Ancestry has a Cyber DNA sale through December 2 with two enticing options:

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A finding aid compiled by Ellen Kowitt, Director of the JewishGen USA Research Division, that currently lists 1,517 synagogue (shul) record collections from North America and the Caribbean.

What These Synagogue Records Include?
• Records created by congregations: rabbis, administrators, educators, mohels, board members.  
• Types of records with genealogical value:
• Birth, marriage (ketubot), and death registers
• Mohel (circumcision) lists
• Eulogies
• Burial records
• Yahrzeit memorial plaques
• Other helpful materials:
• Membership lists
• Congregational bulletins or newsletters
• Board meeting minutes
• Donor lists
• Bar/Bat Mitzvah lists
• Photographs, conversion records, and more

Where Are Records Held?
• In active synagogues.
• In archives (especially for defunct congregations). These archives may be:
• Historical societies
• Museums
• University libraries
• Smaller regional archives
• JewishGen notes that archival catalogs are inconsistent: different collections may use different terms (“congregation register,” “rabbinical papers”), so they may be hard to locate via standard catalog searches.
• Some records are not described in public finding aids.
• There are often cataloging errors, and sometimes the only way to know what’s in a collection is to visit or digitize it.

Details about the Resource
• Languages of records: mostly English, but also Hebrew, German, Yiddish.
• Most collections are not digitized. When there is a digital collection, the entry links to it.
• Some congregational records are duplicated in different repositories.
• Other congregations’ records are “split” — parts are in different archives.
• The project encourages corrections: if users find errors, they’re asked to report them.
• If you know of other synagogue records not listed, JewishGen invites you to submit them so they can expand the directory.
• For yahrzeit and burial records, some are already indexed; others are not. JewishGen collaborates with:
• The Memorial Plaques Indexing Project
• The JewishGen Online Worldwide Burial Registry (JOWBR)

How You Can Help or Use It
1. Help identify more collections — both online and in physical archives.
2. Encourage indexing — Jewish genealogy societies or local congregations can index records and upload them to JewishGen.
3. Advocate for record preservation — particularly for congregations whose records aren’t yet listed, users can encourage them to deposit records in formal archives (e.g., American Jewish Archives (AJA), Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS), Yeshiva University (YU).

Examples of Repositories
Some of the 182 listed sources include:
• American Jewish Archives
• American Jewish Historical Society
• University special collections (e.g., University of Denver)
• Public libraries (e.g., Birmingham Public Library)
• Historical societies (e.g., Georgia Historical Society)
They also list specific synagogues whose records are part of the finding aid, such as:
• Bialystoker Synagogue (Manhattan, NY)
• Temple Emanu-El (San Francisco)
• Temple Israel (Leadville, CO)

Status
• This is a work in progress. JewishGen continuously updates it as they discover more collections.

Why It’s Useful for Genealogy?
• Because synagogue records include key life events (birth, marriage, death) and community involvement, they’re incredibly valuable for genealogists.
• Even when records are not digitized, knowing where they are gives you a starting point for requesting access, visiting, or hiring a researcher.
• By contributing (reporting missing records or helping index), you can help make this resource stronger for everyone.

More Jewish cuisine - have you and your family enjoyed these dishes today and if so, which ones? Let us know below in the comment section.

Foods like bagels, bialys, knishes, pickles, and kugel began as inexpensive survival staples but grew into cultural symbols of comfort and identity.

Street foods — bagels, knishes, and kosher dill pickles — were sold from pushcarts and fed workers heading to factories and sweatshops.

Dishes such as kasha, cholent, brisket, and matzo ball soup stretched tight budgets while preserving religious customs and Sabbath traditions.

Many recipes came from poverty: gefilte fish, herring, corned beef, and pastrami were created to maximize inexpensive cuts or scraps.

Community ovens, shared kitchens, and neighborhood bakeries played a vital role in sustaining families and reinforcing cultural continuity.

Sweet baked goods — rugelach, babka, and challah — provided emotional comfort and turned limited ingredients into celebrations of resilience.

Foods like latkes, blintzes, and matzah brie blended holiday symbolism with practicality in cramped tenement kitchens.

