First Timer
Welcome to JewishGen.
Our website is designed to make your research easy. As this is
your first time on our site, we recommend that you follow a few simple
steps that can save you countless hours later.
Step 1. Interview Family Members
Before you begin researching the over 14 million records on JewishGen,
make sure that you interview your family and relatives who may have
information on your family. Most people do not offer information
unless they are asked for it.
Click here for helpful ways of
interviewing family members and friends.
Step 2. Take the JewishGen Basic Genealogy Course
Our interactive online Jewish Genealogy course will teach you methodology,
research techniques and how to organize information for proper analysis.
This course is offered at various times throughout the year, and when it
is available, you should take it as it will ensure that you travel on
the right path and perform your research in the correct areas.
Click here to register and learn more.
Step 3. Register for the JewishGen Family Finder (JGFF)
The JGFF allows you to tell other family researchers what family names
and ancestral towns you are researching. If other people are
researching the same information, they can contact you.
For example, you can tell people the name of the family you are
trying to learn about. If other people are also researching that name,
they will be able to contact you. There is no concern about privacy,
as everything can be submitted anonymously unless you choose to publicize
your name. Likewise, you can also see the town and family names
that other people are researching and contact them.
Currently, the JGFF has over 400,000 entries and has helped thousands of
people connect with relatives and learn about their family.
Click here to register and learn more.
Step 4. Join the JewishGen Discussion Groups
The JewishGen Discussion Groups are read and contributed to by thousands
of researchers around the world. On the discussion group, people ask
questions, provide helpful hints and help others. In addition to
general topics, there are also discussion groups that focus on specific
geographic areas and interests within Jewish genealogy.
Click here to join and learn more.
Feel accomplished? You should. By this point,
you have learned a lot about your family (through interviews) and
understand a little bit better how JewishGen works, but you are now
just getting started with your search. You will soon realize that
Jewish genealogy is ongoing - there is constantly more information being
discovered and placed online.
Unfortunately JewishGen does not have the manpower to
offer individualized research assistance, but we do have extensive
(and continually updated) InfoFiles that are categorized by subject and
country. These InfoFiles can significantly help in your research
and also provide information about what life was like for your ancestors.
Click here to view the InfoFiles.
We are glad you have decided to embark on this journey
and we wish you the best of luck with your research.
We are constantly working to make new data and information available,
so be sure to check back often!
Selected JewishGen Resources and Research Tools
Yizkor Book Project
Aims to translate Yizkor (memorial) books, predominantly
written after the Holocaust, into English. There are currently hundreds
of completed or partially completed translated books online.
ShtetLinks Project
Aims to create “virtual” Yizkor Books online,
by creating specific pages for towns and uploading information such as pictures,
maps, personal recollections, and research data.
Family Pages Project
Aims to allow family researchers to create their own webpage for free
in order to help connect with relatives and learn about their history.
ViewMate Project
Aims to allow users to post photographs and documents online, and
request help in translating or identifying information.
Selected General Databases
Family Tree of the Jewish People (FTJP)
A compilation of searchable family trees submitted by over 4,000 Jewish genealogists. Contains more than four million people.
ShtetlSeeker
A database containing the names of all localities in 45 countries in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. The data is based on the U.S. Board on Geographic Names databases.
Communities Database
A database containing information on over 5,000 Jewish communities in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East, together with Jewish population figures, historical town names and jurisdictions, inset maps, and links to JewishGen resources.
Online Worldwide Burial Registry (JOWBR)
A database of names and other identifying information from cemeteries and burial records worldwide, from the earliest records to the present. More than one million records.
Holocaust Database
A collection of databases containing information about Holocaust victims and survivors. It currently contains more than two million entries.
Selected Country Databases
These “JewishGen Country Databases” contain
historical records from the countries specified below, including birth,
marriage and death records, census records, military records, etc.
These databases are continual works-in-progress, and new data is added regularly.
Selected Special Interest Groups
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