The JewishGen ShtetLinks Project:
Goals and Organization

JewishGen ShtetLinks is for those who want to place their own family histories in a wider context, to get beyond lists of names and dates.  The goal is to develop a kind of grass-roots atlas of Jewish life, a way to share the stories and histories of the cities, towns and villages where our ancestors lived.

If you have memoirs, historical material, photos, maps, or anything else that can illuminate a particular community, you're invited to contribute.  If you know how to set up a web page in HTML and are ready to design your own page(s), please see the ShtetLinks Policy and ShtetLinks Documentation, and contact the ShtetLinks Coordinators to let us know what shtetl you'd like to create a site for.  If you need help creating a ShtetLinks site, technical or conceptual, let us know and we'll try to assist.  You may want to do it yourself, or you might collaborate with others who have roots or interest in a particular town.  One good way to link up is through the JewishGen Family Finder (JGFF).

For full instructions for creating your own ShtetLinks site, look at our documentation.  It's an organic process with lots of room for new ideas, so feel free to develop your own approach within the guidelines.

To see which shtetls already have a ShtetLinks site, check out the ShtetLinks Directory.

If you are having difficulty locating your shtetl on the map, try the JewishGen ShtetlSeeker.

If you have a technical or administrative question about the project, you can contact the ShtetLinks coordinators (we are not equipped to assist you in your research, only to help you in contributing to the ShtetLinks project):

• Technical: Barbara Ellman
• Administrative: Susana Leistner Bloch

On behalf of the Board of Directors of JewishGen, Inc., we want to personally invite all of you to participate!  We always welcome your comments, suggestions and ideas.