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Belarus
is located east of Poland and is
slightly smaller than the State of Kansas. It borders Latvia,
Lithuania, Poland and Russia and has a total
population of 10.4 million. Belarus is home to anywhere
from 20,000 to 70,000 Jews.
Over 50% of
the population of the major cities Minsk, Grodno, Mogilev
and Vitebsk were Jewish cities. Ninety eight percent of the
native Byelorussian lived in the countryside. Today, Jews
constitute one percent of the national populations according to
information from the Minsk In Your
Pocket Guide, Summer, 1997, page 30; Winter, 1997-98, page 31.
White
Russian (Byelorussia) is the nationality
of the people living in this marshy land area, that was
formerly part of Mother Russia. White Russian
Monarchists, fighting Bolsheviks during the
Russian Civil War (1917 to 1920) were referred to as "White
Guard" and those they fought were referred to as the Red
Guard. They were more commonly referred to as the Reds
and the Whites.
Today, Belarus
is not much different than yesterday's Belarus. You
will still see the horse drawn plows and vehicles on the rough
highways next to old models of the Lada automobile. Getting
gasoline, which is rationed, can take up a great deal of time,
when you find someone selling gasoline along the side of the road.
It is quite a poor country controlled by the military, but in some
areas, the people are better off than other Russian satellite
states. You will find that the people are scraping the
bottom in order to survive including selling off personal items
and even used shoes and clothing items. Outdoor markets are
quite common.
Belarus lost over
30% of its population and over 75% of its towns and villages
during WW II. The notorious 12th Lithuanian Police Auxiliary
Battalion, chillingly named the Schutzmannschaft was formed in Kaunas
in 1941, and was composed entirely of Lithuanian volunteers.
According to documents in the Belarusian Archives, this unit was
dispatched to Belarus on October 5, 1941 with the ostensible
mission of breaking the back of local resistance and partisan
groups.
The 12th Police
Auxiliary operated principally in Minsk City and Minsk
District, but sometimes moved further a field. The unit was
responsible for massacres in Slutsk, Smilovichi, Borisov,
Rudensk, Koidanov and many other Shtetl. Its
principle functions were mass executions, hangings and genocide,
often on the streets and in city squares. At least 42,000
people; Jews, partisans, and alleged Communist Party members were
murdered by the unit.
It was in
Byelorussia that the Nazis wholesale murder of Jews was first
tested. At the same time, many ghettoes became centers of
resistance. Underground organizations were active in the
ghettoes of Baranovichi, Bobruisk, Brest, Grodno,
Slonim, Minsk, Vileyka and others.
An in-depth
study of the history of Belarus from ancient times to the present
(in English) can be found at
http://www-cat.ncsa.uiuc.edu/~zelenko/history.html
The country known
today as Belarus, consisted of four Guberniyas:
Grodno, Minsk, Mogilev and Vitebsk prior
to the Revolution.
Belarus Shtetl
listings:
To find any town in
Belarus - go to:
http://www.jewishgen.org/belarus/
click on "Shtetls of Belarus" type in the name of the
town etc. and you'll find a lot of info!
As of 2/1/01, the
Belarusian ruble stands at 1230 to the U.S. dollar.
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Guberniya
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similar
to a province or state and is divided into Uyezd. Russians
now call this an Oblast.
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Powiat
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similar
to a county
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Uyezd
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similar
to a district and is divided into Volosts (similar to
counties)
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Uchastok
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(section)
is formed of two to four Volosts and had managers who
reported to the governor of Minsk
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Details
on the administrative structure can be found at
http://www.jewishgen.org/belarus/Vitaly/Minsk%20Uyezd.htm
Books
|
Most books,
CDs, etc. can be ordered through my link to Amazon.com. |
"A Jew in
Byelorussia, Lida and Karaganda" (Un Juif de Bielorussie
de Lida A Karaganda) (In French) Ghetto-Maquis-Goulag -authored by
Kuszelewicz, Joseph Harmattan - 19/09/2002 ISBN 2-7475-1308-4
"Ashes"
- authored by Arnold Zale, a Melbourne, Australia writer who has
traveled to Belarus and recorded his feelings in a moving
and literary manner. Available from most major chain
bookstores.
"A
Survivor's Story" - an
interview with a WWII survivor from Luninets:
as provided by The Columbus Dispatch newspaper in the January 23,
1997 edition.
"Atlas
of the Jewish People" -
contains many diagrams that illustrate Jewish migrations starting
from biblical times to the present.
"Bashert:
A Granddaughter's Holocaust Quest" - authored by Andrea
Simon and published by University Press of Mississippi. The
book contains the most extensive information to date on the Brona
Gora and Volchin massacres. ISBN 1-57806-481-3
"The
Belarus Secret"
- authored
by John Loftus, a former federal prosecutor in the Nazi war crimes
unit of the Justice Department. Published by Alfred A.
Knopf, Inc., New York. Library
"BriefeMeiner
Erinnerung: Mein Uberleben in Judischen Ghetto von Minsk
1941-1942" Roughly translated to "My Letter Living
Through the Jewish Ghetto in Minsk". This book,
written in German by Ana Krasnaperko, is available from the
publisher Haus Villigst, 5840 Schwerte, Germany Telephone:
02304/755230.
The Holocaust
Museum has a copy and discusses the story of the many German Jews
from Bremen and Hanover deported to Minsk and includes
photos and text, but does not list names. And, along with
her mother, who was a doctor, escaped into the woods and lived
with the partisans.
"From
Belarus To Cape Breton And Beyond" -
authored by Larry Gaum lgaum@ca.inter.net
Some of the scenes of the atrocities that
Larry learned of when he visited Lakhva in 1994 from a
former resident and survivor are included in this book.
