Gesher Galicia

Summary

Gesher Galicia is a Jewish genealogical nonprofit organization, operating as a special interest group for those with Jewish roots from the former Austrian-ruled province of Galicia, part of modern-day western Ukraine and southeastern Poland.[1][2][3]

Gesher Galicia
Formation1993
FounderSuzan Wynne
TypeNonprofit
Services
FieldsJewish genealogy
President
Steven S. Turner
Websitegeshergalicia.org

The organization's specific purposes are to conduct research, education, publish the Gesher Galicia Family Finder, reproduce regional and cadastral maps, maintain networking and online discussion groups, and to promote and support Jewish heritage and preservation work in the areas of the former Galicia.[4][5] Its research includes the indexing of archival vital records, Holocaust records, surveys, and census books.[6]

Gesher Galicia is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.[7] It is an associate member of the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies.[8]

History edit

Gesher Galicia was founded as a special interest group in the summer of 1993 by Suzan Wynne, a teacher, lecturer, author, and founding member of the Jewish Genealogy Society of Greater Washington.[9]

The organization has collaborated with several national archives, among them, the Central Archives of Historical Records (AGAD), one of Poland's four national archives, with whom they covered topics such as the AGAD's records, Jewish-Galician records in other Polish and Ukrainian archives, Holocaust records, maps and cadastral surveys, and non traditional record sources at a symposium held in Warsaw in 2018.[10][11]

Research edit

The core mission of Gesher Galicia is to generate genealogical data, with a focus on the Jewish population that once lived in the former province of Galicia. The organization also contributes sources that are useful for historical and cultural research of the area. Research is conducted in the archives in Poland and Ukraine, and is complemented by archival collections in Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Israel, and elsewhere pertaining to Galician Jews. Gesher Galicia’s researchers extract key data, namely from vital records (birth, marriage, and death records), as well as from other sources of interest, such as census, property, school, voter, and tax records.[12] Special projects include the Holocaust,[13] Taxpayer,[14] Jewish Medical Students,[15] Jewish students from Galicia in Vienna [16] and Josephine and Franciscan cadastral surveys.[17] Gesher Galicia provides an open access to two search engines. The Record Inventories[18] is a web-based tool for identifying archival sources for Jewish records from Galicia across a range of archives and from different countries, as collected by several organizations. The All Galicia Database,[19] on the other hand, allows researchers to search for individuals based on the records indexed by Gesher Galicia, from the period 1786 to 1945.


The Galitzianer edit

The Galitzianer is a quarterly journal provided to the members of Gesher Galicia. The journal features material broadly linked to Jewish life in Austrian Galicia (1772-1918) and during other periods, including the Holocaust.[20]The Galitizianer features updates on archival records and genealogical research, as well as a range of family stories and articles on the history of Galicia.[21] Its contributors include genealogists and authors from cultural and academic institutions.[20] Periodically, the journal publishes a special series of articles, such as genealogy lessons or articles on Galician Jewish contributions to politics or the arts.

Structure edit

Leadership edit

  • Suzan Wynne (1993-1997)
  • Shelley Pollero (1998-2005)[22]
  • Pamela Weisberger (2006-2015)[23]
  • Tony Kahane (2015-2019)[22]
  • Steven S. Turner (2019–present)[24]

References edit

  1. ^ Bentley, Elizabeth Petty (2009). The Genealogist's Address Book: State and Local Resources (6th ed.). Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.: Genealogical Publishing Company. p. 690. ISBN 978-0-8063-1796-0.
  2. ^ "Lily Weisberger-Kaufman and Nicholas Coleman". The New York Times. 4 October 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2021. Gesher Galicia, a nonprofit genealogical research group.
  3. ^ "Gesher Galicia". polin.pl/. POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews. 10 June 2019. Retrieved 16 November 2021. Gesher Galicia is a non-profit organization that promotes and conducts Jewish genealogical research for Galicia, a province of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire, which is today part of eastern Poland and southwestern Ukraine.
  4. ^ "Gesher Galicia". www.gratz.edu/. Gratz College. Retrieved 16 November 2021. Gratz College and Gesher Galicia have a shared mission to enhance Jewish and Holocaust education . . ., The research work includes the indexing of archival vital records and census books, Holocaust-period records, Josephine and Franciscan cadastral surveys, lists of Jewish taxpayers, and records of Galician medical students and doctors.
  5. ^ Nazar, Yaroslav (6 September 2016). "Пространство Синагог: как во Львове возрождают еврейские памятники" (in Ukrainian). Lviv, Ukraine: BBC News. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  6. ^ "Jewish Medical Students Project". jewishgen.org/. JewishGen. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  7. ^ "Welcome Gesher Galicia, Inc!". icar-us.eu/. International Centre for Archival Research. 22 July 2014. Retrieved 16 November 2021. Gesher Galicia is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
  8. ^ "Member Societies". iajgs.org/. International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  9. ^ ""The Galitzianers: The Jews of Galicia" with Suzan Wynne". The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington. 11 March 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  10. ^ "Save the Date: Gesher Galicia/ AGAD Symposium 2018". Austrian Jewish Genealogical Society. 30 November 2017. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  11. ^ "Indexing the 19th Century and early 20th Century Jewish vital records of 93 towns and villages in the former Austrian Province of Galicia". JRI-Poland. February 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  12. ^ "Gesher Galicia | Muzeum Historii Żydów Polskich POLIN w Warszawie". polin.pl. Retrieved 2021-11-21.
  13. ^ "Gesher Galicia // Researching Jewish roots in the former Austro-Hungarian province of Galicia, now Poland and Ukraine". www.geshergalicia.org. Retrieved 2021-11-21.
  14. ^ "Gesher Galicia // Researching Jewish roots in the former Austro-Hungarian province of Galicia, now Poland and Ukraine". www.geshergalicia.org. Retrieved 2021-11-21.
  15. ^ "Gesher Galicia // Researching Jewish roots in the former Austro-Hungarian province of Galicia, now Poland and Ukraine". www.geshergalicia.org. Retrieved 2021-11-21.
  16. ^ "Jews from Galicia at the Export Academy and the University of World Trade in Vienna (1898-1938)". groups.jewishgen.org. Retrieved 2021-11-23.
  17. ^ "Gesher Galicia // Researching Jewish roots in the former Austro-Hungarian province of Galicia, now Poland and Ukraine". www.geshergalicia.org. Retrieved 2021-11-21.
  18. ^ "Galician Record Inventories: A new tool for genealogists". groups.jewishgen.org. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
  19. ^ "The All Galicia Database // Gesher Galicia // Researching Jewish roots in the former Austro-Hungarian province of Galicia, now Poland and Ukraine". search.geshergalicia.org. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
  20. ^ a b "The Galitzianer". geshergalicia.org/. Gesher Galicia. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  21. ^ Zalewski, Andrew, ed. (March 2018). "Volume 25, Number 1" (PDF). The Galitizianer. Vol. 25. Gesher Galicia. p. 4. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  22. ^ a b "The Board of Directors of Gesher Galicia 2021" . Gesher Galicia. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  23. ^ Hepps, Tammy (27 September 2015). "The Living Legacy of Pamela Weisberger z"l". Avotaynu. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  24. ^ Danailova, Hilary (November 2020). "A Pilgrimage Through Ancestral Lands". Hadassah Magazine. Retrieved 17 November 2021. Gesher Galicia, the genealogy group of which he is president.

External links edit

  • Gesher Galicia