icon to view updates) Revised for the 27th IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy, Salt Lake City
July 16, 2007
Handout for the Bukovina Update (in pdf format) , as presented by Merle Kastner at Salt Lake City
Latest update: August 1, 2009 (look for the icon to view updates)
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Map of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Bukovina is shown to the east of Galicia. |
Bukovina (Bukowina, Bucovina) is a region in northern Romania and western Ukraine that until WWI was the easternmost province of the Austrian Empire. After suffering through two world wars, and following the split of the province between Romania and Ukraine at the close of the Second World War, there are some unique challenges to overcome in searching for remnants of our family history in this region. Over the last few years, many new resources for research on our Jewish ancestors from Bukovina have become available. This presentation will review some of the resources available now and others that will become available soon.
A. Romanian records are fairly complete.
From Prof. Ladislau Gyemant of Cluj-Napoca, Romania: These Jewish records can be found in the State Archives in Suceava:
B. Local town halls in Romania have more recent records.
Town halls may allow more access than permitted by the State Archives- varies from town to town.
C. In Ukraine, records are incomplete, vary from place to place, most are at the Oblast and City (ZAGS or RAHS) Archives in Chernivtsi.
Best information on records available can be found at the web site of the Routes to Roots Foundation; see also article by Prof. Alti Rodal in Avotaynu, Winter 2002.
Some foreign visitors to the Oblast as well as RAHS (City) Archives have successfully obtained records.
The LDS Family History Library began a major project in 2002 to microfilm records at the Oblast Archives in Chernivtsi. The following records are available at Family History Centers around the world:
Czernowitz city birth, marriage and death records, 1856-1929, 38 reels of microfilm
Czernowitz city birth and marriage records, 1930-1933, 4 reels of microfilm (Jewish records are mixed here with Catholic, Evangelical and Orthodox records.)
Czernowitz "district" birth records, 1901-1923 ( Czernowitz "district" includes the following towns: Altmamajestie, Czahor, Kamena, Kiczera, Korowja, Kotul Bainski, Kuczumare, Ludihorecza, Lukawitza, Mamornitza, Michalcze, Molodia, Neumamajestie, Ostritza, Rewna, Strilecki Kut, Woloka, and Zurin
Sadagora district, selected vital records only, 1855-1930
Waschkoutz am Czeremosch (Vashkivtsi) birth records, 1918-1928, includes surrounding villages
Wiznitz (Vyzhnytsia) birth and marriage records, 1918-1923, includes surrounding villages
Obituary notices from Vienna's Neue Freie Presse for Czernowitzers and others from Bukovina (courtesy of Celia Male)
D. The professional researcher option): This listing implies no warranty on the part of JewishGen or this ShtetLinks page and is provided only as a convenience. All researchers are encouraged to investigate each professional listed privately, thus performing due diligence prior to engaging in any contractual arrangement.
Please use caution before contracting with an overseas professional. Seek out recommendations, and establish all costs and methods of payment prior to engaging an overseas researcher.
Professionals in Romania:
Cosmin CIOCAN <codast@gmx.net>
Ladislau GYEMANT <Gyemant@zortec.ro>
Dan JUMARA <documentis_gen@hotmail.com>
Gheorghe MIREUTA <ram@sisnet.ro>
Victor NEUMANN <vneumann@mail.dnttm.ro>
Professional in or near Czernowitz:
Alexander DUNAI <dunai@dunai.lviv.ua>
Natalia Pechonkina (not a professional, but a volunteer who works for Chesed Shushana in Chernivtsi) <pechh@sacura.net>
II. Lists of students, farmers, voters, businesses
Jewish farmers in the Bukowina, 1808, from Manfred Reifer, Historische Schriften, Czernowitz 1938
List of small business and owners in the Bukowina, from Archiv-Auskünfte über die Firmen Galiziens und der Bukowina (Krakau 1914-15)
Students of the Czernowitz Gymnasium, 1853-1890, also students of the Radautz Gymnasium, 1892, 1896
Graduates of the Radautz Gymnasium, 1885-1896
Bukowina
Officials 1876, from Hof- und Staats-Handbuch der österreichisch-ungarischen
Monarchie
Alexander Dunai <dunai@dunai.lviv.ua> reports that the following can be found in the Chernivtsi archives:
1924/1925 Business Directory for Romania: Posted on the Library of Congress web site, but can be readily searched via the link found at the bottom of Logan Kleinwaks' web site http://www.kalter.org
III. Landsmannschaft burial plots, and current societies
Bukowina Jews World Union: - They are located in Israel, and have a branch chapter at B'nei Zion in New York.