Delis and soda shops became social hubs where dishes like pastrami on rye, whitefish salad, and egg creams shaped a uniquely New York identity.

Collectively, these foods reflect a story of survival, memory, adaptation, and the transformation of immigrant hardship into beloved Jewish New York culinary classics.

What of these 25 Old World dishes have you and your family eaten? Let us know in the comment section below.

The video explores how Jewish immigrants on New York’s Lower East Side in the early 1900s preserved identity and survived poverty through traditional Old World cooking.

Twenty-five “forgotten” dishes are highlighted as the culinary backbone of Jewish American life during this era.

Many foods—like patcha, helzel, kishke, and gribenes—reflect extreme resourcefulness, using every scrap of the animal to stretch limited budgets.

Staple comfort dishes such as kasha varnishkes, cholent, and borscht provided warmth, sustenance, and a taste of home in cramped tenements.

Desserts and sweets like teiglach, ingberlach, and lekach signified holiday joy and emotional resilience despite hardship.

Everyday breads and starches—biales, boles, knishes, and latkes—served as affordable, portable, and filling street foods.

Several dishes carried strong ritual or symbolic meaning, including schlissel challah, zimmes, and gefilte fish, linking tradition to hope and religious observance.

Fermented and preserved items such as beet kvass and cold borscht reflected the immigrants’ practical Old World foodways adapted to New York life.

The tenement kitchen is portrayed as a central cultural hub where smells, sounds, and flavors bound communities together.

Collectively, these dishes not only sustained physical survival but also shaped the emerging Jewish American identity and influenced New York’s culinary history.

Here is a comprehensive, detailed research strategy for tracing deceased Jewish ancestors, whether they lived in Europe, the Americas, Israel, or elsewhere. It’s designed for serious genealogical work — step-by-step, with key repositories, record types, and techniques specific to Jewish genealogy.

1. Define Your Research Goal
Before searching, clarify what you want to learn:

• Identify who you’re researching (full Hebrew and secular names, if known).
• Specify what you’re seeking — e.g., birthplace, parents’ names, burial location, Holocaust fate, or immigration path.
• Set geographic focus (town, district, or region — knowing the historical borders and jurisdictions is critical).

2. Start with What You Know

• Build your foundation using modern family data:
• Collect all family documents: death certificates, old letters, photos, obituaries, yahrzeit (memorial) notices, synagogue membership records.
• Interview relatives — especially older ones. Ask for Hebrew names, ancestral towns, Yiddish nicknames, and immigration stories.
• Create a timeline for the ancestor’s life with approximate dates and locations.

Tip: Record Hebrew or Yiddish names. Example: “Moishe (Moses) ben Yosef” can help identify burial records or synagogue memorial plaques.

3. Use FamilySearch and JewishGen Together

These are your two most powerful free databases.

FamilySearch.org

• Search global vital records, censuses, and probate files.
• Use the Family Tree function to collaborate with distant relatives.
• Try variant spellings and phonetic matches (Katz / Kac / Kaats / Kacowicz).

JewishGen.org

• Use the JewishGen Communities Database to locate towns (shtetls) and identify historical regions (Russian Empire vs. Poland, etc.).
• Search the JewishGen Family Finder (JGFF) to find others researching your ancestral surname or town.
• Explore:

• JewishGen’s Holocaust Database
• Yizkor Book Project (memorial books from destroyed communities)
• All Country Databases (Poland, Lithuania, Galicia, etc.)
• Jewish Records Indexing–Poland (JRI-Poland)

4. Search Death, Burial, and Cemetery Records
For deceased ancestors, this is the heart of your work.

A. Burial Records

• Use JewishGen Burial Registry (JOWBR) — lists over 3 million burials worldwide.
• Check FindAGrave and BillionGraves (many Jewish cemeteries are digitized).
• Hebrew gravestones (matzevot) are essential — they usually list:
• The deceased’s Hebrew name
• Their father’s Hebrew name (“ben” or “bat”)
• Date of death in the Hebrew calendar

Tip: Use HebrewForChristians.com or Hebcal.com to convert Hebrew dates to Gregorian.