"History
Atlas of Belarus" - in
Russian. Leonid Smilovitsky smilov@netvision.net.il
states that he has "a free copy of it
direct from Belarus'. The Atlas was published in Minsk
in 2001 and contains 28 pages. He also offers in Russian, a
monograph of Dr. Anishchenko "Pale
of Settlements in Belarus" (18th century)
"Holocaust
in Byelorussia, 1941-1944" -
the first systematic study of the history of the Holocaust in
Byelorussia written in Russian - authored by Dr. Leonid
Smilovitsky with a preface by Daniel Romanovsky and published in
Tel-Aviv, 2000
"Jewels
and Ashes" authored by
Arnold Zable, a Melbourne, Australia writer who has traveled to
Belarus and recorded his feelings in a moving and literary manner.
Available from most major chain bookstores.
Try my link to Amazon.com at 'Books'
page
"Jewish
Life in a Shtetl in Europe" - authored by Cheyna
Rogovin Chertow (born 1912), who shares her memories of Belakoritz
and Wolzyn in 1912 to 1931 is available at JewishGen
archives of 3/1/1999 on page 7.
http://www.jewishgen.org/Belarus
"Jewish
Roots in Poland: Pages from the Past & Archival
Inventories" - authored by
Miriam Weiner. Published by the Miriam Weiner Roots to Roots
Foundation, Inc. 136 Sandpiper Key, Secaucus, NJ 07094-2210
Telephone 201 866 4075 e-mail mweiner@routestoroots.com
http://www.rtrfoundation.org
"Jews
in Belarus: From Our Common History, 1905-1953" authored
by Dr. Leonid Smilovitsky, Diaspora research Institute of the
Tel-Aviv University and published by ARTI-FEX in Minsk,
1999 in Russian.
"Jews
in Belorussian Public Prosecutor's Offices, 1944-1956 // East
European Jewish Affairs", Vol. 33, No 2, Winter 2003, pp.
97-112 authored by Dr. Leonid Smilovitsky The Goldstein-Goren
Diaspora Research Center,
Tel Aviv University, E-mail: smilov@zahav.net.il
For details of past and future contents of East European
Jewish Affairs, please, contact: www.tandf.co.uk./journals
"Jews of
Moscow, Kiev and Minsk: Identity, Anti-Semitism, Emigration" -
authored by Rozalina Ryvkina - The
Jews of Moscow, Kiev and Minsk:...
"Settlers
in Yekaterinoslav Guberniya" which
is not located in Belarus, but offers some interesting information
on why Jews left the economically poor cities in the north, like
Belarus, and established new settlements in Novo Russia
http://www.jewishgen/belarus
"Un Juif
de Bielorussie de Lida A Karaganda" (In French) (A Jew in
Byelorussia, Lida and Karaganda) Ghetto-Maquis-Goulag
- authored by Joseph Kuszelewicz, Harmattan - 19/09/2002
ISBN 2-7475-1308-4
Born in Lida,
his family survived with the partisans in the nearby forests.
After a five year post-war imprisonment in the Gulag, he joined
his family in Paris.
"Jewish
luck," spoken of with bitter irony by Jews and with
resentment by their neighbors, led Joseph Kuszelewicz from the Lida
ghetto in Hitler controlled Byelorussia, to Stalin's gulag in Karaganda,
Kazakhstan. The story begins in the one hell of the
"Final Solution to the Jewish Question," and ends in the
alternate hell for Soviet citizens deported as zeks to the gulag.
Between these two moments in time and history, young Joseph
Kuszelewicz was a partisan fighter with the Bielski resistance
movement in Byelorussia. The Bielski partisans were escapees
from Nazi ghettos and slave labor camps. With some help from the
Red Army, they and other resistance groups made a substantial
contribution to the defeat of the Nazis and their local
collaborators.
After the Lida
region was liberated, Joseph was conscripted into the Red
Army. He was severely wounded in East Prussia during the final
months of the war. Released from the army, he was arrested and
deported to Kazakhstan. The author's story is supported by
an appendix that includes documents and transcripts from the Lida
war crimes trials of 1966. Submitted to JewishGen on 1/24/04 by
Bernard Kouchel
General
Belarus Genealogy
Information
Old
Belarus Synagogue - Photo courtesy of Brest Online
I would
suggest to the researcher of the following sites, to also check
the other two Baltic Country sites, including Estonia
and Lithuania, as well as Poland and Russia
as there may very well be some cross references as the country
borders changed many times between wars.
An excellent site
to find information about most European countries is at http://searcheurope.com
and type in the name of the country you wish to research in the
search field. This site is a great source to find
information for almost every European country. Another valuable
site to help find a person, maps, etc. is
http://www.webhelp.com/home
and type in the name of any country you wish to research. This
service is free.
Global
Gazetteer is a great web site. It is a directory of 2,880,532
of the world's cities and towns, sorted by country and linked
to a map for each town. A tab separated list is available
for each country.
www.calle.com/world/
World-Wide Gazetteer
www.fallingrain.com/world/index.html
How to
use the Belarus SIG website to find your Belorussian
ancestors and their shtetls
www.jewishgen.org/belarus
The World Fact
Book
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/bo.html
A web
catalogue offering numerous categories with some 5,000 links to
multilingual Belarus
www.ac.by/country/index.html
1960-1975 Chasnich-Bieshenkowitz Society Membership Dues List
www.jewishgen.org/belarus
Belarus History and Famous Personalities
www.ac.by/country/history.html
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"It's
not that Poland "owned" Novogrudok
or Minsk, it's just that both were in White Russia,
which in the 13th or early 14th century became part of the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which confederated with the
Kingdom of Poland in 1569. The Polish language and culture
gradually prevailed in the grand duchy but politically
Poland-Lithuania remained a dual state." From
a posting to BelarusSIG by Norman H. Carp-Gordon on
5-4-03 |
All Belarus
Database - enter the surname you are looking for, and see what
records exist within this database.
http://www.jewishgen.org/databases/belarus
Archives
Access to
archives since the mid-1990s has greatly enriched the Holocaust
historiography in Byelorussia. Documents on the history of
the Holocaust, lists of ghetto victims, descriptions of partisan
actions in which Jews took part, lists of monuments on common
graves, etc., began to appear in the 'Pamyat' (Memory) series of
documented chronicles of Byelorussian towns and districts which
have been published since 1987.
