members who were victims or survivors of the Holocaust, records pertaining to their fate are a crucial part of your genealogy. These include ghetto residence lists, concentration camp prisoner lists or ID cards, transport lists, wartime census of Jews, forced labor camp records, and after the war, refugee and survivor lists. Many of these have been gathered into special databases (like Yad Vashem’s Pages of Testimony or the Arolsen Archives index). Holocaust records might not only confirm a death; sometimes you find personal data like birthdates, last known addresses, or names of other family members, which can connect back to pre-war times. We devote a section to resources for this research below.
As you search these record types, keep organized notes of what you find and source citations for each record. Jewish genealogy often requires piecing together data from many sources to form a complete picture of a family. One record type will lead to another: a ship manifest might point you to a naturalization file, which gives a hometown that leads you to a European birth record, and so on. Each is a piece of the puzzle.
Holocaust-Related Research: Finding Victims and Survivors
Researching relatives who were caught up in the Holocaust is often emotionally challenging, but there are many dedicated resources to help you discover their stories and, when possible, their fates. Holocaust research in genealogy means using specialized databases, archives, and memorial sources to trace individuals during the Nazi era (1933–1945). Here are key strategies and resources:
Yad Vashem - Hall of Names
1. Start with Names Databases and Memorials: A good first step is to search the major Holocaust names databases:
Yad Vashem Central Database of Shoah Victims’ Names: Yad Vashem (Israel’s Holocaust memorial) has a searchable names database containing information on about 4.5 million Jewish victims. A huge part of this comes from Pages of Testimony, which are forms filled out by survivors or relatives after the war to commemorate those who perished. A typical entry might have the victim’s name, birth date/place, parents’ names, last known location, and how they died, plus the submitter’s relationship. You can search by victim name or even by town. Searching by town is useful – for example, find all victims from a particular shtetl, which might include relatives who stayed behind. Each record often shows the source (Page of Testimony, archival list, etc.) and you can view the scanned Page of Testimony for personal details or the name of who submitted it (sometimes a valuable cousin clue). Yad Vashem also hosts a Deportations Database which details transports of Jews from various places to camps or ghettos, and a Righteous Among the Nations database honoring non-Jewish rescuers (which can also incidentally include info about the people they saved.
U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) – Holocaust Survivors and Victims Database: The USHMM in Washington, D.C. has compiled a broad database that includes millions of personal records from various sources. It covers not only Jewish victims but others persecuted by the Nazis. You can search a person’s name and it will look through many lists (concentration camp prisoner lists, transport lists, postwar displaced persons lists, etc.). About 60% of their collected name records are available in the online search. If a match is found and it’s linked to a document in their collection, you can request a digital copy of that document. They also have a feature to search for lists of names (so you can browse, for example, a list of residents of a certain ghetto). The USHMM site essentially aggregates data from numerous archives (including the Arolsen Archives/ITS and others). This can save you time by being a one-stop search. If you plan to do in-depth Holocaust research, consider contacting the USHMM’s Holocaust Survivors and Victims Resource Center – they offer free research assistance and have experts who can guide you to obscure sources.
JewishGen Holocaust Database: JewishGen also offers a Holocaust-specific collection of databases under its Research section. They have nearly 200 different datasets combined there, ranging from well-known lists (like Schindler’s List, ghetto records, camp inmate lists) to niche collections (e.g., lists of Jewish lawyers in Munich after the war, or last letters from the Łódź Ghetto). If you haven’t found a name via Yad Vashem or USHMM, it’s worth searching here too. JewishGen’s advantage is often in specialized datasets contributed by researchers.
Holocaust Global Registry: In addition to victims, if you are trying to find or connect with survivors (or their families), JewishGen’s Holocaust Global Registry is a tool where people have submitted names of survivors they seek or are related to. It’s like a bulletin board of survivor names that others are researching. You can search for the name of a survivor or browse, and if you find a match, you may contact the submitter (this can lead to finding living relatives or witnesses who knew your family). This is more for living memory connection than historical records, but it’s very useful if, say, you know a great-uncle survived Auschwitz and went to Israel – someone might be looking for his family.