For direct contacts in Israel for Storozhinets, Radautz, Czernowitz and other Jewish communities, contact: The Bukovina Jews World Union at <http://www.bukovinajewsworldunion.org/> or <http://www.bukowina.org.il/>
From the Jewish Genealogical Society of New York -
Searchable database for New York City landsmannschaft burial plot locations
http://www.jgsny.org/searchcity.htm
A partial list follows:
IV. Yizkor books
History of Radautz by Rabbi Israel Harnik (unpublished work, 1948, found at the Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People). This manuscript, orginally written in German using Hebrew letters, has been translated into English.
Geschichte der Juden in der Bukowina [History of the Jews in the Bukowina], Hugo Gold, ed., Olamenu Publishers, Tel Aviv, Volume I, 1958 and Volume II, 1962 - the premier Yizkor book for Bukovina. See existing English translations.
Pinkas Hakehillot Romania (Encyclopedia of Jewish Communities), Volume 2 (Romania), Published by Yad Vashem. Includes various chapters on Bukowina communities. See Radautz, Siret, and Sadagura online, in English.
Jüdische Vatikan in Sadagora, 1850-1950, Volume I, and Volume II, Mordechai Rubinstein, 1954: In German. (two volumes)
Gura Humora, a Small Town in Southern Bukovina. published by the Association of Former Residents of Gura Humora and Environs. Parts of this book are on the web .
The Last Jews of Radauti, text by Ayse Gursan-Salzmann; photographs by Laurence Salzmann, Dial Press ; Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1983, 146 pp. Out of print but available through used book sellers.
Radauts : okehilah Yehudit bi-tsemiohatah uvi-sheoki'atah (Radauts: the Rise and Decline of its Jewish Community) by Yisrael Margalit, Israel: Irgun Yotse Radauts (Bukovinah) [Organization of Former Residents of Radautz-Bukowina in Israel] 1990, 296 p., in Hebrew and German, Library of Congress Call No. DS135.R72R336 1990. To acquire this book, contact:
Mr. Emil Grabstein
Organization of Former Radautz Bukowina Residents
POB 11244
Tel Aviv 61112
ISRAEL
Yizkor Book for the Martyrs of Ciudin (Mezhirech'ye {Chudyn, Czudyn}, Ukraine) Manuscript written by Eisig Moses, August 1998, published on the web in 2002
The Book of Suceava (Shotz) Jews - published in 2007 by the Association of Former Residents from Suceava (Shotz) and Surroundings.
See also summary of some Bukowina resources at <http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/suceava/suceava.htm>.
V. Holocaust era resources
Druker's List - This listing and map of holocaust era burials in Transnistria was described in an article by Zvi Oster and was visited in 2002 by Melita Fuhrman Vickter. A database of names of those buried in Moghilev-Podolsky is soon to appear on JewishGen.
Marc Goldberger supplied information on Yad Vashem microfilm holdings relating to the Czernowitz community.
Per Steve Garber: Information is available from the archives of the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. Examples: Names of victims of War Crimes compiled by a Soviet commission in 1945, consisting of lists of names in Russian from the Vashkovtsy rayon, Chernovtsy Oblast,Ukraine. These names are from the towns of Vilavche, Dracinets, Russ-Banilla, Unter-Stanestie, and Karanchi. Similar lists are available for Wiznitz (Vizhnitsa).
Memorial stone for Radauti, Romania, at the Holon (Israel) Cemetery. Has list of names and contact information can be obtained.
The JewishGen Holocaust Database now includes several substantial lists of importance for Bukovina family history research. A surname-only search of this database is free.
Claims Conference-Romania (information from the Central Zionist Archives in Israel)
Transnistria: Jews Receiving and Sending Support
Balta Ghetto
Balta Orphans
Balta Batallions
Deportations from Dorohoi to Transnistria
Cernauti, Romania / Chernivsti, Ukraine Lists -- close to 4,000 records regarding residents of Czernowitz (and some additional locations in Bukovina) between 1940 and 1943
Edgar Hauster reports in June 2009:
There is a "Jewish File" of the prefecture Radautz for the year 1941.
It contains confidential and classified records, i.e.
ordinances of Ion Antonescu of the Ministry for Internal Affairs
denunciations
ghetto in Radautz
Jewish hostages
records regarding the deportation to and release from Transnistria of Jews from Radautz
listings of Jews from Radautz
Other files in Radauti Town Hall or the Suceava Regional Archives:
A 1946 file with listings of the repatriates from Czernowitz and Northern Bukovina arriving in Siret in March/April 1946. These listings cover more than 20,000 names and are of particular interest for Czernowitzers, as most of the surviving Jews were thrown out (repatriated) by the Soviets in 1946.
