LitvakSIG is the primary online 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 District Research Groups (DRGs).
The primary mission of a DRG is to identify and collect data for that group’s territorial area of interest from available records for Lithuania from the Russian Empire period (1795-1918) and the period of Independent Lithuania (1919-1940), including the Vilna district belonging to interwar Poland. A contributor to a DRG 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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We’re thrilled to announce that our LitvakSIG Discussion Forum is now available!
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 here.
- If you already have a LitvakSIG account, 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 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".
- You can enable a daily email summary of new posts in your account settings. All accounts are set to "no notifications" by default. See here for more details
- Please contact webmaster@litvaksig.org for technical questions about the forum and moderator@litvaksig.org for content-related questions
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POWER UP YOUR RESEARCH!
A FREE WEBINAR SERIES FROM LITVAKSIG - ALL EIGHT PROGRAM RECORDINGS NOW ONLINE
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Note to All Users
After logging in using the green "Login to your Account" button on the right, you will be taken to your login page with a green "Member’s Dashboard" button on the left. 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.
See here for step-by-step instructions on downloading the Excel spreadsheets to which you have access.
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 on our VHR 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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