B. Synagogue Memorial Plaques

• Contact local synagogues — many maintain memorial (Yahrzeit) plaques and burial society (chevra kadisha) records.

5. Vital Records (Birth, Marriage, Death)
Depending on the region:

Eastern Europe (Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine, Belarus)

• Check JRI-Poland and Polish State Archives (szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl).
• For Russian Empire: FamilySearch catalog and JewishGen’s All-Russia Database.

Western Europe

• Use Centrale des Archives du Judaïsme Français, Arolsen Archives, and local municipal archives.

United States & Canada

• State and city vital records offices, Ellis Island, and Ancestry.com immigration databases.

Israel

• Israel Genealogy Research Association (IGRA) hosts searchable burial and immigration data.

6. Immigration and Naturalization Records
For those who emigrated before death:

• Ellis Island / Castle Garden databases
• U.S. National Archives (NARA) for passenger manifests and naturalization papers
• Canadian Jewish Heritage Network for arrivals to Canada
• HIAS (Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society) records may include refugee case files

Tip: Compare naturalization petitions to ship manifests — birthplace often differs in spelling or language.

7. Holocaust Research (if applicable)
For ancestors who perished or disappeared during WWII:

• Yad Vashem Central Database of Shoah Victims’ Names
• Search by surname, maiden name, or town.
• Arolsen Archives – Displaced Persons and camp records.
• USHMM (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum) – digitized transport and camp lists.
• JewishGen Holocaust Database – includes Yizkor book translations and deportation lists.

Consider contributing a Page of Testimony to Yad Vashem if one does not yet exist.

8. Community and Shtetl Records

• Landsmanshaftn (mutual aid society) records in U.S. city archives often list deceased members and their burial plots.
• Yizkor books (memorial books) written after the Holocaust list victims and surviving families.
• Local archives in Eastern Europe often hold tax lists, residence permits, or ghetto registers.

Tip: JewishGen’s Yizkor Book Database has English translations and indexes by surname and town.

9. DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy

• Use DNA to identify living relatives or confirm family branches:
• AncestryDNA, MyHeritageDNA, and FamilyTreeDNA have strong Jewish databases.
• Use GEDmatch for cross-platform comparison.
• For deceased ancestors, test living descendants and analyze matches to infer lineage.
• Caution: Endogamy (intermarriage within Jewish populations) can complicate results — use segment analysis tools and triangulation.

10. Document, Cite, and Share

• Record each discovery with source citations (archive name, microfilm, URL, date).
• Create a research log noting searches performed, spellings tried, and gaps remaining.

Add findings to:

• FamilySearch Family Tree
• Ancestry Public Trees
• JewishGen Family Finder
• Share results with local genealogical societies or family associations.

11. Collaborate with Experts and Societies
Join or contact:

• Jewish Genealogical Society of Colorado (JGSC)
• Offers mentorship, local cemetery databases, and webinars.
• International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS)
• Coordinates global Jewish genealogy conferences.
• Local archives in your ancestors’ towns — many archivists speak English and respond to email queries.

12. Preserve and Memorialize
Once you’ve located your ancestor’s records:

• Create a digital memorial or family website.
• Submit records to JewishGen Memorial Databases or FindAGrave.
• Share your findings with younger generations to preserve Jewish memory.

“To remember is to give them life again.”

JewishGen is the world’s largest free online resource dedicated to Jewish family history. It offers millions of records, town information, Holocaust databases, burial data, and community-driven research groups for nearly every region where Jews lived.

This guide walks you through JewishGen’s most important tools and how to use them effectively.

1. Create a Free Account
You’ll need a free JewishGen account to access most databases.

Tips:

• Enter all known surnames and ancestral towns in your Research Interests profile — other researchers may contact you with matches.
• Add variant spellings to your profile; Jewish names often appear in multiple languages (Yiddish, Hebrew, Polish, Russian, German).

2. Start With the JewishGen Search Engine (JOWBR / Unified Search)
JewishGen offers a combined search interface called the Unified Search.
Use it to:

• Search across millions of Jewish vital records, Holocaust sources, burial records, town information, immigration lists, and more.
• Try multiple surname spellings (use Soundex options — D-M Soundex is the most useful for Ashkenazi names).