Archives -
To request records you must first contact the Belkom Archive,
Kollektornaya St. #10, Minsk. It is advisable to also
send a copy of your request to the consulate in your country.
Individual archives are not allowed to provide information on the
contents of their holdings, but the Belkom Archive is
allowed to provide the information on subordinate archives.
They charge $50 for initiating a search.
For access
to the holdings of the national Archives, the researcher should
apply directly by official letter of application to the director
of the individual archives requested. The majority of
documents preserved at the Archives are open for researchers.
Foreign researchers planning visits should check in advance
regarding operating hours and temporary changes. Most
Archives are open Tuesday through Friday from 9:00 to 5:00,
but check first.
Fees for a
genealogical research includes a pre-payment of $80.00 and a final
sum based on a charge of $4.00 per hour of research. Enclose
a check, drawn on your bank, for the pre-payment of the $80.00,
made payable to the name of the appropriate archive.
Also see below
under the title of Military, addresses of Archives where records
may be found. Records for areas in Belarus have been turning
up in Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, the united States and in
Israel. Some of these are primary records and others are
secondary records. You may also fined that some Jewish
records are mixed with 'Church Records' and 'Mixed Records'.
You also
may write to:
Director of Archival Research,
Historical Archives of Belarus,
Kozlova Street 26, Minsk, Belarus
in English. Replies may be received in
Russian.
Archives
of Belarus (in Russian) -
http://www.mtu-net.ru/rrr/ukraine.htm
Archives
and Burial Places in Belarus (including Jewish Cemeteries and
the Jewish Communities in Belarus)-
http://www.geocities.com/albaruthenia/IA/history.html
http://www.jewishgen.org/cemetery/e-europe/belarus.html
Byelorussian
Archives site - links to each of the various archives http://www.president.gov.by/gosarchives/EArh/Erx_spisok.htm
Central
State Historical Archives L'viv - address is
Tsentralny Derzhavnyi Istorychnyi Arkhiv (TsDIA-L) 290008,
L'viv - 8, pl. Sobornosti Square 3-a,
Ukraine
Phone/Fax: (0322) 72 35 08 or 72 30 63
Director is Orest Laroslavoych Matsiuk; Deputy Director
(Directress) is Diana Peltc who, it has been noted, forwards
personal researcher requests to a "freelancer"
who then increases the price, but the cost is still relatively
reasonable archives@cl.lv.ukrtel.net
Hours are Monday through Friday 9 to 3 pm.
http://lemkos/
then select Genealogy and then Archives.
Director of
the Central State Historical Archives of Ukraine
110 Solomianska Street, 24,
252601 Kiev, Ukraine
The National Archive in Belarus is professional and
responsive to all requests and there are tons of information,
often in the form of metric books, about Jewish life. More
resources are acquired all the time. At a meeting we had
earlier this week with the Archive Director, Ms Golabovich, we
were told that metric books for Bobruisk had just been obtained
and were now being conserved prior to indexing. There is an
ongoing project to index all holding of the archive with
intention of eventually placing the index online. This,
however, will be in the next several years. In the meantime the
Archive does sedulously process all orders. Their prices are in
line with most research services but one may want to also
approach private researchers. In that case, however, one should
be certain to comply with all legal requirements for conducting
research in the archive by
third parties. This chiefly involves providing notarized
authorization to the researcher." From a posting by
Franklin J. Swartz, Executive Director, East European Jewish
Heritage Project P. O. Box 97 Minsk 220074 Republic of Belarus
eejhp@voluntas.org or
eejhp@yahoo.com
http://eejhp.netfirms.com
National
Historical Archives of Belarus - branches in several cities
http://president.gov/by/gosarchives/Arh/arx_naz_ist.htm
National
Historical Archive of Belarus (Minsk)
NHAB (Minsk)
55, Kropotkina St.,
Minsk 220002
Republic of Belarus
Telephone: (375 017) 268 65 22, 268 65 23
Fax:
268 65 20
E-mail: niab@solo.by
nosev@minsk.sovam.com
Director: Alla K. Golubovich
They are asking an $80.00 deposit upfront. Records prior to 1917
'should' be in the National Historical Archives of Belarus.
The Minsk branch should have the records from areas that
were once part of Vitebsk, Mogilev and Minsk
Guberniyas. The Grodno branch should have the records
for what was formerly the Grodno Guberniya. Please
keep in mind that many vital records did not survive and you may
have to use secondary records, Revision Lists, Resident Lists,
Court Records, etc. if they are available.
The Belarus SIG
has extracted and translated into English, the entire remaining
census forms for the Grodno Guberniya. While most of
the records were destroyed, the remaining remnants provide
valuable genealogical data for those who can find their families
on the census records. This census includes the place of
birth, place of registration, along with the address and shtetl
where people were living at the time of the census. In many
instances these three locations are different for the same person
in the census database. The information provides an insight
on origination of families and helps to lead to other shtetls for
you to research.
