LitvakSIG is the primary internet resource for Lithuanian-Jewish ("Litvak") genealogy research worldwide.
Our mission is to preserve Litvak heritage by discovering, collecting, documenting and disseminating information about the once vibrant Jewish community of Lithuania.
LitvakSIG has long-term relationships with the archives in Lithuania. In addition to translating records that are relevant to all parts of Lithuania, we also maintain a number of geographic-specific Research Groups (often referred to as "District Research Groups", or "DRGs").
The primary mission of a Research Group is to identify and collect data for that group’s territorial area of interest from available records for Lithuania from the Russian Empire Period (1795 to First World War) and the period of Independent Lithuania (1919-1940) including Vilna Guberniya. A contributor to a Research Group or Project gains advance access to the data collected by the group or project. The data is typically provided in Excel format.
The highlight of our work is the All Lithuania Database (ALD), which is a free, searchable database that currently has more than 2,500,000 records and is updated quarterly.
LitvakSIG thanks its volunteers who make it all possible
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LitvakSIG Welcomes our new Webmaster
LitvakSIG is excited to announce the addition of Simon Zelman as our webmaster. Simon has been a volunteer for LitvakSIG for many years, both as a District Research Group Coordinator and a volunteer translator. He officially started his assignment on October 1st of this year after Barry Halpern stepped down after years of dedicated service. We salute Barry for his many contributions to LitvakSIG, and welcome Simon and wish him well.
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We’re thrilled to announce that our LitvakSIG Discussion Forum is now available! For the coming weeks, we’ll be doing a "soft launch" to ensure that all is ready, though we’ve been testing it for a while now. However, you should feel free to try it out!
Our new Forum was developed solely for LitvakSIG and although it will have some similarities and differences from other forums you may use (or have used), both the scope and guidelines of the LitvakSIG Discussion Forum are unique to LitvakSIG. You can learn more about the details of using our forum by clicking here.
- If you already have a LitvakSIG account, then you can go directly to the Forum by clicking here.
- If you don’t have an account with LitvakSIG, you can create a free account and access the Forum by going here.
- Up until now, having an account with LitvakSIG most likely means you have made a contribution to a Research Group or are a LitvakSIG member. Current account holders are automatically eligible to use the forum. A link to it will now appear within your "Member’s Dashboard". As soon as possible, others, such as subscribers to the previous LitvakSIG discussion group/digest, will be able to open a FREE LitvakSIG account so they can participate in the LitvakSIG Discussion Forum.
- If you want to receive a daily email summary of new posts, you’ll need to go into your account settings and make a selection. Initially, your account is set to "no notifications". For further information, go here.
- For any technical questions about the Forum, please contact webmaster@litvaksig.org
- For any content questions about the Forum, please contact moderator@litvaksig.org
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Check out our webpage under the "Research" (green tab) above. "Power Up" is the second item in the dropdown menu. Links to the recordings are available on our “Power Up” page.
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Note to all members, donors, and contributors about accessing various areas of the website: After you log in (using the green "login to your account" tab on the right), you will be taken to your login page. On the left is a green tab saying "member’s dashboard". Click on that link and you will then be taken to a page that displays links to all sections of the website to which you have access. For example, if you’re a "member", you’ll see a link to the "members" area of the website. If you’re a DRG donor, you’ll see a link to "Collective Data" as well as to each DRG to which you have access.
For step by step instructions on downloading the Excel spreadsheets to which you have access, click on " download instructions.pdf".
IF you are accessing LitvakSIG.org and do not see or cannot find the "login to your account" button, you can go directly to it by entering "donors.litvaksig.org".
If you have any technical questions about the use of this website, please contact our webmaster at webmaster@litvaksig.org.
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Vilnius Household Registers Project ("VHR")
The Lithuanian Central State Archive (LCVA) collection includes over 13,000 Vilnius household registers containing millions of lines of detailed information about Vilnius residents and visitors to Vilnius during the interwar period. This incomparable genealogical resource was brought to our attention a few years ago. Since then, and especially over the last several years, we have begun to index these records and work out the many details necessary to create a practical project.
Read all about the registers and our project at our VHR home page. You might want to bookmark the page. Of particular note: even if you don’t think your family was in Vilnius, the project may have something for you. Many people came to Vilnius from other areas, including areas now in Lithuania, Belarus, and Poland, either to live, on business, or to visit friends or family. They could appear in these records.
For more information, please click on the following links:
I’d like to donate to the VHR project.
I"m interested in learning more about various donation incentives for the VHR project.
I’d like to write to Russ Maurer, project coordinator at vhrproject@litvaksig.org.
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