Examples:
Katz / Kac / Kacz / Kaats / Kaç / Katzke
Rivka / Rifka / Revekka / Rebecca

3. Research Ancestral Towns: JewishGen Communities Database
One of the most powerful tools.
What It Provides:

• Maps, historical jurisdictions, alternate spellings
• Pre-Holocaust Jewish population data
• Nearby towns with Jewish communities
• Available JewishGen databases for that town

Huge Tip:
If your town was tiny, search nearby towns within 20–30 miles — records were often created or stored in regional centers.

4. Use the JewishGen Family Finder (JGFF)
The JGFF is a global database of more than 600,000 researcher-submitted surnames and towns.
Why It Matters:

• Helps you find others researching the same family surnames or shtetls.
• Many breakthroughs happen by connecting with a distant cousin researching the same line.

Best Practice:
Enter every ancestral surname and shtetl you know — even uncertain ones.

5. Explore the JewishGen Databases
JewishGen hosts dozens of specialized databases. The most commonly used:

► JewishGen Hungary / Romania / Poland / Belarus / Ukraine / Latvia Databases

• Millions of birth, marriage, death, census, and community records.
• Many records now digitized from archives in Eastern Europe.

► JewishGen Online Worldwide Burial Registry (JOWBR)

• 4+ million burial records.
• Photos of headstones, Hebrew names, and patronymics (father’s name) — crucial for identifying ancestors.

► Holocaust Databases
Including:

• Yizkor Books (memorial books)
• Yad Vashem Name Database links
• Concentration camp prisoner lists
• Ghetto records
• Refugee lists, DP camp lists

► Jewish Records Indexing – Poland (linked through JewishGen)

• A massive resource for Polish Jews.

6. View and Use Yizkor (Memorial) Books
Yizkor books are post-Holocaust memorial books written by survivors from destroyed towns.
They contain:

• Family lists
• Rabbi names
• Cemetery maps
• Pre-war community photos
• Historical narratives
• Many books are translated on JewishGen; others list volunteers who will translate pages for you.

7. Join the JewishGen Discussion Groups
JewishGen hosts active email groups on:

• Regions (Poland, Belarus, Lithuania, Austria-Hungary, etc.)
• Topics (DNA, rabbinic genealogy, cemetery projects)
• Holocaust research
• These groups are extremely helpful for:
• Translating records
• Understanding naming traditions
• Locating hard-to-find villages
• Overcoming brick walls

8. Use the JewishGen Gazetteer
This tool helps identify:

• Every Jewish town in Central and Eastern Europe
• Historical names, spellings, maps, administrative divisions
• Perfect when your town appears with different spellings or under different empires (Russian, Austrian, German, Polish).

9. Considering Variants: Name Changes & Language Shifts
Jewish records commonly appear in:

• Yiddish
• Hebrew
• Polish
• Russian (Cyrillic)
• German
• Hungarian

Always search with:

• Soundex systems
• Multiple spellings
• Patronymic versions (e.g., “Moishe ben Avraham”)

10. Use JewishGen DNA Success Stories & Tools
JewishGen provides strategies for combining:

• Jewish endogamy DNA interpretation
• Matches for common surnames
• How to use Y-DNA and mtDNA for rabbinical lines
• This helps overcome brick walls common in Jewish genealogy.

Best Workflow to Use JewishGen Effectively

• Search your surnames & towns in Unified Search.
• Review your towns in the Communities Database.
• Add families to the JGFF to find researchers.
• Search vital records in country-specific databases.
• Check JOWBR for burials → extract Hebrew names.
• Explore Yizkor Books for history and family mentions.
• Join regional JewishGen discussion groups.
• Use town maps & Gazetteer to find surrounding record sources.
• Reach out to researchers or local archivists using the directory.
• Repeat with alternate spellings and languages.

Ancestry.com is one of the largest genealogy platforms, and while it’s not specifically focused on Jewish genealogy, it offers valuable resources and strategies that can help you uncover your Jewish roots.