In addition to
areas now in Belarus, the Grodno Guberniya portion of the
1897 Census includes areas now in Poland; Bialystok, Bielsk
and Sokolka Uyezd. BIALYGen, the Bialystok
Region Jewish Genealogy Group.
http://www.jewishgen.org/belarus/1897_
russian_census_grodno_gubernia.htm
The BelarusSIG
web site has inventories of records known to exist in the two
branches of the NHAB, as well as the postal addresses for the two
different branches of the NHAB.
http://www.jewishgen.org/Belarus
Belarus Online Newsletter
http://www.jewishgen.org/Belarus/newsletter/bnl_index.htm
"Mishpocha" published in Vitebsk. Some of their back
issues in Russian, can be found at
http://www.mishpoha.org/
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Belarus
Discussion Group - How to Post
1. First item for today is the last in your post:
Sign every post with your full name. First name, last
name, every time. Put in your location, too, including
state or country. Someone may know about a good
resource in your area. You may want to add the
surnames you're searching
-- you may include up to six lines of surnames & towns
after your signature. Yes, six lines is a purely
arbitrary limit. There had to be a limit somewhere,
otherwise everyone has to scroll and scroll. So it's
six lines. Rotate your list sometimes so that
everything gets a viewing.
2. Make the most of your subject line to catch the
most eyes... and therefore get the most help. Use your
subject line to cover the basics of your message. Some
examples:
Is there a
synagogue in Sokolka, Poland?
RABINOWITZ,
Grodno to Buenos Aires, 1910s
Sephardic naming
traditions
Do *not* use subject lines like these:
Help please
Family question
They are sure-fire interest-killers, guaranteed to slip away
into oblivion, drawing the eyes of only the most dedicated
message readers. And the people with the information
you need may not be as dedicated as you like -- but you
still need them.
3. Write your message clearly and include as much
information as is relevant, without rambling. You want
to include whatever people need to be able to help you, but
you don't want your message to be too long, or people may
skip it or not read it deeply enough.
4. We want this list to be clear and easy to read, so
as to encourage as much reading (and therefore as many
helpful responses) as possible. To that end, please
type surnames in all capitals -- PLOTZ, SKYDELL, NIEDERHOFF.
Type the rest of your message using proper capitalization --
that is, capitalize the beginning of each sentence and the
beginning of given names and place names. It just
makes things easier on the eyes.
If you have a signature file, please take a moment to edit
it. Capitalize the surnames so they stand out.
Make all other words "normal" so that they don't
interfere with the surnames -- this includes words like
"Researching" and all place names like Jerusalem,
Ukraine, England.
More information on posting is available at
http://www.jewishgen.org/JewishGen/DiscussionGroup.htm
Take a few minutes to read it; there
are more good tips on getting the most out of your post.
Belarus Coordinator and Moderators
AOL 6.0, 7.0, and 8.0
If you are using AOL 6.0, 7.0 or 8.0, then you need to log
on to AOL and select either Netscape or Internet Explorer as
your browser -- Do not use AOL's web browser. Launch
the browser, and type "www.aol.com"
in the URL field (the white strip at the top of the page).
Sign on with your Screen Name and Password. Click on
"AOL Mail". You will then be able to submit
messages using AOL's "AOL Mail on the Web"
service.
The website "Unofficial AOL Email FAQ (Frequently Asked
Questions)" at AOL suggests some ways to use version
6.0 or 7.0 of AOL's software for sending plain text
messages. Submitted by Paula Zieselman, NYC on
7-14-04 |
National
Archives of the Republic of Belarus
43, Kirova St.,
220030, Minsk
Republic of Belarus
Tel: (375 017) 222-32-29
Tel./Fax: (375 017) 222 32 85
Director: Viacheslav D. Selemenev
The
Archives was founded on May 28, 1927. During 1930-1944, it
was located in Mogilev. In June 1995, the documents of the
former Central archives of the Communist Party were added to the
State Archives' complex. The Belarusian State Archives was
reorganized into the National Archives of the republic of Belarus.
More information ins available at http://www.president.gov.by/gosarchives/EArh/E_naz.htm
Previous Names of
the archive:
Belarusian Soviet
Socialist Republic's Central Archives of October Revolution
(1927-1938)
Belarusian Soviet
Socialist Republic's Central State Archives of October Revolutions
and Socialist Development (1938-1993)
Belarusian State
Archives (1993-1995)
State
Archives of Brest Region
8, Engelsa St.
Brest, 224005
Republic of Belarus
Telephone (375 0162) 26 59 29
Director: Anna V. Terebun
National
Historic Archive of Belarus (Grodno)
2, Tizengauza Sq.
Grodno, 230023
Republic of Belarus
Director: Karina P. Batrakova
State
Archives of Grodno Region
84, Dzerzhinskogo St.
Grodno, 230005
Republic of Belarus
Telephone / Fax: (375 0152) 72 24 43,
47 04 92
Director: Larisa I. Yunina
(This archive contains records from 1917 to the present.)
State Archive
of Register Offices (Grodno Region)
3 Ozheshko Str.
Grodno, 230023
Republic of Belarus
Grodno OZGS =
State Archive of Register Offices For The Grodno Region
3 Ozheshko Str.
230023, Grodno
Republic of Belarus
Telephone: (375 0152) 47 09 54
|
Grodno
Archive " I have had recent experience with
the Grodno Archive. I would urge researchers to seek their
assistance. They have resources that are valuable and they
are making efforts to be
responsive. Their fees are not unreasonable. You can write
them in English. Their response will be in Russian.
Carefully follow their directions.
They will provide copies of primary source documents. In my
case I received numerous documents from the late 1800's on
Janow Sokolka, Poland." Allen B. Saxe absaxe@earthlink.net
From a posting to JewishGen on 5/21/03 |
Molodechno
OGA = Zonal State Archives In Molodechno
69, Libavo-Romenskaya St.