2. Leverage Major Archives and Institutions: There are key organizations dedicated to Holocaust research that provide access to archives:
Arolsen Archives (formerly International Tracing Service, ITS): Located in Bad Arolsen, Germany, this archive holds one of the largest collections of Nazi-era documents, with about 17.5 million name records from concentration camps, ghettos, forced labor, and Displaced Persons camps. The Arolsen Archives (once managed by the Red Cross as the ITS) have in recent years digitized a lot of their collection and made portions searchable online. They specialize in documentation that helps clarify the fate of individuals – for decades they have answered requests from survivors and families seeking to know what happened to relatives. You can search their online catalog and some name indexes, but many records aren’t fully indexed yet. If you suspect a family member was a Holocaust victim or survivor and want official confirmation or documents, you can submit a research request for free. Provide as much detail as possible (name, date of birth, place of residence) and after some months, they will send you any documents found, such as transport cards, arrest records, or DP camp registrations. U.S. residents can also request through the American Red Cross Holocaust Tracing Service or the USHMM, which might expedite a response. The Arolsen Archives site also has an online collection called “e-Guide” where you can browse some digitized documents by topic. This archive is crucial if you’re piecing together a survivor’s path through multiple camps or trying to get evidence of death for someone with no family testimony.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM): Beyond the name database, the USHMM has vast archival holdings. They have acquired copies of documents from archives all over Europe. Some notable things: transport lists, ghetto registration cards, concentration camp records (e.g., Dachau intake records), and survivor lists (like lists of survivors in certain towns right after liberation). The USHMM partnered with Ancestry on the World Memory Project to index many of these records, which are searchable for free on Ancestry’s website. So you can search Ancestry’s catalog for “World Memory Project” collections – for example, “Theresienstadt records” – and find indexed names and images (though some images might require an Ancestry account, you can note the info and possibly get the document via USHMM). The USHMM also has a Remember Me? photo project of child survivors, and the Benjamin and Vladka Meed Registry of Survivors which is a list of survivors who have registered themselves (that one isn’t online, but USHMM staff can check it). If you are able, visiting the USHMM library in person gives you access to all their collections and staff guidance. But even remotely, their website offers research guides and you can email them for help.
Yad Vashem Archives: In addition to the victims’ names database, Yad Vashem has archival documents (some viewable online) and a library of 125,000 books on the Holocaust. They have documents like ghetto logs, concentration camp lists, and postwar trials. Some of their collections are searchable via the Yad Vashem Documents Archive online, which indexes record group descriptions. If you find something relevant, you can request copies. Yad Vashem’s strength is also in personal testimonies and memoirs – if a survivor from your family gave testimony or wrote a memoir, it might be stored there. Yad Vashem is invaluable for anyone focusing on those who perished, while USHMM and Arolsen might be more geared to tracing survivors and specific documentation.
Other Archives: Depending on where your family was, there may be specific national archives. For example, Poland’s Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) has some records of Nazi crimes; the Wiener Library in London has collections on refugees and camps; Israel’s Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People holds some survivors’ lists and community memorial records. If your research gets very specific (say, you need records of Jews in Holland or in Italy during WWII), you might end up looking at those countries’ archives or dedicated museums (like the Netherlands Institute for War Documentation, or the Museo della Shoah archives, etc.). Often, though, the big three (Yad Vashem, USHMM, Arolsen) have copies or excerpts of such materials.
3. Holocaust Research Tips: Researching this period can be complex, so here are some tips to keep you on track:
Follow the Timeline: Try to reconstruct the person’s Holocaust timeline. Did they go from home to a ghetto, then to a camp? Were they transported through multiple camps? For victims, sometimes the only info is that they were deported from Point A to Point B on a certain date. For survivors, you may need to trace them from imprisonment to liberation to refugee camp. Each stage might produce a document. For example, someone from Paris might have an entry in transport lists of Jews sent to Auschwitz in 1942; if they survived, they might appear in a liberation list at Dachau in 1945 and then in a DP camp registration in 1946. Mapping these steps helps target where to look (transport lists, camp records, DP registration cards, etc.).