In addition: Voter Listings for Radautz for the year 1948. The listings include the names, birthdays, professions, addresses and give an overview for the adult Radautz (official) population of the year 1948.
Research on these holdings and their historical and genealogical value continues.
VI. Shtetlinks and Similar Pages
Radauti, Romania - http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/radauti/radautz.html
Sadgura, Ukraine - http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/sadgura/sadgura.html
Gura Humorului, Romania - http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/guraho/gurahumo.htm
Suceava, Romania - http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/suceava/suceava.htm
Storozhinets - http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/storojinet/
Czernowitz/Chernivtsi, Ukraine - http://czernowitz.ehpes.com/
Czernowitz - Town with a Jewish Past - exhibition from the Museum of Family History
VII. Historical Resources
Czernowitz Jewish community (Kehilah) records have been microfilmed by the Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People. They have not yet been completely cataloged thus the contents, which are mostly of historical and not genealogical value, are not yet precisely described.
VIII. Cemetery Indexing and Restoration
1. Prof. Alti Rodal reported at the 2002 International Conference on Jewish Genealogy on a project to digitally photograph all tombstones in the Czernowitz Jewish Cemetery. This project, sponsored by the Jewish Genealogical Society of Ottawa, Canada, and spearheaded by several members working with Dr. George Bolotenko of the Canadian National Archives (Ottawa), intends to produced a free, searchable, internet database of names linked to images of tombstones. Other towns such as Sadgura and Hotin (Ukraine) are to be included as well. See: Rodal, Alti. Winter 2002. Bukovina Cemeteries, Archives and Oral History. Avotaynu. The burial register has been computerized through 1947, and as of August, 2009, over 12,000 burial records (with pictures of associated tombstones) have been posted on the JewishGen Online Worldwide Burial Registry. More about the Czernowitz Cemetery indexing project can be found on the Czernowitz discussion group web site.
2. Restoration of the Radauti, Romania, Jewish cemetery is underway. The cemetery is being cleared, the Ohels of the Radauti Rabbis are being repaired, and each stone is being photographed and posted on the web. Follow this project at <http://www.radautz-jewisheritage.org>. An index to Sections A and B, along with photographs, was posted in August 2006. In October, 2006, an index was posted for plot 19. A very complete index of the entire cemetery was recently posted on this web site. On the home page, click on "Latest News" and view the index pages sorted by surname or by plot. The same group responsible for this restoration project is also working with an international team to fund the restoration of the Radauti Great Temple as well as the Siret and Suceava cemeteries.
3. Restoration of the Czernowitz Cemetery (on Zelena Street) is underway, organized by the Czernowitz Discussion Group, in conjunction with Dr. Josef Bursuk, leader of Chesed-Shushana, in Chernivtsi. See additional pictures and information here.
4. A collection of excellent quality photos of many Bukovina cemeteries (including Radautz, Czernowitz, Storozhynets, Siret, Suceava, Mihaileni, and Sadagora) can be found by clicking here. Webmaster Jerome Schatten gathered and organized these photos from multiple sources, including the work of Hannelore Condiescu, Sasha Wolloch and Edgar Hauster. In addition, the well-preserved cemetery of Russ-Banilla (Banyliv, Ukraine today) was extensively photographed this year, and posted by Luke Rothman.
5. Die Sprechenden Steine von Siret (The Speaking Tombstones of Siret), by Weggemann, Montigel, and Meyer. This is an impressive and professional 2001 publication describing the cemeteries of the Siret Jewish community, and how these stones reflect the history of the Jewish culture which is now gone.
6. A new book has been published (June 2009) on the Jewish cemeteries of the Bukowina region. An announcement appears on the web site of the writer, Ruth Ellen Gruber.
«Jewish Cemeteries of the Bucovina»
by Simon Geissbühler
ISBN 978-973-1805-50-4
Romanian, Ukrainian, English, French, and German.
This book may soon be available via commercial booksellers, but can also be obtained directly from the author <simon.geissbuehler@eda.admin.ch>. Though very fews Jews remain in the Bucovina, the cemeteries represent the culture and prominence of the Jewish populations of pre-WWII Romania. This volume provides information on and pictures of the Jewish cemeteries of Campulung Moldovenesc, Vama, Gura Humorului, Solca, Arbore, Radauti, Moldovita, Siret, Mihaileni, Storozhynets, Vyzhnytsia, Banilov, Vashkivtsi, Novoselitsa, and Hertsa.
IX. Final Suggestion:
Many of our Bukowina ancestors lived in Galicia at one time or another. Many Galician records are searchable online via Jewish Records Indexing - Poland. Don't hesitate to try your luck with this database of 2 million+ records.
Updated 1 August 2009