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Historical Record Collections Added in March 2021

This past month, 6.7 million historical records were added to MyHeritage from three significant collections: Lithuanian-Jewish records from LitvakSIG, Jewish vital records from Vienna, and World War I casualty lists from Austria-Hungary. Much of the Lithuanian-Jewish records from LitvakSIG, and both collections from Austria cannot be found on other major commercial genealogy websites. These collections are valuable resources for people with roots in both the Jewish and the general communities of Lithuania or Austria-Hungary. With this month’s update, the total number of historical records on MyHeritage is now 13.2 billion records.

Here are more details about each of the collections:

CollectionDescription Number of RecordsLink to Search

Lithuanian-Jewish Records from LitvakSIG, 1795–1940
An index of Lithuanian-Jewish records from LitvakSIG from 1795 to 1940.4,187,073 recordsSearch collection now

Austria, Vienna, Jewish Vital Records, 1835–1938
An index of birth, marriage, and burial records for the Jewish community in Vienna, Austria from 1835 to 19381,036,598 recordsSearch collection now

Austria-Hungary, World War I Casualty Lists, 1914–1918

An index of casualty lists from Austria-Hungary from World War I from 1914 to 19181,561,302 recordsSearch collection now

Lithuanian-Jewish Records from LitvakSIG, 1795–1940 

For this collection, we partnered with LitvakSIG, a U.S.-based, non-profit organization that provides the primary online resource for Lithuanian-Jewish genealogy research worldwide. The records in the collection were originally translated and indexed by LitvakSIG, and represent almost the entire corpus of LitvakSIG’s work over more than twenty years.

The 4 million records in this collection are of several different types: revision lists, vital records, tax and voter lists, and household registers and other records pertaining to the Lithuanian-Jewish (Litvak) population from the period of the Russian Empire (1795–First World War) to the period of independent Lithuania (1919–1940). The records contain the names of several family members in addition to the primary person, such as the father, mother, spouse, paternal grandfather, and maternal grandfather. Most records contain the date and place of the pertinent event, and may include a secondary event such as the year or place of birth. The majority of records are from cities in present-day Lithuania. However, due to various geopolitical changes during the time period of this collection, the records are not limited to the modern boundaries of Lithuania, and the places listed in records may also be located in present-day Poland, Belarus, or other neighboring countries.

Most of these records cannot be found on other commercial genealogy websites. Together with MyHeritage’s advanced search and matching technologies — which overcome language barriers and provide matches to family trees in English, Russian, and Hebrew among other languages — these records will open a new frontier of discovery for individuals who are researching their Lithuanian-Jewish heritage.

To learn more about Lithuanian-Jewish Records from LitvakSIG, 1795–1940, please read our dedicated blog post: MyHeritage Releases a Significant Collection of Lithuanian-Jewish Historical Records.

Search Lithuanian-Jewish Records from LitvakSIG, 1795–1940

Austria, Vienna, Jewish Vital Records, 1835–1938

The 1 million historical records in this collection include an index to birth, marriage, and burial records for the Jewish community in Vienna, Austria. Birth records include first and last name, the date of birth and birthplace, and the names of the parents. Marriage records include the name of the bride and groom, the date of marriage, and the location. Death records include the name of the deceased, the date of death, and the location. 

Birth records are available until 1916, while marriage and burial records go through 1938. When available for a record, you will also find information on the book, volume, page, and issue numbers.

Search Austria, Vienna, Jewish Vital Records, 1835–1938

Austria-Hungary, World War I Casualty Lists, 1914–1918

The 1.5 million records in this collection is an index of casualty lists from Austria-Hungary from World War I. Records contain the name, the date of birth, the birthplace, military information pertaining to the casualty such as rank or unit, and the date of casualty list. In some cases, the date or place of death may also be available. Records often also contain a casualty list number, the type of casualty, a page number, and any additional comments.

Since the records are from the multinational state that was Austria-Hungary, the individuals in the records can be from any modern-day country that was previously part of Austria-Hungary. Notably, the collection contains records of individuals born in modern-day Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic (formerly Bohemia or Moravia), Poland (formerly Galicia), Ukraine (formerly Galicia), Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The casualty lists represent quite a diverse range of individuals. They feature soldiers of nearly every rank, from low-ranking volunteers to officers, as well as soldiers of the Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim faiths.

When perusing this collection, note that given names are often spelled in the original language of the casualty list. For example, a person named Joseph might also be found as Joszef or Josef. Soldiers are generally listed under only one first name and a last name.

Also note that the date of the casualty list doesn’t necessarily indicate the date of the soldier’s death. A casualty list from the last year of the war (1918) could still contain casualties from the first year of the war (1914) that hadn’t been reported yet.

Search Austria-Hungary, World War I Casualty Lists, 1914–1918

Examples

Exile record of Leah Goldberg’s mother

The Lithuanian-Jewish Records from LitvakSIG contains the exile record of Leah Goldberg’s mother. Leah Goldberg (1911–1970) is among the most celebrated Hebrew-language poets, authors, and playwrights. She was born in Konigsberg (now Kaliningrad), Prussia, in 1911, and spent her childhood in Kovno, Lithuania. During World War I, her family was exiled to Russia.

The collection contains a record of the exile of Leah’s mother, Tsila, from 1915 and her return to Siauliai, in the Kaunas region, in 1921.

Leah and her mother moved to Tel Aviv in 1935.

Exile record of Tsila Goldberg [Credit: MyHeritage Lithuanian-Jewish Records from LitvakSIG, 1795-1940]
Exile record of Tsila Goldberg [Credit: MyHeritage Lithuanian-Jewish Records from LitvakSIG, 1795-1940]

Birth Record of Judith Deutsch 

The Austria, Vienna, Jewish Vital Records, 1835–1938 collection contains the birth record of Austrian swim champion Judith Deutsch. Judith held the title Austrian Sportswoman of the Year in 1935 and received the Gold Medal of Honor for one of the most outstanding Austrian sports personalities in 1936. The record includes her father and mother’s names, her birthdate and birthplace.

Birth record of Judith Deutsch [Credit: MyHeritage Austria, Vienna, Jewish Vital Records, 1835-1938]
Birth record of Judith Deutsch [Credit: MyHeritage Austria, Vienna, Jewish Vital Records, 1835-1938]

Casualty Record of Ernst Strohschneider

The Austria-Hungary, World War I Casualty Lists collection includes the record of World War I flying ace Ernst Strohschneider. Ernst was credited with 15 aerial victories from 1916 to 1918. In the casualty record below, we see a record of an earlier injury from 1914. The record shows his birth year, his casualty list date, his rank, unit, and subunit.

Casualty record of Ernst Strohschneider [Credit: MyHeritage Austria-Hungary, World War I Casualty Lists, 1914-1918]
Casualty record of Ernst Strohschneider [Credit: MyHeritage Austria-Hungary, World War I Casualty Lists, 1914-1918]

Summary

We hope these important collections offer new insights into your family history. Searching these collections on MyHeritage is free. To view these records or to save records to your family tree, you’ll need a Data or Complete plan.

If you have a family tree on MyHeritage, our Record Matching technology will notify you automatically if records from these collections match your relatives. You’ll then be able to review the record and decide if you’d like to add the new information to your tree.

Enjoy the new collections!

The post Historical Record Collections Added in March 2021 appeared first on MyHeritage Blog.

Source: My Heritage

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