GENEALOGICAL AND RESEARCH RESOURCES

UPDATED 21 August 2010

First, a word or two...

It has taken me quite a lot of time and effort to build a catalogue of reliable and useful resources, and these sites in particular are the tricks of the Czech & Jewish World War II-era research trade, so to speak. I use them pretty much every day. By giving you these links and a real explanation of what each site does, the idea is to save you from needlessly expending your energy (and possibly money) on dead-end resources. There are millions of special interest sites out there and just as many people who can't or won't help you. So now you can go forth into the internet ether and tangibly benefit from work that's already been done!

Good luck!
-Jason (email)

ps:  I'm not getting paid or sponsored in any way, shape, or form by any person or organization for posting these links.


Essential Holocaust Research and Resource Sites

Yad Vashem [ http://www.yadvashem.org ]
       Yad Vashem is an invaluable resource for Holocaust history and research. This is the best starting place for anyone who wants to learn about anything Holocaust-related.

Yad Vashem - Central Database of Shoah Victims' Names [http://www.yadvashem.org/wps/portal/IY_HON_Welcome]
       A direct link to the Victims Database. This database is absolutely indispensible for those who want to learn the fates of their relatives.

Terezín Initiative Institute (Site available in Czech, English, and German) [http://www.holocaust.cz/]
       Terezín is a town and former ghetto and concentration camp in north Czech Republic. Many victims from many countries were imprisoned there before being shipped off to other camps, so you'll find some valuable data here.

Terezín Initiative Institute - Databáze Obětí (Czech only) [ http://www.holocaust.cz/cz2/victims/victims ]
       Search the archive by name, birthdate, address, and/or district, for victims. An invaluable resource.

JewishGen [ http://www.jewishgen.org ]
       JewishGen has innumerable resources, database, and documents.  They're a top-notch organization and a major clearing house for Holocaust information of all kinds, including information on victims.

International Tracing Service (Site available in several languages) [ http://www.its-arolsen.org ]
       The ITS will search their 50 million-odd records for the fate of Holocaust victims. The ITS was created expressly for the descendents of Shoah victims and is sponsored by the German government.


Czech Genealogical Resources

Czech National Archives - English version [ http://www.nacr.cz/eindex.htm ]
       Not limited to genealogical research, the NACR have a lot of very relevant information which is useful to genealogists. Their archives are mostly not digitized, so most meaningful research will have to be done in person at the archive, by hiring an independent genealogist in Czech Republic, or by hiring a researcher at the NACR. The most immediately useful resource on this site is the Conscriptions Applications database - there's a link right there on the front page.

New Jewish Cemetery Mapping Project [ http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~erichl/prague_zizkov/prague.htm ]
       An ongoing effort to index and cross-reference graves and names in the Nový Židovský Hřbitov in Prague.  Really interesting, and potentially a terrific resource.

The Jewish Museum of Prague (Czech and English) [ http://www.jewishmuseum.cz ]
       A potentially useful resource; a lot of information is available through this organization. Unfortunately some of it will cost you money and honestly they haven't been that helpful to me, i.e. not responding to emails, etc.
       

Other Sites and Resources Related to CzechRoots.net

CAST - Czech and Slovak Things [ http://webspace.webring.com/people/fc/czechandslovakthings/WW2_aguide.htm ]
       Contains tons of information on Czech expatriates who made it to England during the war, as well as a great deal of related information and other resources for learning more about the same folks. 

Rohel - Bach - Bohm - Loeb + Associates [ http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~prohel/index.html ]
       Peter Rohel (a relative of mine) has done extraordinarly detailed and exhaustive work on his background and all interconnected family lines. We keep in touch so you'll see some duplicate information on either site.

Progenies.Info (Karel and Klara Fous) [ http://www.progenies.info/ ]
       Karel is a professional genealogist, relative of mine by marriage, and my friend. He is a very capable genealogist as you can see from his extensive works. If you need help getting stuff together about your family, you can hire him to go do the research on your behalf. He is Czech and lives in Prague, and both he and Klara speak English very well. Aside from being a totally legit researcher, Karel is a great guy and has a delightful family.

Österreichische Nationalbibliotek - Prager Tagblatt archive [ http://anno.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/anno?aid=ptb ]
       Austrian National Library newspaper archive containing digitized German-language newpapers from Prague, published 1876-1938! Awesome resource.

Wordbook: Multidictionary [ http://www.wordbook.cz/index.php ]
       Czech-English-German multi-dictionary.  Extremely useful, especially with a language as convoluted as Czech.

Austrian Cemetery Database [ http://friedhof.ikg-wien.at/search.asp?lang=en ]
       Search Austrian cemeteries for your Czech ancestors.  Modern Austria is right next door to Czech Republic. In the olden days they were basically one state, integral to the Austro-Hungarian empire, so lots of folks went back and forth between Vienna (Wien) and Prague, Brno, and Bratislava among many other places. Very helpful research tool.

Peter Lowe's Genealogy Site [ http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~pnlowe/index.htm ]
       Peter is a distant relative, but he has a Klinger-family connection and some good information on his site.



Jewish, Holocaust, and Historical Sites of Particular Interest

Holocaust Era & Archive Research Team [ http://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/toc.html ]
       This site contains a great deal of metric information from a significant number of Jewish ghettos and concentration and death camps.  There are also pictures and other digitized documents of interest to Holocaust researchers. The information is comprehensive, thoughtfully organized, and objective. Superb site.

The Museum of Family History [ http://www.museumoffamilyhistory.com ]
       This site publishes a very broad scope of information related to Jewish history and ancestry. There is some Holocaust history, but there's a great deal of other fascinating information as well.

International Jewish Cemetery Project [ http://www.iajgsjewishcemeteryproject.org ] -≡| Added 29 August 2010 |≡-
       The proprietors of this site catalogue, maintain, and publish detailed historical and demographic data about Jewish cemeteries around the world.