Use Yizkor Books and Memorial Lists:Yizkor books are community memorial books usually written by survivors from a particular town, often in Hebrew or Yiddish (with translations on JewishGen). They often contain lists of Holocaust victims from that town, eyewitness accounts, and sometimes even family trees or photos. Check if there is a Yizkor book for your ancestral town (JewishGen has many translated excerpts). These books can confirm who in the town perished and sometimes mention those who survived. Similarly, postwar memorial lists or local publications (for example, a list of “Martyrs of Krakow” printed in 1946) can be sources of names.
Be Patient and Thorough: Not all Holocaust-related records are digitized or indexed. If an online search doesn’t yield results, it doesn’t mean nothing exists. Some information might only be found by digging into archival collections or reading published survivor memoirs. For instance, you might not find a record for a great-aunt in any database, but a memoir by someone from the same ghetto might mention her family. Don’t give up if initial searches are empty. Consider reaching out on genealogy forums or Holocaust research groups; often, researchers who specialize in a region can point you to sources.
Respect Privacy and Sensitivity: If you discover living survivors or living relatives of victims, be sensitive in your outreach. Many families have trauma associated with these events. When contacting someone (like through the Holocaust Global Registry or a genealogy forum), introduce yourself, explain your connection and research, and be understanding if they are cautious. That said, many people are incredibly open and eager to connect lost branches of their family – genealogy has helped Holocaust families reunite and heal, in a small way, by rebuilding knowledge of who was lost.
Holocaust research can be heavy, but it’s also profoundly meaningful. You are preserving the memory of your family and ensuring that their experiences are not forgotten. Use the resources available – from databases of names to archives of documents – to gather every detail you can about your ancestors’ lives during that tumultuous time. And remember, you’re not alone in this; organizations and communities are available to support your search and commemorate those you find.
Using Major Jewish Genealogy Resources and Repositories
Throughout this journey, you’ll want to take advantage of the major genealogical resources that specialize in Jewish ancestry. We’ve mentioned some of these in passing, but here we’ll highlight tips for using four key resources: JewishGen, Yad Vashem, the USHMM, and the Arolsen Archives (ITS). These are by no means the only resources (others include FamilySearch, MyHeritage, local Jewish genealogical societies, etc.), but these four are must-know for Jewish genealogy:
JewishGen (www.jewishgen.org): Often called the “home of Jewish genealogy,” JewishGen is a free website that hosts a wealth of databases and tools. If you’re just starting, create a free account on JewishGen – this allows you to use their discussion groups and some interactive features. Key components of JewishGen include:
JewishGen Family Finder (JGFF): This is a database where researchers list the surnames and towns they are researching (Jewish Genealogy — Twelve Steps to Getting Started). It’s extremely useful to find others researching the same family or town. Enter your surnames of interest and towns; you might discover distant cousins or collaborators. For example, if you search “Mendelson in Odessa,” you might find someone else looking for that and you can contact them through the site.
Databases: JewishGen’s All Country Databases let you search records from various projects (like JRI-Poland, Hungarian database, etc.) in one go. Use the Filters to narrow by region. They also have special collections like the Holocaust databases (as discussed), the Burial Registry (JOWBR), and others. A search on JewishGen might yield birth records, cemetery entries, ghetto records – all in one search result, if your search terms match. JewishGen is a great starting point to see if any data on your family is readily available.
KehilaLinks: Formerly ShtetLinks, these are town-specific pages created by volunteers. If your ancestral town has a KehilaLinks page, it can be a goldmine of historical information – photographs, memorial lists, maps, etc. It often includes links to all databases related to that town. Always check if a KehilaLinks page exists for your town.
InfoFiles and Education: JewishGen has a large collection of “InfoFiles” which are articles on how to do research, historical info, etc. Plus, they offer online courses and active discussion groups (the mailing list/Discussion Group) where you can ask questions – for instance, “Can anyone advise how to find marriage records from Białystok?”
Research Divisions (SIGs): SIGs (Special Interest Groups) on JewishGen cater to regions (Poland, Galicia, Lithuania, etc.) or topics (Rabbinic genealogy, Holocaust, etc.). Joining a SIG’s mailing list or reading their web pages can give deeper insight and announcements of new record acquisitions. Tip: When using JewishGen, remember it’s largely volunteer-driven. Some data might be incomplete or awaiting updates. If you don’t find something today, check back later (they continually add records). And consider donating or volunteering if you find it useful – it keeps the site free for all.
