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SEBIR / Jewish Roots Trip to Poland - How to Find Your Ancestors' Town

Jewish Roots Trip to Poland - How to Find Your Ancestors' Town

For many Jewish families, Poland is a point on the family tree - the name of a town from a grandparent's story, an entry in a document, a trace in a book. A roots trip turns that trace into a real place: a cemetery, a street, a house, a synagogue. Here is the practical part: where to start, where to search, and what you can actually see on the ground.

Guide - Poland

SEBIR supports you on the ground. Kosher meals and Shabbat along the way, contact with local communities and help reaching the archives; we recommend reliable carriers and places to stay, which you book directly - so you can focus on why you came. Write to us: info@sebir.pl
Jewish gravestone with a Hebrew inscription and a relief of a Levite ewer above an oil lamp, under a metal canopy, in a Jewish cemetery in Poland
A gravestone with a Hebrew inscription and a Levite ewer relief - the kind of trace a roots trip turns into a real place.

Before you go - what to establish

The more you know before arriving, the more you will see. Before you set off, it helps to gather a few things:

  • The family surname - often in several spelling variants - and the ancestors' first names.
  • The name of the town. Note: names changed with language and borders (Russian, Austrian and Prussian partitions). The same town may have a Polish, Yiddish and German or Russian version.
  • Approximate dates of births, marriages and emigration.
  • Family documents: certificates, letters, photos, immigration papers (e.g. from Ellis Island).

Where to look for traces - trusted sources

The search usually starts online, before the trip. These are good places to begin:

  • JRI-Poland - the largest index database of Jewish vital records from the territory of Poland.
  • JewishGen - surname databases, the Yizkor Book Project (town memorial books) and KehilaLinks (pages for specific communities).
  • The Polish State Archives - the szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl search engine and regional branches where civil records are physically held.
  • POLIN Museum - help with genealogical research and advice on where to start.
  • FamilySearch - digitized records, including Polish Jewish civil records.
  • Gesher Galicia - for ancestors from former Galicia (today's south-eastern Poland).
Honestly
Each database has a different scope, and some records did not survive. We point only to trusted sources - and if you get stuck, we will help work out where to look next.
Carved stone chest-tomb with rosettes in an old Jewish cemetery, with memorial pebbles placed on its lid
An old Jewish cemetery - memorial pebbles left on a tomb.

What you can see on the ground

Once the town is identified, a roots trip turns documents into real places:

  • The Jewish cemetery (kirkut) - often the most important surviving trace. Many sites are cared for by the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage (FODZ) and local communities.
  • The house, the street, the market square - an address from a document found on the ground.
  • A synagogue or its site - preserved, repurposed or commemorated.
  • The civil registry office or archive - access to original records, arranged in advance.
  • The memorial (Yizkor) book - context: what life in the town looked like before the Holocaust.
Collective grave of the Jewish community in a forest - a matzeva with a menorah, pebbles and small Israeli flags, surrounded by a fence
A collective grave of the Jewish community in the forest - a place of memory and reflection.

Access to places and people - not only to documents

Genealogy is not only about archives. We are in contact with rabbis in Poland and with people of Jewish descent living in Poland, Estonia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Germany and other countries, who are actively involved in foundations and associations that commemorate Jewish heritage. Thanks to this, wherever possible, we help you reach not only a document but also a place - and the people who know the local history: cemetery custodians, local enthusiasts, community representatives.

We do not promise miracles - people's willingness to help varies, and some traces simply did not survive. But as far as possible, we try to open doors that are hard to open on your own from abroad.

Memorial plaques among ivy commemorating the restoration of a Jewish cemetery, including architect Herman Gutman
Plaques commemorating the restoration of a cemetery - heritage saved by people and institutions.

How SEBIR helps with a roots trip

A roots trip is logistics and sensitivity at once. SEBIR takes on the organizational side, so a family or group can focus on why they came:

  • kosher meals and Shabbat along the way, matched to the level of observance; recommended carriers and places to stay, which you book directly,
  • on request, contact with local communities, foundations and cemetery custodians, and help reaching the archives,
  • language support (Polish, English, Russian, and Hebrew if needed) in dealings with offices,
  • a program that combines the search for roots with a memory route and a lighter day when the group needs to breathe.
Beyond Poland
We work fastest and best in Poland, but where possible we also help with roots trips in neighboring countries - for example Lithuania or Ukraine. Tell us where you want to go.

Planning a roots trip to Poland? Write to us - we will help find out what survived in your town and plan the whole journey.

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Frequently asked questions

Can a specific ancestral house be found?
Often yes, if an address or street can be established from the documents. In smaller towns, local knowledge and archives help.
I don't know the exact name of the town - what then?
We start from spelling variants and databases (JRI-Poland, JewishGen). The name can often be recovered from records or from immigration papers.
Do I need to speak Polish?
No. We provide language support in dealings with offices and local communities.
How long does a roots trip take?
It depends on the route. One town with its surroundings is usually 1-2 days; a journey combining several places and a memory route is about a week. We will help tailor the plan.
Will SEBIR take care of kashrut and Shabbat during the trip?
Yes. We provide kosher meals and Shabbat organization along the whole route, according to the group's level of observance.

See also

Further reading

Roots of Israel in Poland - Zionism, Heroism, the Righteous Among the Nations

From the Polish shtetl to Israel: Bedzin and Zionism, Ben-Gurion's Plonsk, the ghetto uprising, the Righteous. Themed routes for Jewish groups.

Jewish Memorial Sites in Poland

Auschwitz-Birkenau, the POLIN Museum, the Warsaw Ghetto, Lublin, Tarnow, Lelow and Jewish cemeteries - addresses and practical tips for groups…

Tzaddik Graves in Poland - Places of Pilgrimage

Tzaddikim graves and ohels in Poland: the Rema in Krakow, Elimelech in Lezajsk, the Seer of Lublin. Facts and help organizing a group pilgrimage.

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