Family History Research
Remote Reference Appointments
You are welcome to book a remote reference appointment to view archival materials. However, before you book an appointment, we need to know which specific materials you’re interested in seeing. If you’re not sure where to start, check out this guide to relevant YIVO holdings. It also includes other resources, as YIVO may not have what you’re looking for. Once you have determined which materials you’d like to see, please email reference@yivo.org for the genealogy session booking link.
Much of this material is in languages other than English. If you need to obtain translations, you may be interested in YIVO’s translators list. (Please note that this is not a YIVO service — we simply maintain this list.)
If you have any questions, always feel free to reach out to reference@yivo.org.
Records Available at YIVO
Landsmanshaftn were societies formed by Jewish immigrants from the same town. They provided social and financial support to members, and served as important community hubs. YIVO holds the records of nearly 2,000 landsmanshaftn. Please click here for a searchable spreadsheet, as not all of these records are discoverable in the online catalog.
You can also watch this video for more information.
YIVO has nearly 1,000 yizkor (memorial) books, which were created to commemorate towns destroyed in the Holocaust. You can see the inventory here.
The records of nonprofit institutions which worked with Jews can be useful genealogical resources, especially if they maintained individual case files.
— Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society
— National Desertion Bureau
— German-Jewish Children's Aid Records
— National Refugee Service Records
— Records of the American Joint Distribution Committee
— United Service for New Americans
— Institut Der NSDAP Zur Erforschung Der Judenfrage
— Kehillat Haharedim
— Union Générale Des Israélites De France (UGIF)
— Rue Amelot
Unfortunately, we do not have the capacity to share microfilmed material during remote reference sessions. Microfilm collections appear in the catalog with the prefix “MK” or “MKM.” You’ll see that the majority of organizational records are only available on microfilm. Once the Center for Jewish History Reading Room reopens, you are free to make an appointment and view microfilmed materials on-site (or send a research assistant to do so, if you are not local to New York City).
If that’s not an option, you can request to have microfilmed material digitized through the Center for Jewish History. There is a fee associated with this service. You can find more information here.
Materials Available Online
The majority of YIVO’s European prewar holdings are digitized and available online through the Edward Blank YIVO Vilna Online Collections Project. The remainder will be available online by the end of 2021. To search for digitized records, go to archives.cjh.org and enter the name of the town or city you are researching. (Please note that this link will return results for all of the partners at the Center for Jewish History. To only search YIVO material, go to archives.cjh.org/repositories/7.)
Here is a list of Vilna Project collections commonly used for genealogy research:
— Germany (Vilna Archives) Records (1567-1945)
— Lithuanian Jewish Communities Collection (1860-1941)
— Records of the Minsk Jewish Community Council (1825-1917)
— Records of the Vilna Jewish Community Council (1800-1940)
— Poland (Vilna Archives) Collection (1945-1939)
— Adelebsen Jewish Community Records (c. 1775, 1830-1917)
— Records of the Briesen Jewish Community Council (1871-1921)
— Records of the Krotoszyn Jewish Community Council (1828-1919)
— Records of the Ostrowo Jewish Community Council (1822-1919)
— All pinkasim (community registers)
The following collections of genealogical interest are digitized but not yet available online. In the interim, please email reference@yivo.org for access.
— Jewish Social Services Bureau - Detroit
— Index to the National Desertion Bureau records. Please note that the case files themselves are not digitized.
— Jews in Shanghai Collection
Effective Catalog Searches
Online catalogs are not always as intuitive as we would like. If you are new to archival research, check out this in-depth guide on how to search through YIVO’s online catalogs.
You can also take a look at this research guide on YIVO resources available online (genealogical and beyond!).
What You Probably Won’t Find at YIVO
Vital Records
YIVO typically does not hold vital records, like birth, marriage, and death records. The exceptions to this are the prewar holdings noted in the “Materials Available Online” section.
Municipal Records
YIVO typically does not hold municipal records, like business registrations.
DP Camp Records
While YIVO does have a fairly extensive collection of materials from displaced person (DP) camps, we do not hold the administrative records of the camps, including individual resident records. The location of these records is heavily dependent on which agencies administered the camp in question.
Other Resources
The Ackman and Ziff Family Genealogy Institute at the Center for Jewish History has staff genealogists who can help you navigate your genealogical research. You can contact the Institute at gi@cjh.org. (Please note that the average response time is about two weeks.)
The Institute has also created a variety of genealogy research guides.
The Jerusalem-based Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People holds “the most extensive collection of documents, pinkassim (registers) and other records of Jewish history from the Middle Ages to the present day.” Information about conducting genealogy research is available here. The online catalog is available here.
JewishGen.org is “the global home for Jewish genealogy.”
The New York Public Library has digitized about 700 yizkor books in partnership with the Yiddish Book Center. The digital collection is available here.
The Pinkas Project is “a collaborative effort to build an online catalog of pinkasim from immigrant communities.”
Yad Vashem Central Database of Shoah Victims’ Names
European Holocaust Research Infrastructure Portal
International Center on Nazi Persecution Arolsen Archives
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Holocaust Survivors and Victims Database
The Routes to Roots Foundation’s website has databases, maps, and articles related to Jewish genealogy research.
Miriam Weiner donated materials to YIVO, establishing the Miriam Weiner Genealogy Collection. More information about the collection can be found here.
While YIVO does not have access to the holdings of our partners at the Center for Jewish History, we would like to highlight some relevant collections.
Leo Baeck Institute
Submit reference inquiries here.
Vital Records of the Jewish Community in Vienna 1826-1938
Jacob Jacobson Collection
John H. Richter Collection
American Jewish Historical Society
Email at info@ajhs.org.
— Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) Records
— HIAS Boston
— Industrial Removal Office
— Jewish Immigrant Information Bureau (Galveston, TX)
— Mayor’s Court Briefs
— Selected Naturalization Documents
— Insolvent Debtors’ Cases
— Incorporation Papers
— Baron de Hirsch Fund
— United Service for New Americans
— Samuel Oppenheim Papers
— Brooklyn Hebrew Orphan Asylum
— Hebrew Infant Asylum of the City of New York
— Hebrew Sheltering Guardian Society of New York
— Home for Hebrew Infants
You can peruse the membership directory to see if there’s a local Jewish genealogical society in your area. There are also a variety of resources, including the cemetery project and the North American Jewish Community Books bibliography.