Background

In 2024, after over twenty years of work, Georg Gaugusch completed his 4-volume, 5,480 page masterpiece Wer einmal war (Who once was), containing the most meticulous top-down genealogies for 685 prominent Viennese Jewish families originating from all over Austria-Hungary.

Each family chapter in his book begins with an original essay on the history of the family, focusing on its rise to prominence and its significant accomplishments, as well as the genealogical connections to other prominent families. The genealogies themselves are unparalleled in their accuracy and completeness, with not only rudimentary vital data but basically everything that a genealogist could possibly want (for example, his footnotes even contain the names of marriage witnesses).

The chapters also include references to the numerous sources for the genealogical data he provides, making it easy to verify the accuracy of his claims. Gaugusch’s books set a new standard for genealogical publications and will surely be the envy of his colleagues. There is really nothing else like it in any genealogical field (Jewish or not).

JewishGen is fortunate to have Gaugusch’s index to Wer einmal war, consisting of almost 110,000 entries. Further information can be found in the books themselves, available from Almathea Verlag, https://amalthea.at/produkt/wer-einmal-war-a-k/. Many of the family trees described in the book are accessible from the Geni.com project at https://www.geni.com/projects/Prominent-Jewish-Families-of-Vienna-Wer-Einmal-War/9272.

For further information, please contact: E. Randol Schoenberg.

Searching the Database

This database can be searched via the JewishGen Austria-Czech Database or the JewishGen Unified Search