Poland Jewish Records: Difference between revisions

Between 1772 and 1795, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was divided between three of the surrounding major powers: the Habsburg Monarchy (Austria), Kingdom of Prussia (Germany), and Russian Empires.  

For more information about the history of Jews in Poland, consider the following sources.  

*To read the Wikipedia.org article ''History of the Jews in Poland'', click [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_Poland here].

In order to research your family in Poland, it is essential that you have identified the place where they came from. It is not enough to only know 'Poland;' you must know the shtetl, or town, they came from. It will also be useful to determine which partition of Poland your ancestors came from as genealogical research in each of these three areas or partitions of Poland is a bit different. This Wiki page includes general records that can be used for research in Poland as a whole, while the Austrian, Prussian, and Russian Jewish records pages contain resource and information specific to research in that area. Use the map and the links below to access the Austrian, Prussian, and Russian Jewish records pages. If you aren't sure which partition of Poland your ancestors came from, see the heading '''How do I know which partition of Poland my ancestors came from?''' below. {{Poland Regional Jewish Records}}

====How do I know which partition of Poland my ancestors came from?====

*The [https://www.jewishgen.org/communities/loctown.asp '''JewishGen Gazetteer'''] can help you determine which partition of Poland your ancestor came from. To view an entry page, search for your town name, then click on the '''Jewish star''' to the left of the town name. Pay special attention to the jurisdictions '''Before WWI'''. The '''Country''' column will let you know which partition of Poland. If there are multiple towns with the same name in different parts of Poland, see the heading below for more information.

As you locate your ancestor in records in their country of immigration, you might notice some variation in their birthplace. The list below illustrates some of the commonalities you might encounter that will help you determine which partition of Poland your ancestor was from.

==Jewish Records [''Akta żydowskie'']==

*

==JewishGen Resources==

JewishGen is one of the most important sources in Jewish genealogical research worldwide. The site is free and easy to use, but requires registration. For video tutorials on many of the resources of JewishGen, see the following free, virtual classes:  

The [https://www.jewishgen.org/jgff/ '''Family Finder'''] is a database of both ancestral hometowns and surnames that have been researched by their descendants world wide. The Family Finder allows you to connect with others who are researching similar ancestors and origins and collaborate your research.  

'''To search the database and see if you can connect to family members and other researchers:'''  

*[http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1367 Poland, Jewish Records Indexing-Poland, Births, 1550-1993], index

*[http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=6584 Poland, Jewish Children Survivors of the Holocaust, 1945], index

==[http://yvng.yadvashem.org/advanced-search.html?language=en Yad Vashem Shoah Database]==

The YadVashem.org Central Database of Shoah (Holocaust) Victims’ Names is searchable by name and by community with “synonym” or “Soundex” options.

*Annopol, Auschwitz, Bedzin, Belzyce, Biala, Biala Podlaska, Biala, Bialystok, Bielsk Podlaski, Blechhammer, Bochnia, Bojanowo, Buk, Byczyna-Biskupice, Chelm, Chelmno, Chrzanow, Czeladz, Czerniejewo, Czestochowa, Dabrowa Tarnowska, Debica, Drawsko Pomorskie, Elk, Gdansk, Gliwice, Glogowek, Glubczyce, Gogolin, Goleniow, Gryfice, Jarocin, Jaworzno, Jedwabne, Karczew, Katowice, Kazimierz Dolny, Kedzierzyn-Kozle, Kepno, Klimontow, Konin, Kornik, Koscian, Koszalin, Kozmin, Krakow, Krapkowice, KraSnik, Krasnystaw, Krotoszyn, Kuznica, Lancut, Leczna, LeSnica, Leszno, Lodz, Lomza, Lublin, Majdanek, Miedzyrzec Podlaski, Mikolajki, Milowka, Miroslawiec, Mosina, Mszczonow, Niezdrowice, Nisko, Nowy Dwor, Nowy Sacz, Opatow, Opole Lubelskie, Orla, Ostrow Wielkopolski, Ostrowiec Swietokrzyski, Oswiecim, Otwock, Ozarow, Piaski, Piotrkow Trybunalski, Plaszow, Pobiedziska, Pogorzela, Polczyn Zdroj, Poznan, Prudnik, Przeworsk, Przysucha, Pszczyna, Pyskowice, Radymno, Radzyn Podlaski, Ropczyce, Rozwadow, Rymanow, Rzeszow, Sandomierz, Sanok, Sawin, Sedziszow Malopolski, Sejny, Skoczow, Slomniki, Slupca, Smigiel, Sobibor, Sokolow Malopolski, Sosnowiec, Stary Sacz, Strzegom, Strzegom, Strzelce Opolskie, Stutthof, Sulawki (sic), Swarzedz, Swidnica, Swidwin, Szczebrzeszyn, Szczucin, Szczuczyn, Szydlow, Tarnobrzeg, Tarnow, Tarnowskie Gory, Toszek, Toszek, Treblinka, Trzebinia, Tuczno, Tyczyn, Tykocin, Ujazd, Ulanow, Uzarzewo, Warszawa, Wieliczka, Wlodawa, Zabrze, Zamosc, Zary, Zator, Ziebice, Zyrardow.

PRADZIAD stands for "Database Registration Program Vital Records and Civil Status." It is a catalog of record sets found in Polish archives.  Search by name of town, denomination “mojżeszowe,” etc. Here is a fast link to [http://baza.archiwa.gov.pl/sezam/pradziad.php?l=en&search=1&wyznanie_id=19&f=0 all Jewish records] found in the PRAZIAD database (over 3000 record sets). However Jews will also be found in other historical and civil record sets not designated as "Jewish" record sets. You may wish to search through all the record sets for your towns.

===[http://www.rtrfoundation.org/index.shtml The Miriam Weiner Routes to Roots Foundation]===

Data regarding locations of Polish Jewish records originally published in books by Miriam Weiner is now on this website with periodic updates. Contains articles, essays, maps, archivist insights, and archival inventory for Jewish research in Poland. The website also contains a database of documents that is searchable by town. The search for documents in Eastern Europe ancestral towns is complicated, partly because of the destruction of documents during the Holocaust and changing borders and names. Only the first few letters of the town needs to be known, as all towns beginning with those letters will appear in the list. Some towns will even be cross-referenced with spelling variations or name changes. However, to determine the current spelling of a town, consult ''Where Once We Walked'' by Mokotoff and Sack (Avotaynu, 1991). The database will note the types of documents that has survived for that town, including army lists, Jewish vital records, family lists, census records, voter and tax lists, immigration documents, Holocaust material, school records, occupational lists, and more. The span of years covered by these documents and where to find them will also be provided. Records in the archives can be accessed on various websites or databases (such as [https://www.jewishgen.org/ JewishGen]) in person at the archives, by writing to the archives directly, or by hiring a professional researcher to do the work. By consolidating data from five Eastern European countries, researchers can easily determine which records are kept by which archives or repositories.<ref>Weiner, Miriam. "Eastern European Archival Database Planned". ''AVOTAYNU'' XVII no. 3 (Fall 2001): 3-5.</ref>