Molodechno, 222310
Republic of Belarus
Telephone: (375 017 73) 7 26 76, 7 77
33
Director: Rostislav F. Gerasimovich
Some records
for shtetls that were once in Lithuania may be found in the Vilna
Archive
Belarus
Records in the Vilna Archive (Lithuania)
Lietuvos Valstybinis Istorijos Archyvas
Gerosios Vilties 10
Vilnius 2015
Lithuania (Lietuva)
It is
recommended that both addresses be also written in Ukrainian.
A sample of how to address the Archive can be found at
http://lemko.org/genealogy/galiciapl.html
where you will also find 'Vital and Marriage records from Greek
Catholic and Orthodox Parishes in Former Austrian Galicia, Former
Malo Rus, Ukraine, Poland and Belarus.'
A possible
contact for the Archives in Minsk, Belarus, according to
Amy Levinson arl@teleport.com
in a message on the JewishGen forum of
12/9/96 states that a probable contact for the Grodno Archives may
be 'Perzashkevich, aka "Minsk Genealogy Group" at
Minsk PKP
pkp1@drop.belpak.minsk.by
National
Archives (in Russian)-
http://president.gov.by/gosarchives/Arh/arx_naz.htm
Useful site
http://www.jewishgen.org/Belarus/belarus
_records_various_archives.htm
ZAGS Archives
State Archive
of Register Offices for the Brest Region
18 Svobody Sq.,
224030, Brest
Tel: (375-162) 26 73 22
State Archive
of Register Offices for the Vitebsk Region
6 Gogolya Street,
210010, Vitebsk
Tel: (375-212) 36 62 81
State Archive
of Register Offices for the Gomel Region
20, Krestianskaya
Str., 246050, Gomel
Tel: (375-232) 53 63 63, 53 44 86
State Archive
of Register Offices for the Grodno Region
3, Ozheshko Str.,
230023
Tel: (375-152) 47 09 54
State Archive
of Register Offices for the Mogilev Region
Apt. 026, Town
Council, 212030, Mogilev
Tel: (375-222) 32 68 99, 32 67 90
State Archive
of Register Offices for the City of Minsk
24a,
Krasnoarmeiskaya Str., 220030, Minsk
Tel: (375-17) 227 89 50, 227 38 23
State Archive
of Register Offices for the Minsk Region
24a
Krasnoarmeiskaya Str., 220030, Minsk
Tel: (375-17) 227 70 33
A
Belarus Miscellany - a collage of information
http://solar.rtd.utk.edu/~kasaty/miscellany.html
A Belarus Miscellany is an excellent place to start your
research is at http://www.friends-partners.org/partners/
belarus/miscellany.html
A
Virtual Guide to Belarus:
http://www.belarusguide.com
and
http://www.belarusguide.com/main/index.html
The later site was initiated in 1994 by a group of Belarusian
scientists working around the world and contains a collection of
information about Belarus
http://www.belarusguide.com/cities/index.html
for maps, travel guides and other European Cities' information.
http://www.mtu-net.ru/rrr/ukraine.htm
Belarus
- informational sites - look at the YIVO News winter edition for
"Jewish Documentary Sources in Belarus using the
finding aid.
www.yivoinstitute.org
Belarus
Cemetery Law - a law was enacted that is applied to cemeteries
of all faiths, including Jewish cemeteries. Any
cemetery unused for 25 years can be reclaimed for other purposes.
Owning to the murder of entire Jewish communities by Germans and
their Lithuanian, Latvian and Ukrainian partners in the 1941-44
period, the bulk of Jewish cemeteries fall under this law during
the years 1966-69.
Belarus
Discussion List - this list is for those interested in Belarus
using Internet discussion list 'netiquette' and any further
restrictions imposed by the charter. Complete 'welcome'
description
http://www.belarus-misc.org/welcome.html
Belarus Jewish
Community - the leader is Yuri Dorn who is also the President
of the Union of Religious Jewish Congregations of the Republic of
Belarus.
Belarus:
History and Famous Personalities -
http://www.mtu-net.ru/rrr/ukraine.htm
and
http://www.geocities.com/albaruthenia/IA/history.html
where you will find 'tons' of links about Belarus
Belarus
Postal History -
http://www.geocities.com/albaruthenia/IA/history.html
Belarus
Records in Various Archives - authored by David M. Fox is
quite informative regarding surviving records that may be
available including information about 'Changing Borders';
Centralization of Records; Conditions in the Archives and much
more
http://www.jewishgen.org/Belarus/belarus
_records_various_archives.htm
Belarus:
Reference - much information about the country, with hundreds
of links to sites on Belarus in English and links to maps of
cities of the Republic http://www.slavophilia.net/belarus/refer.htm
Belarus
Research (from Poland) -
http://www.mtu-net.ru/rrr/ukraine.htm
Belarus
Research Guide -
http://www.belarusguide.com/cities/index.html
Belarus
Research List - A list of people searching for ancestors
with ties to Belarus
http://feefhs.org/by/byrl/byrl.html
Belarus
Revision Lists - the 'Reviska Skazka' (Revision Lists)
were conducted in territories ruled by the Russian Czar in the
18th and 19th centuries. The Lists only enumerated those
individuals subject to taxation and was also used for identifying
men to draft into the army. Further information and a table
showing the years by Shtetl/District can be found at
http://www.jewishgen.org/Belarus/intro_rev_list.htm
The Belarusian
State Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War - http://nacbibl.org.by/natart/en/branches.html
BelarusSIG
- here is a great site where David M. Fox webmaster has
tried to collect all the data accumulated about various archival
information and inventories of records and has made them available
at http://www.jewishgen.org/Belarus/belarus_records
_various_archives.htm
"Fonds
that are not included in the inventories at this site, are
secondary records (other than vital records or revision lists)
where the archives or private researchers found valuable data.