Yad Vashem (www.yadvashem.org) – Central Database of Shoah Victims: We detailed Yad Vashem’s databases in the Holocaust section. In terms of usage tips:
The search interface (Yad Vashem Names Database) allows both simple name searches and advanced options (like by place, year of birth, etc.). If a surname is common, try adding a place or first name. Be aware of spelling variations; a name like “Leib” might be entered as “Layb” etc., so use wildcards or Soundex if available.
If you find a record, click to view the Page of Testimony (if that’s the source). Sometimes the handwriting can reveal things not in the typed index (like an alternate spelling or a note about a relative).
Yad Vashem also has photo archives and testimony videos. If you’re interested in context, try searching their photo archive for your ancestral town – you may find images of Jewish life there pre-war.
If you plan a trip to Israel or can hire a researcher, the Yad Vashem archives on-site can be consulted for things that aren’t digitized. But for most genealogists, the online Names DB is the primary tool.
Remember: Yad Vashem is specifically about Holocaust victims (and a subset of survivors in some lists). It won’t have info on those who emigrated before the war or survived and left no testimony. For those cases, you’d use other records.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (www.ushmm.org): Using the USHMM for genealogy can involve multiple tools:
The Survivors and Victims Database search (available on their site) is straightforward – just input name variants and review results. Use the filters to narrow if needed.
For research guidance, USHMM’s Holocaust Encyclopedia and Research Guides are fantastic. They have articles like “How to Research a Survivor” or country-specific guides (e.g., how to research Greek Jewry in the Holocaust). These can point you to sources you might not think of.
USHMM’s Collections Search is like a library catalog of their holdings. If you search it, you might find say “Pruzany Ghetto records – RG-xx…”. That tells you they have a collection. Sometimes these entries note if the materials are digital or need an in-person visit.
Take advantage of their staff Ask a Research Question service. You can email or fill a form describing what you seek. They may respond with, for example, “We found an International Tracing Service card for your grandfather indicating he was at Buchenwald. We will mail you copies.”
If you use Ancestry, remember the World Memory Project records are a way to search some of USHMM’s data with Ancestry’s search engine. The index might be easier to use and then you can request the actual doc from USHMM if you don’t have an Ancestry subscription.
International Tracing Service / Arolsen Archives (www.arolsen-archives.org): The Arolsen Archives have their own online search portal. Some tips:
Use their e-Search (Online Archive) to input a name. If you get too many results, try adding a birth date or selecting filters (like “Central Name Index” or a specific collection). The interface might show you digitized cards or documents directly if they’ve been scanned. For example, you might see a scanned index card for a person, which could note various events (arrest, camp transfers, etc.).
If the info online is not sufficient, go to their Request Information page. Fill out as much as you can. It’s free, but expect to wait – sometimes 2-6 months due to demand. They will eventually send a package via email or mail with photocopies of any documents found and a cover letter explaining them (usually in English).
The Arolsen Archives also periodically release specific collections online, such as concentration camp prisoner cards or transport lists. Keep an eye on their news or even social media – for instance, in recent years they released scans of all Auschwitz prisoner registration cards they held. Those aren’t name-indexed on their site yet, but knowing they exist, you could browse by prisoner number if you have it from elsewhere.
Another pointer: the ITS archives also had info on forced laborers and non-Jews. If part of your family history involves, say, a non-Jewish relative or a Jewish person hiding under a false identity, ITS might have records on foreigners in Nazi Germany, etc. It’s a comprehensive war archive.
Other Valuable Resources: (Not specifically asked for, but worth a quick mention)
FamilySearch: It’s free and has a surprising amount of Jewish records (including many civil registrations from Europe). Check their catalog for your towns.
MyHeritage: This commercial site has huge collections of Jewish records. MyHeritage, being Israel-based, has a global trees network and many European records. You might use their advanced search to find things like naturalization indexes, city directories, or Holocaust records.
JRI-Poland: If you have Polish Jewish roots, using the JRI-Poland search (separate from JewishGen, though linked) could be more up-to-date for some datasets. They also allow ordering documents.
Local Jewish Genealogical Societies: The International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS) has chapters in many cities. They often have mentors, libraries, and workshops. Also, annual IAJGS conferences are treasure troves of learning.
