Genealogy

Tools for tracing Families & Ancestors

We continually receive many inquiries concerning whether we have any information in our archives, or among our membership, regarding family members from Kielce, and family murdered during the Holocaust. To aid in the search for families from Kielce, as well as research the fate of Jewish communities of the Kielce region, I have prepared a list of useful articles and links that may help you in your search.

 At CRARG (Czestochowa-Radomsko Area Research Group), there are 37,501 records for Kielce that are searchable, without fee or registration:  www.crarg.org/kielce. One need only provide one or both surnames to search Holocaust-Era Records, as well as Pre-Holocaust Records. The time period covered by this database is just before, during, and just after World War II.

I am, by no means a genealogist and I lack the necessary search skills and language skills to conduct a serious search. I have been fortunate in identifying a young, highly skilled genealogist, living in Kielce. With his help, I have been able to get valuable family documents that have opened the door to finding living relatives in Argentina and Israel.

Please feel free in contacting my genealogist (and translator) at his newly formed company:

Aron Raszkiewicz, Centrum Badan Genealogicznych
www.generationes.com/en/
aronraszkiewicz@gmail.com
Phone: +48 791 590 687

Descendants of Jewish Kielce Province

To receive updates on happenings in Kielce, related news, and interact with like minded members in a closed Facebook group, send a Facebook request to join Descendants of Jewish Kielce Province.


The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Search the Photo Archives section of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Type in a keyword, for instance, Kielce. You will get 336 photos. The photographs will come up in thumbnail form.  Click on image to enlarge. Enlarged image will appear with cataloguing information, including caption.
We suggest that you be more specific with your keyword request (ie. Kielce Zionist groups, Ostrowiec). You might try a family name or specific town. If you type in pogrom, you will get 793 photos. More specifically, type in Kielce pogrom (39 photos).


US National Archives

Research the records of the U.S. National Archives.
This page shows you how to start your family research, and provides useful tool s for genealogists and genealogical research.


Other Resources for Research and Information

To see if the shtetl or city your family comes from is in the Kielce region (Kieleckie), go to the Virtual Shtetl of Museum of The History of Polish Jews. Clicking on the town or city will show the location on a Google map and provide a gallery of images.

How to start a genealogical query?
This page offers many useful links and offers suggestions on what information needs to be collected before you begin your first query.

A Holocaust Geographic “How to” for Genealogists
Item submitted by Peter Landé

The State Archive in Kielce
Housed in the former Kielce Synagogue, contains the remaining records from before the way.

Searchable Database of Indexes to Jewish Records of Poland

Routes to Roots Foundation
Archive & Database

Jewish Records Indexing

Jewish Historical Institute

Museum of Family History
An extensive list of genealogical links and resources.

New York Public Library
Yiskor books
Also, read the original Hebrew/Yiddish publication of the monumental Sefer Kielce courtesy of the New York Public Library. Toldot Kehilat Kielce. Miyom Hivsuduh V’ad Churbanah. (Book of Kielce. History of the Community of Kielce. From Its Founding Until Its Destruction) Edited by: Pinchas Cytron, Tel Aviv, 1957.

The Sefer Kielce (Book of Kielce) provides a comprehensive history of the Jewish Community of Kielce, from its founding until its destruction. This book also includes portraits of some of the leaders, as well as, some of the central characters of the community, testimony, sketches and excerpts from diaries. There is also a chapter related to the pogrom in Kielce of July, 4, 1946. One way to find family is check the index of names in the back of the book. Also check the index of names in the back of The Martyrdom and Extermination of the Jews in Kielce During WW II. Professor Krzysztof Urbanski has painstaking written a highly detailed and comprehensively researched book.


The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Search the Photo Archives section of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Type in a keyword, for instance, Kielce. You will get 336 photos. The photographs will come up in thumbnail form.  Click on image to enlarge. Enlarged image will appear with cataloguing information, including caption.
We suggest that you be more specific with your keyword request (ie. Kielce Zionist groups, Ostrowiec). You might try a family name or specific town. If you type in pogrom, you will get 793 photos. More specifically, type in Kielce pogrom (39 photos).


US National Archives

Research the records of the U.S. National Archives.
This page shows you how to start your family research, and provides useful tool s for genealogists and genealogical research.