Frequently, vital records or revision lists are not available for
some shtetls and the only way to gather information is from
secondary records."
The BelarusSIG
web site, besides offering "All Belarus Database",
offers:
Shtetls of Belarus; Belarus Surname Index; Archival records;
Belarus Given Names Database; Resources, Addresses; Archives;
Russian Military Archives; Basics and FAQs; Belarus Today;
Bibliography; Cemeteries; Conferences; Holocaust; Laws; Maps;
RAGAS Articles; Researchers and Translators and much more at
http://www.jewishgen.org/belarus/
BelarusSIG
site
http://www.jewishgen.org/belarus
To join the
SIG:
www.jewishgen.org/belarus/membersh.htm
To post to the Belarus
SIG discussion group, send your message to:
belarus@lyris.jewishgen.org
Belarus
On-line Newsletter:
http://www.jewishgen.org/Belarus/newsletter/bnl_index.htm
Information
on these Guberniya: Grodno, Minsk, Mogilev, Vitebsk
and other Belarus Resources are available. The Belarus SIG
is online http://www.jewishgen.org/Belarus/newsletter/
editorial_1_2000.htm
or
http://www.jewishgen.org/belarus/newsletter/bnl_index.htm
or to the Belarus
SIG website
http://www.jewishgen.org/Belarus/
There is much to
learn from these pages and in addition to a large database, you
will also find detailed maps of various areas (and years) of the
country.
Translations
include:
1903 Russian Business Directory;
Minsk Yizkor Book Name Index;
Minsk Guberniya Revision Lists;
Mogilev Vital records;
1834 Borisov Revision List;
Senno 1861-64 Birth Records translated version available at
www.jewishgen.org/belarus
The
Webmaster is Edward Rosenbaum -
http://www.jewishgen.org/belarus
http://shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/Belarus.html
"After the
Belarus SIG lunch at the August 2006 IAJGS conference in
NYC, a few of us who are interested in the family history and
genealogy of the Jews of southwestern Belarus established
a loose
network -- Jewish Polesie. Among the possible activities
that we
discussed were cooperative archival research, a web site, and
the
exchange of relevant information via email.
While Polesie may be defined broadly; for our purposes it
consists of
the Jewish communities in southwestern Belarus, north of
the
Ukrainian border and east of the Polish border,
from Brest to Pinsk,
including their satellite towns and nearby rural areas. The
additional
principal communities in this east-west strip were Kobrin,
Antopol,
Ivanovo (Yaneve), Drohiczyn (however you spell it),
Motol, and
Chomsk. If your genealogy interests are near, though not
quite
within, this band you are welcome too. If you are interested,
please contact me at
iegen@earthlink.net
Itzhak Epstein
New York, NY
Belarus Given
Names Database - a searchable database of Jewish given
names used in Belarus during 1795 - 1925 and links in each record
to the new local vernacular names adopted in this same time period
in nine Foreign countries (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada,
Mexico, Palestine, South Africa, UK, US
http://www.jewishgen.org/belarus/srchbela.htm
Belarus
Surname Index - now has 21,462 surnames from 97 web sites
indexed at http://www.jewishgen.org/belarus/static_index.htm
Belarus
Newspaper Link
http://newslink.org/eubela.html
Belarus
Online Newsletter
http://www.jewishgen.org/Belarus/newsletter/bnl_index.htm
Belarus SIG
Web Page
http://www.jewishgen.org/belarus/
The Belarusian
Association of Jewish Organizations and Communities -
President is Leonid Levin - Minsk 220123, Belarus
Belarusian
Heritage -
http://www.mtu-net.ru/rrr/ukraine.htm
Belarusian
Historical Figures -
http://www.geocities.com/albaruthenia/IA/history.html
Belarusian
Born People ( A List of People Born in Belarus)- http://www.geocities.com/albaruthenia/IA/history.html
Belarusian
Diaspora in Poland - lots of interesting information at this
site http://www.belarus-misc.org/bel-dpol.htm
"Border Changes" - "Timeline Consequences of Border Changes -
the History of the Administrative-Territorial Division of
Belarus 1569-January 2000" created by Nancy Holden
www.jewishgen.org/belarus/borders_timeline.htm
Byelorussian
in Poland -
http://www.belarus-misc.org/bel-dpol.htm#top
Byelorussian
in Russian Federation - there are approximately 1,206,000
Byelorussian in Russia as of 1993. There is a large
community in the Komi Republic (27,000 currently live in Komi,
the republic's fourth largest ethnic community after Russians, Komi
and Ukrainians. and approximately 12,000 Byelorussians in the Sakha
Republic (Yakutia).
http://www.belaurs-misc.org/bel-diasp.htm
Birth
Certificates from Belarus - include the full name (including
patronymic) exact date and place of birth, date of registration of
the birth; birth certificate number; parents' names; parents'
parents' names (including parents' mothers' maiden names);
parents' birth dates (father's full birth date and mother's birth
year); father's occupation; and any changes in the registry of
birth.
Birth Records from
the "Detailed Inventory of 13 Microfilms of Belarus
Records at the Family History Center" See also the
All Belarus Database
www.jewishgen.org/databases/belarus/
http://www.jewishgen.org/belarus/13_cds_births.htm
Brewing
Trade in Belarus -
http://www.geocities.com/albaruthenia/IA/history.html
Cemeteries
- Bruce Kahn has a searchable photographic database of this and
many other cemeteries at
http://jGSR.HQ.Net
Follow the links and you will find around 2,000 photos of Jewish
cemeteries in Lithuania and Belarus.