YIVO, CJH, etc.: The YIVO Institute and the Center for Jewish History in NYC hold many archival collections of Eastern European Jewry and American Jewry (like landsmanshaft records, immigrant aid organization records such as HIAS or JOINT, etc.). If your ancestor interacted with a Jewish aid society, for example, those archives might have case files.
In summary, make these major resources your allies. They each have their strengths: JewishGen for connecting with the community of researchers and finding leads in databases; Yad Vashem and USHMM for Holocaust documentation; Arolsen Archives for detailed wartime records; and many others for specific needs. By using them in combination, you’ll cover the vast majority of what’s available for Jewish genealogy.
DNA Testing and Jewish Ancestry
In recent years, DNA testing has become a popular tool in genealogy. If you have Jewish ancestry, DNA testing can be both rewarding and complicated. It’s important to understand how endogamy (marriage within a closed community) affects DNA results for people of Jewish descent, and how to interpret those results effectively.
What is endogamy and why does it matter? Many Jewish populations, especially Ashkenazi Jews, have a history of marrying within their community over centuries. This means that instead of having completely unrelated ancestors, Jewish individuals often share multiple common ancestors. In genetic terms, Ashkenazi Jews today are highly interrelated; one study found that all Ashkenazi Jews trace back to a relatively small founder population, meaning basically everyone of Ashkenazi descent is at least a distant cousin. The result is that Jews tend to share more DNA with each other than people from non-endogamous populations.
When you take an autosomal DNA test (like MyHeritage), the company will show you a list of “DNA matches” – people who share segments of DNA with you, implying a common ancestor. Because of endogamy, if you have substantial Jewish ancestry, you will likely see an extremely large number of matches, many of whom share DNA at levels that would normally indicate a close cousin but are actually much more distant. It’s not uncommon for Ashkenazi testers to get thousands of matches labeled “4th cousin or closer." For example, one genealogist noted that her first cousin (who is fully Ashkenazi) has over 190,000 DNA matches on AncestryDNA – a number far higher than most people from other backgrounds. This doesn’t mean she literally has 190,000 cousins in the conventional sense; it means the shared ancestry is many generations back, but due to endogamy, detectable segments of DNA still exist.
Interpreting your matches: The key point is caution – the predicted relationship (2nd cousin, 3rd cousin, etc.) that the testing company gives may be overestimated in closeness. A match that the site says is a likely 2nd-3rd cousin (because you share, say, 100 centimorgans of DNA) could turn out to be a 6th cousin via multiple lines. You might find that you cannot identify how most people are related because it’s multiple small segments from distant common ancestors. Here are some tips to make sense of it:
Focus on Largest Segments: Instead of the total amount of shared DNA, look at the largest DNA segment you share with a match. In endogamous populations, many matches share lots of small segments, which inflate the total. A truly close relative will share at least one large segment. As a rule of thumb, a segment over 20 centimorgans (cM) is more likely to come from a recent common ancestor. If you have a match who shares 80 cM total, but the largest single segment is only 10 cM, that’s probably a distant cousin with scattered common ancestry. By contrast, if someone shares 80 cM and one segment is 40 cM, that could well be a genuine 2nd-3rd cousin. Some companies provide the largest segment info (MyHeritage). MyHeritage even uses a special algorithm requiring a larger minimum segment for Ashkenazi matches to reduce false close matches.
Use Filters and Tools: If the company offers a way to view “shared matches” or in-common matches, use it. Use tools like Autocluster (offered by MyHeritage) or third-party sites like GEDmatch to see clusters of related matches – these can sometimes break an endogamous match list into more meaningful groups.
Test Older Relatives if Possible: If you have parents or grandparents alive, testing them can help. Their results will be easier to interpret because each older generation effectively “half splits” the problem. For example, if you’re half Jewish, testing your fully Jewish parent will show which matches are from that side clearly. If you have two Jewish parents from different backgrounds (say one Ashkenazi, one Sephardi), testing them narrows matches to each side.
