JewishGen.org, the world's largest and most significant resource
for Jewish genealogy and the Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial
to the Holocaust, in cooperation with Miriam Weiner and the Routes to
Roots Foundation, is humbled and pleased to announce the launch of the
Miriam Weiner “Routes To Roots Collection” —
which will serve as an everlasting tribute to the
“Genealogist who lifted the Archival Iron Curtain”
(according to
The Jewish Week
in New York City, July 4, 1991), and through her pioneering efforts,
changed the face of Jewish genealogy.
So much of what we take for granted is due to Miriam’s exhaustive
efforts and the relationships she established in the archives of Eastern
Europe during a career spanning more than four decades.
As a result of this agreement, many of Miriam’s unique and
otherwise now inaccessible documents and images which she collected
throughout her 30+ years of working in the archives of Poland, Moldova,
Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, and to a lesser degree, Romania, will become
available on JewishGen, thus benefiting countless thousands of researchers
today and in the future. These include cemetery lists, Holocaust
lists, vital records, census lists, etc.
Every day at JewishGen, we strive to “preserve our history for
future generations.” While there is not nearly a sufficient
gesture to express the gratitude JewishGen and MJH has to Miriam for
her indefatigable efforts on behalf of the broader Jewish genealogical
community, we hope that this collection will further spread her important
work, and that each new family connection that occurs as a result of this
material will serve an everlasting tribute to her unyielding devotion and
dedication to the Jewish people.
We already have some content online, and expect to add material to our
databases, KehilaLinks pages, community pages, InfoFiles and other
resources on an ongoing basis.