Chevra Kadisha,
located on Mohliver St. in Tel-Aviv is working on a list of Chevra
Kadisha files for towns in Belarus.
Consolidated
Jewish Surname Index, which includes the Jewish Records
Indexing - Poland; All-Lithuania Database; All-Belarus
Database; All-Latvia Database and JewishGen Family
Finder is available at
http://www.avotaynu.com/csi/csi-home.html
Culture
of the country
http://www-cat.ncsa.uluc.edu/~zelenko/belarus/Ceramic.html
also
http://www-cat.ncsa.uiuc.edu/~zelenko/belarus/Ceramic.html
Cyrillic
Keyboard -
http://rit.minsk.by/cgi-bin/mphones.pl
See also my Ukrainian
and Language
web pages for more information on Russian and Ukrainian languages.
Deliveries
- Meest-Boston delivers US
dollars, sea and air parcels, food parcels, equipment and
electronics, letters and small packages to Ukraine, Russia, Belarus,
Moldova, Poland and other countries. More services are available
www.meestboston.com
Duma
- The voter lists
for all of the districts of Minsk Guberniya includes the Uyezds
of: Minsk, Pinsk, Mazyr, Igumen, Novogrudok,
Borisov and Slutsk
http://www.jewishgen.org/Belarus/
The
Minsk Guberniya 1906 Duma List with 16,000 records from
Minsk, Pinsk, Mozyr, Igumen, Novogrudok, Borisov and
Slutsk districts
http://www.jewishgen.org/belarus/detailed_inv_13_rolls.htm
East
European Genealogy Society - lots of information
http://www.GateWest.net/~eegsi/
East Europe
Jewish Heritage Project - dedicated to the preservation and
perpetuation of East European Jewish culture, Jewish monuments,
buildings and cemeteries. To raise funds, the project
offers genealogical services for a cost of $80.00 for a
preliminary report and a family tree now costs in the order of
$500. . The initial search checks relevant archives and
record offices for documents relative to your family. You
will then receive a report of the results.
This group has
negotiated with the Belarusian Committee for the Preservation of
the Nation's Heritage, an agreement for the protection of Belarus'
Jewish Cemeteries.
Further research
is quoted at this point to continue with the research.
Contact:
Franklin Swartz, Executive Director,
East European Jewish Heritage Project,
13b Dauman Street
Minsk 220002, Republic of Belarus.
Phone/Fax: +375 17 234 5612/234 33 60
or
P.O. Box 97
Minsk
220074
Republic of Belarus
Belarusian is one of two official languages. For about 40%
of the country, it is the first language. It is most
prevalent in rural areas. All legal and government
documents are in Belarusian. All road signs are in
Belarusian. Belarusian language and
literature is a required subject in all schools and
universities. There are Belarusian (and for that matter
Polish) language schools available in many parts of the
country where there is a demand. Russian now the
second state language. Until 1932, there were four official
languages: Belarusian, Russian, Polish and Yiddish.
Virtually all Belarusians are bilingual. Belarus
has 141 listed ethnic and national groups, many of which have
retained their language. From a posting by Franklin J.
Swartz, East European Jewish Heritage Project
E-mail eejhp@yahoo.com
Their web site is
http://eejhp.netfirms.com
Eastern
European Jewish History - "EEJH":
European Jewish History, Religion and Culture / Eyropeyishe
Yiddishe Geshikhte, Religion un Kultur is a mailing list for the
discussion of Jewish religion, culture and history in Europe.
Discussions range from European Jews in ancient times to events in
the 21st century. Special attention is devoted to topics dealing
with Jewish Culture, Customs and Beliefs, Folklore and Folk
Religion, Jewish-Christian Relations in Europe
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eejh/
Estonia
- there are approximately 28 thousand Byelorussians in Estonia.
See the 1993 information from The First World Convention of
Byelorussians at
http://www.belaurs-misc.org/bel-diasp.htm
http://www.ngonet.ee/eva
Europages -
business 2 business company directory and business in Europe,
yellow pages access, international and European business directory
(professional services, addresses and business classifieds
http://www.europages.net
FEEFHS
Belarus Research List -
http://www.mtu-net.ru/rrr/ukraine.htm
Genealogy
(including Jewish Genealogy) in Belarus - http://www.geocities.com/albaruthenia/IA/history.html
Genealogy
resources at the Belarus National State Archive (a growing
list, but in Russian) -
http://www.mtu-net.ru/rrr/ukraine.htm
GenWeb
(World) - The Belarus GenWeb was
started in 1999 by Charles Wardell. Belarus GenWeb is a part
of the world-wide network
WorldGenWeb,
a non-profit group of websites devoted to sharing free
genealogical resources and assistance throughout the world.
The Belarus Country Coordinator is Vince
Leibowitz.
http://www.rootsweb.com/~blrwgw/
http://www.mtu-net.ru/rrr/ukraine.htm
Guberniya
District Maps, Grodno, Minsk, Vitebsk Guberniyas maps from the
1899 edition of Vsia Rossia -
http://www.geocities.com/albaruthenia/IA/history.html
The
Guberniya maps from 1899.
http://www.jewishgen.org/belarus/
History
of Byelorussian Jewry -
http://www.geocities.com/albaruthenia/IA/history.html
Index
of Kasaty offers many links dealing with Belarus. Most
items are in htm format, though Some are in zip format.
http://solar.rtd.utk.edu/~kasaty
Jews
in Belarus - partially in Belarus language
http://litvaki.cjb.net/
Judaism
- within Belarus - "At the turn of the century, over 50
percent of the population of Minsk (Mensk), Hrodna, Mogilev
and Viciebsk were Jewish (98% of native Byelorussians lived
in the countryside). Today, Jews constitute one percent of
the national population." Information
obtained from the Minsk in Your Pocket
http://www.bel_trav.htm
guide, Summer, 1997, page 30 and the 1997-98 guide, page 31.