Ethnicity Estimates: DNA tests will often report ethnicity estimates like “Ashkenazi Jewish” as a percentage. These are usually quite accurate at identifying Ashkenazi ancestry because it’s a distinct genetic cluster due to endogamy. If you see, for example, 50% Ashkenazi in your results, that likely means one parent is fully Ashkenazi Jewish. Sephardic Jewish ancestry might show up as a mix of regions (Middle East, Southern Europe, etc.) depending on the population history. Take these estimates as broad-brush information – they’re interesting, but the real power of DNA is in the matching and triangulation for relatives.
How DNA can help in Jewish genealogy: Given the difficulty of paper trails (name changes, record loss, etc.), DNA can sometimes provide clues where documentation is scarce. Here are ways it could help:
Confirming relationships: You might suspect that two families with the same surname in a town were related. DNA matches between the descendants of each family could confirm a connection. For example, if your grandfather’s family and another family from the same shtetl always said they were cousins, finding DNA matches across those lines can prove it.
Finding lost branches: Many Jewish families were fragmented by migration and the Holocaust. DNA testing has led to people discovering cousins whose grandparents or great-grandparents went to countries like Argentina, South Africa, Australia, or Israel. Those branches might have been lost to memory. A DNA match can reintroduce them. In some cases, people have found relatives of Holocaust victims – for instance, the children of a survivor who moved to Israel matching with children of the survivor’s cousin who went to America, reconnecting a branch separated by war.
Overcoming brick walls: If you have an ancestor who for whatever reason left few paper clues (maybe an orphan or someone who changed their name), DNA can sometimes provide answers. For instance, adoptees or descendants of hidden children from the Holocaust have used DNA to identify which families they come from.
Validating your research: When you build a family tree, it’s reassuring to see expected DNA matches. If your documented tree says Person A is your second cousin, then genetically you should share some DNA. If you don’t, that could hint at a possible misattributed parentage somewhere. With endogamy this is tricky (lack of a match doesn’t prove no relation, because maybe you just didn’t inherit shared segments), but a match does add confidence.
DNA testing considerations unique to Jewish ancestry:
Privacy: Some Jewish individuals, particularly of older generations, may be hesitant to test due to privacy or philosophical concerns. Be respectful and explain the purpose (family history, etc.). Note that some might have Holocaust-related trauma that makes them wary of any “listing” of Jews, including DNA databases.
Halachic (religious) considerations: In rare cases, DNA has raised questions in religious law, like Cohen lineage or verifying Jewish status, but generally, those are outside the scope of genealogy for personal interest.
Multiple Companies: It might be worth uploading your DNA to multiple services. For example, if you test with AncestryDNA, you can download your raw data and upload to MyHeritage or FamilyTreeDNA for free (to get additional matches, since not everyone is on every platform). Each platform has a large Jewish user base, but there can be unique matches in each.
Triangulation: With endogamy, triangulating segments (finding matches who all share the same DNA segment with you, thus likely sharing a common ancestor) can be helpful. Tools like GEDmatch or MyHeritage’s chromosome browser allow you to see this. If you find that you and two other people share an identical segment of, say, 15 cM on chromosome 12, you three likely descend from the same ancestor at some point. If one of them has a well-researched tree pointing to a specific shtetl or known ancestor, that could be a lead for you.
In essence, DNA is a powerful supplement to traditional research, but for those with Jewish ancestry, manage your expectations. Instead of a quick answer, think of DNA testing as a long-term aid: you’ll have a continually evolving list of matches that might yield new discoveries as you collaborate and analyze. Embrace the genetic aspect as another puzzle piece. Many genealogists have had breakthroughs by using DNA alongside records – for example, confirming that two men with the same surname in an 1800s town were brothers by finding their descendants share a significant DNA segment. These are the kind of victories that make the effort worthwhile.
Conclusion
Remember that genealogy is about connecting with your family story. Jewish genealogy, with its complexities of diaspora, cultural tradition, tragedy, and resilience, is a deeply meaningful endeavor. Every record you uncover – a great-grandmother’s immigration manifest, a rabbi’s marriage register entry, a name on a Holocaust memorial – adds to the tapestry of your family history. Take it step by step, use the resources and tips outlined above, and don’t hesitate to seek help from the vibrant Jewish genealogical community. Researching your Jewish ancestry can be challenging, but it is profoundly rewarding.
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