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to use Ancestry.com effectively for Jewish genealogy research:

1. Start with What You Know

• Begin your family tree with yourself, your parents, and grandparents.
• Enter as many details as possible: names (including Hebrew or Yiddish versions), birthplaces, and immigration dates.
• If possible, note religious affiliations or burial locations (Jewish cemeteries can provide big clues).

2. Search U.S. and Immigration Records
Many Jewish families immigrated between the 1880s and 1920s. Key collections on Ancestry include:

• U.S. Federal Census (1900–1950): Look for naturalization status, birthplace, and family members.
• Passenger Lists (Ellis Island, New York, Philadelphia): Check for ships arriving from Eastern Europe.
• Naturalization Records: These often list exact towns of origin.
• City Directories: Show where immigrant families lived and worked.

Tip: Jewish immigrants often changed names. Search with variations and phonetic spellings (e.g., “Katz,” “Kac,” “Kacze”).

3. Use Jewish-Specific Clues

• When a record lists “Russia,” “Poland,” or “Austria,” try to determine the historic region (many Jews came from the Pale of Settlement, which includes modern Belarus, Ukraine, Lithuania, and Poland).
• Look for synagogue membership records, Jewish burial societies (landsmanshaftn), and cemetery records — some of which appear in Ancestry’s indexed materials or user-contributed trees.

4. Use DNA Testing

• AncestryDNA can identify Jewish genetic regions (such as Ashkenazi Jewish or Sephardic Jewish).
• Connect with DNA matches — many may share ancestors or family branches lost through immigration.
• Message matches to compare family trees or share old family names and shtetl origins.

5. Search Jewish Record Collections
Although Ancestry’s Jewish records are limited, try:

• JewishGen.org (linked from many Ancestry public trees).
• Yad Vashem’s Holocaust database (you can cross-reference with Ancestry trees).
• U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum for refugee lists.
• Poland, Lithuania, and Galicia records (many are linked through Ancestry partnerships).

6. Collaborate and Verify

• Explore Public Member Trees — other users may have documented your ancestral branch.
• Always verify — family trees can contain errors.
• Use the “Comments” or “Save to Tree” features to track alternate information and sources.

7. Use Ancestry’s “Jewish Community” Tools
Ancestry occasionally features community research pages, such as:

• Jewish Family History Collection (searchable from the Card Catalog).
• Holocaust and Refugee Lists.
• Jewish Cemeteries of the U.S. and Europe.

8. Link with Other Jewish Resources
Combine Ancestry with:

• JewishGen Family Finder (JGFF) — to locate others researching the same surnames or towns.
• Find A Grave — many Jewish cemetery photos and transcriptions are included in Ancestry searches.
• MyHeritage — especially useful for Israeli and European Jewish records.

Introduction: Remembering the Past Through Research

Tracing ancestors or relatives who perished in the Holocaust is a deeply personal and emotional journey. For millions of families worldwide, uncovering names, stories, and fragments of a life lost to one of history’s darkest chapters brings a sense of closure, remembrance, and connection.

The question “How can I research ancestors or relatives who perished in the Holocaust?” opens doors to powerful archives, global databases, and dedicated institutions committed to preserving every memory.

Understanding Holocaust Records and Archives
Why Holocaust Documentation Is So Extensive

Although millions of lives were lost, a surprising number of records survived due to the extensive documentation kept by Nazi authorities and later gathered by Allied forces and humanitarian groups. These records include deportation lists, camp registrations, transport manifests, and personal testimonies.

Challenges in Tracing Victims and Survivors

Many Holocaust records are incomplete, destroyed, or scattered across different countries. Names were often changed or misspelled, and some victims remain unrecorded. Persistence and cross-referencing multiple archives are crucial to successful research.

Key Databases and Online Resources for Holocaust Research
Yad Vashem’s Central Database of Shoah Victims’ Names

Yad Vashem in Jerusalem maintains the most comprehensive online database, containing over 4.8 million names of Holocaust victims. Visitors can search by name, birthplace, or relative, and view scanned “Pages of Testimony” — personal remembrance forms submitted by survivors and families.

