Jewish Roots in Poland
LC Class DS135.P6 W37 1997 | | |
Followed by | Jewish Roots in Ukraine and Moldova | |
---|---|---|
Website | RTRFoundation.org |
Jewish Roots in Poland: Pages from the Past and Archival Inventories is a book created by genealogist Miriam Weiner and co-published by The Miriam Weiner Routes to Roots Foundation and YIVO Institute for Jewish Research.[1] A searchable database of updated archival holdings listed in the book is available in the Archive Database on the Routes to Roots Foundation website.[2]
Overview
In 1997, in official cooperation with the Polish State Archives (Naczelna Dyrekcja Archiwów Państwowych in
Jewish Roots in Poland took over ten years to complete. The book includes an inventory of 1,250 towns and over 5,000 record entries for these towns. Sources of the material were the Polish State Archives (which included 75 archives throughout Poland), Urzad Stanu Cywilnego (which included 434 offices throughout Poland), and the Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw. Holocaust documents came from Majdanek Museum Archives and Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum Archives. There are over 300 color photos and over 200 black and white photos of 127 towns, 52 document examples, and 14 color maps.
Reception
Jewish Roots in Poland was the first work of its kind, as it collected details on archival documents from Poland and the former Soviet Union that had previously been deemed inaccessible or fundamentally lost. The book also serves multiple functions, so its diversity of offerings often made categorizing what the book was difficult. It is a combination of genealogical resources and Holocaust references as well as a coffee table book. Weiner's book can be categorized thusly: "It's a genealogy book; it's a Holocaust book; it's a coffee-table book; it's a scholarly reference book. It's also a travel book."[7]
In the New York Jewish Genealogical Society, Inc.'s publication, DOROT, their review called Jewish Roots in Poland Weiner's magnum opus, noting the genealogical holdings as well as the capsule town descriptions of 28 towns with large Jewish populations pre-WWII.[9] The New York Times highlighted the book's importance as an information resource as well as the feelings of poignancy and nostalgia captured in the many images throughout the work.[10]
The Forward described how Weiner was able to organize the original archival material – which lacked a town-by-town inventory and was uncatalogued and inaccessible for genealogical purposes – into a user-friendly format, with the data becoming accessible and organized.[11]
Awards
- 1999: International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies, Outstanding Contribution via Print Award: Miriam Weiner for Jewish Roots in Poland[12]
- 2000: Neographics, Best of Category: Reference Books/Directories to Routes to Roots Foundation[13]
Selected excerpts
Note: Jewish Roots in Poland is out of print. Miriam Weiner's non-profit Routes to Roots Foundation has made excerpts from the book available on the organization's website
- Skowronek, Jerzy (June 1996). Acknowledgements: Professor Jerzy Skowronek (PDF) (in English and Polish). Warsaw, Poland: Polish State Archives. pp. x–xi. OCLC 38756480.
- Nałęcz, Daria (June 1996). Acknowledgements: Dr. Daria Nałęcz, Director, Polish State Archives (Warsaw) (PDF) (in English and Polish). Warsaw, Poland: Polish State Archives. p. xii. OCLC 38756480.
- Olszewska, Urszula (June 1996). Acknowledgements: Urszula Olszewska, Director, Urzåd Stanu Cywilnego (Warszawa-Śródmieście) (PDF) (in English and Polish). Warsaw-Śródmieście, Poland: Urzåd Stanu Cywilnego. p. xiii. OCLC 38756480.
- Tych, Feliks (June 1996). Acknowledgements: Professor Feliks Tych, Director, Jewish Historical Institute (PDF) (in English and Polish). Warsaw, Poland: OCLC 38756480.
See also
References
- ^ "Publications: Jewish Roots in Poland: Pages from the Past and Archival Inventories". Routes to Roots Foundation. 1997.
- ^ "Search Archive Record Groups". Routes to Roots Foundation.
- OCLC 38756480.
- ^ Berenbaum, Dr. Michael (July 1998). "Miriam Weiner's Monumental Work on Polish Jewry". Together. New York, NY: American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and their Descendants: 19.
- ^ Gladstone, Bill (1998). "Weiner's Jewish Roots in Poland a ground-breaking inventory". BillGladstone.ca.
- ^ Blumenthal, Ralph (May 14, 1998). "Woman Helps Jews Trace Eastern European Roots". The New York Times.
- ^ a b Silverman, Marilyn (1999). "Jews Can Now Search for Their Polish Roots Miriam Weiner's Book Unlocks the Past". Jewish Post of New York.
- ^ Blatt, Warren (Spring 1998). "Jewish Roots in Poland - Book Review". JewishGen.
- ^ Friedlander, Alex E. (Winter 1997). "Book Reviews: Jewish Roots in Poland: Pages From the Past and Archival Inventories". DOROT. 19 (2). New York, NY: Jewish Genealogical Society, Inc.: 12–13.
- ^ Blumenthal, Ralph (5 April 1998). "Books in Brief: Nonfiction; Archives of Innocence". The New York Times.
- ^ Rosenbaum, Thane (20 February 1998). "An Ambitious Book Helps Jews Navigate the Complexities of Going Home". The Forward. p. 11.
- IAJGS. 12 August 1999.
- ^ "Neographics Best of Category". Neographics. 2000.
External links
- Routes to Roots Foundation
- Jewish Roots in Poland at Routes to Roots Foundation
- Routes to Roots Foundation's Archive Database – search includes Poland
- Routes to Roots Foundation's Image Database – search includes Poland