Nesvizh Records

Project Synopsis

The JewishGen Belarus SIG is working to obtain 19th and early 20th century records for Jewish families from Nesvizh of present-day Belarus. A variety of records from a variety of sources will be researched. Examples of the types of records that we hope to obtain are Jewish community records, census lists, voter lists, vital records and Holocaust-era name lists.

Images of the original documents will most likelely not be available directly on JewishGen, and would have to be obtained from the archive or source where the material came from.

The key audience for this project are people whose ancestors lived in Nesvizh.

Until the Holocaust, Nesvizh was a town of significant commerce and therefore a major population center. The Jewish population of Nesvizh grew from hundreds in the early 19th century to several thousand at its close. Having more data for this town available would benefit not just genealogical researchers, but also those seeking to understand patterns of Jewish population growth and migration.The material we hope to obtain is not currently available online, and can only be accessed by traveling to various locations or hiring a researcher to do so.

Professional researchers and volunteers will extract data from primary sources, translate them into English, and enter the data into the spreadsheet templates provided by JewishGen. The database will then be checked for accuracy. Once those tasks are complete, JewishGen will integrate the new data into the JewishGen Belarus Database.

Estimated Cost

We estimate that it will cost approximately $1,660 - $4,000 (USD) for the data collection and translation of the records (this will depend on the quantity and condition of the material acquired). Any unspent funds will be used to acquire and translate other records for Belarus.