Visit: Yad Vashem Database

The Arolsen Archives: Tracing Missing Persons

The Arolsen Archives in Germany, formerly the International Tracing Service, house over 30 million documents related to persecution, forced labor, and displaced persons. The archive is freely accessible online and allows users to request personal research assistance.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) Archives

The USHMM offers extensive digital and physical archives, including transport lists, photographs, and oral histories. Their Holocaust Survivors and Victims Database is searchable worldwide and supported by expert staff to help refine searches.

JewishGen and Other Genealogy Networks

JewishGen.org specializes in Jewish genealogy, offering tools like Holocaust memorial databases, cemetery records, and surname projects. Collaboration among researchers often uncovers family links across continents.

Using Local and International Records
Searching National Archives and Red Cross Records

National archives in countries like Poland, Germany, France, and Hungary hold regional records such as deportation lists or census data. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) can also assist with tracing inquiries related to wartime victims.

Exploring Synagogue, Cemetery, and Community Records

Many local synagogues and Jewish communities maintain memorial plaques, Yahrzeit books, or cemetery lists. Sometimes, these local records provide the missing link that larger archives cannot.

Contacting Holocaust Research Institutions and Experts
Working with Historians and Genealogists

Professional genealogists specializing in Holocaust research can interpret old documents written in German, Polish, or Yiddish, and navigate complex archival systems. Some organizations even offer volunteer help for descendants seeking information.

Visiting Holocaust Memorials and Museums

Visiting sites like Auschwitz-Birkenau, Dachau, or the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe can provide context and emotional understanding. Museums often maintain their own research centers or digital archives available to visitors.

Tips for Preserving Family Memory and Sharing Findings
Creating a Family Tree and Digital Archive

Document every piece of information you uncover. Digital genealogy platforms like MyHeritage or Ancestry allow you to integrate Holocaust-related documents and testimonies into an interactive family tree.

Sharing Stories to Educate Future Generations

Once you’ve gathered details, consider sharing them publicly — through online memorials, social media, or educational programs. Each story told keeps the memory of Holocaust victims alive and ensures history is never forgotten.

FAQs About Holocaust Genealogical Research

1. Can I find information if I don’t know exact birthplaces or names?
Yes. Start with partial details — approximate locations, relatives’ names, or family stories — and use wildcard searches in major databases like Yad Vashem.

2. Are Holocaust archives free to access?
Most, including Yad Vashem and Arolsen Archives, are completely free and open to the public.

3. How long does Holocaust research usually take?
It varies. Some find results in hours; others may take months, depending on data accuracy and record availability.

4. What languages are records written in?
Mostly German, Polish, Russian, or Yiddish. Translation tools or professional help may be needed.

5. Can I visit these archives in person?
Yes, both Yad Vashem and USHMM welcome visitors for in-person research assistance.

6. What should I do once I find family information?
Record, preserve, and share it — either privately with family or publicly to honor their memory.

Conclusion: Honoring Memory Through Discovery

Researching ancestors who perished in the Holocaust is more than an act of genealogy — it’s an act of remembrance. Every name rediscovered helps restore dignity and identity to those silenced by history. With today’s digital tools and global archives, anyone can begin uncovering their family’s Holocaust story and ensure it lives on for generations to come.

Genealogy is not just about collecting facts—it’s a journey of self-discovery that deepens one’s understanding of identity and heritage, much like the study of Torah.

Researching Jewish ancestry connects individuals to the broader story of the Jewish people and transforms them through the process of learning.

The Jewish genealogical community is welcoming and supportive, encouraging newcomers to explore their roots and share discoveries.

Jewish genealogy fosters a sense of shared experience and belonging, as researchers exchange stories that enrich everyone’s understanding of Jewish life.

Many see genealogy as a way to recapture lost ways of Jewish life and culture that have evolved or disappeared over the past century.

Genealogy encourages respect for history—both family and global—and helps uncover silenced or forgotten narratives.

Urges younger generations to record oral histories from parents and grandparents before that knowledge is lost.

Researching family history is compared to solving a mystery—full of clues, discoveries, and a sense of adventure.

Beginners are advised to be patient and persistent; breakthroughs often come after long periods of searching and can open many new doors.

Today’s genealogical tools—especially online databases like JewishGen and archives such as those in Salt Lake City—make Jewish family research more accessible and rewarding than ever.