Finding Jewish Ancestors in Ukraine: Difference between revisions

A guide to finding your Jewish Ancestors from Ukraine using Miriam Weiner's Routes to Roots Foundation.  

== Introduction to Routes to Roots Foundation ==

The Routes to Roots Foundation was created by [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miriam_Weiner_(genealogist) Miriam Weiner], who is a genealogist specializing in the research of Jewish roots in Poland and the former Soviet Union. In her 30+ years of experience in Eastern European archives, she collected vast amounts of information and material. Much of her data was originally published in ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_Roots_in_Ukraine_and_Moldova Jewish Roots in Ukraine and Moldova]'' and ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_Roots_in_Poland Jewish Roots in Poland],'' but is now available online through the [http://www.rtrfoundation.org Routes to Roots Foundation website.] The site includes many resources to help you research your Jewish roots including a town-by-town index/inventory of surviving Jewish records in archives, maps, surname and Holocaust list databases, informative articles, and much more! {{Ukraine-sidebar}}

== Find the Town ==

===Maps of your Ancestor's Town===

To search, enter a surname, given name, and/or town name into the search box. Collection results will then appear. The first column lists the collection type, while the second column contains the Collection Description (CD). The Collection Description includes information such as how the collection was acquired, references to Miriam Weiner's first visit to the town, photos (current and pre-World War I), links to other resources for the town, and/or document examples. The final column lists the number of records associated with the search term(s). Click on the blue hyperlinked number to view records, then click on the blue hyperlinked surname to see more details about the record.  

[[File:Screen Shot 2021-12-22 at 10.11.21 AM.png|alt=|left|thumb|400x400px|'''OCR Surname Database search,''' [https://www.rtrfoundation.org/ocrsearch.php rtrfoundation.org].]]

=== OCR Surname Database ===

The [https://www.rtrfoundation.org/newwebsite/imagesearch.php Image Database] on Miriam Weiner's website contains photographs and postcard views of many towns and cities throughout Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Lithuania, Poland, and other select countries dating back to the early 1900s. These include pre-WWI and current town views, photos of synagogues, Jewish cemeteries, and Holocaust memorials. It's a great way to see what your ancestor's shtetl may have looked like at the time they lived there.