Also
check out
www.belarus.net
for information about Belarus
Latvia
- there are approximately 120 thousand Byelorussians in Latvia
in 1993 and approximately 97,000 in 2000.
There are approximately 10 officially registered Belarusian
organizations in Latvia. More information available at
http://www.belarus-misc.org/bel-diasp.htm
Lithuanian
Database offers approximately 10,000 records which
probably contain names that may have lived in Belarus which had
been Lithuania http://www.jewishgen.org/litvak/all.htm
Magnate -
"Apparently, the country had an intensely feudal
character for hundreds of years, the effects of which have not
completely worn off. Polish landed gentry (often absentee
landlords) from the joint Poland/Lithuania Commonwealth, which
ruled the area for hundreds of years (1550-1795ish), actually
*owned* whole towns, cities, and manorial estates; had private
armies; and often offered protective charters for Jews whom they
contracted with to run distilleries, inns, collect taxes from the
Belarusian peasants, provide services like shoemaking, etc., and
basically act as middlemen between the Poles and the natives.
The landed
gentry were called "magnates" and were often
princes and counts and other kinds of lesser nobility. After the
Czar took over this region (1795-ish), many Jews performed the
same services for the Russian nobility who had simply exchanged
places with their Polish peers. Interestingly, there
was an unusual urban-rural split in Belarus: towns and
cities were populated almost entirely
by the landed gentry and Jews (the only groups allowed to travel
in the region), while the countryside was populated almost
exclusively by the native Belarussians who spoke their own
language (Belarusian, rather than Polish or Russian) and had a
different religion (Greek Orthodox, rather than Roman Catholic,
Russian Orthodox, or Jewish), and were mostly involved in
agricultural activities."
"According to a Google search, the term "Korchma"
is currently a kind of restaurant. Perhaps your relative ran
an inn or a distillery for the prince for whom he may have worked.
I hope this helps. If I'm wrong about any of the info above, I
hope that someone will correct me." From a posting
by Laura Moss Gottlieb Wisconsin, USA on 4/8/2004
Map of
Belarus -
http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/maps/belarus.jpg
Old
Belarus Maps online
http://www.belarusguide.com/
Detailed
Maps of Belarus Cities
http://uk.multimap.com/index/BO1.htm
You can zoom in and out and re-center
each map. Printable versions are
available.
Map of
Grodno Guberniya 1834 -
http://www.geocities.com/albaruthenia/IA/history.html
Map of
Grodno Guberniya in 1890
http://geocities.com/Vienna/Opera/7858/lida-site/lida-dist.htm
Map of
Lida Uyezd - as part of Lithuania
http://geocities.com/Vienna/Opera/7858/lida-site/lida-dist.htm
Map of
Minsk Guberniya Map 1834 - http://www.geocities.com/albaruthenia/IA/history.html
Map of
Minsk Guberniya from 1834 http://www.jewishgen.org/belarus/1834_minsk_gubernia_map.htm
Map of
Mogilev Guberniya 1834 -
http://www.geocities.com/albaruthenia/IA/history.html
Map of
Poland from 1921 to 1939 - included is Belarus http://www.polishroots.com/images/pol1921.gif
Map
portion of Vilna Guberniya from 1863
http://geocities.com/Vienna/Opera/7858/lida-site/lida-dist.htm
Maps of Russia
and the FSU (Former Soviet Union) Republics - be
prepared to stay online for quite some time, if you want to see
one of the largest collections of different types of
maps.
This site
is fabulous and offers a huge variety of maps that include such
titles as Bukovina Maps; Ukraine Maps and Distances; Ex-USSR map;
Maps of Europe in different eras; Russian Far East Maps; Belarus
Maps; Ukraine Maps; Kazakhstan Maps: Georgia Maps;
Tajikistan Maps; Crimea Maps; Uzbekistan Maps; Azerbaijan Maps;
Kyrgyzstan Maps; Moldova Maps; Turkmenistan Maps; Armenia Maps;
Caucuses Region Maps; Baltic States Maps including Estonia,
Lithuania, and Latvia; and more at http://users.aimnet.com/~ksyrah/ekskurs/maps.html
Map of
Vitebsk Guberniya 1834 -
http://www.geocities.com/albaruthenia/IA/history.html
Measurement of
Land - a Desyatina is 1.09 hectares or 2.07 acres
Military
History of Belarus -
http://www.geocities.com/albaruthenia/IA/history.html
Military
Records - The RBVIA serves as the centralized archive for
military records of the Russian Empire,
consolidating the holdings from various pre-revolutionary Russian
military archives and other repositories throughout the former
Soviet Union. RGVIA retains documentation produced
from the activities of highest, central, and local military
administration and military agencies of the Russian Empire
from the end of the seventeenth century until March of 1918.
Rossiiskii
Gosudarstvennyi Voenno-Istoricheskii Arkhiv (RGVIA)
Russia 107864 Moscow
2nd Bauman Street, 3
Phone +7 095 261 20 70
For records
from 1918 - 1941 ...
Rossiyskiy
Gosudarstvenniy Voyenniy Arkhiv
Rossiya, 125212 Moskva
U1. Adm. Makarov, 29
English
translation ...
(Russia, 125212
Moscow
Adm. Makarov St. 29
Russian State Military Archive)
KGB Archive
Moscow
(Address not available at this time)
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