MyHeritage, a genealogy data host, together with New York’s Museum of Jewish Heritage and its affiliate JewishGen, which serves as a repository for Jewish genealogical records, have announced the publication of 5.8 million records from JewishGen on the MyHeritage platform. The 28 collections in this release represent the initial implementation of a licensing agreement that will ultimately make almost all JewishGen records accessible on MyHeritage.
JewishGen is a leading website for Jewish genealogy, featuring important collections of historical records relating to Jewish communities across Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and North America. The first installment of JewishGen records on MyHeritage spans from the 18th century to the 21st. It consists primarily of vital records such and births, marriages and death and covers many geographic regions, including Poland, Hungary, Ukraine, Belarus, Latvia, and Germany.
This further expands the significant resources for Jewish genealogy offered by MyHeritage, which is also the only major commercial genealogy company to support Hebrew. Through its member base of one million users in Israel, MyHeritage is home to the world’s largest collection of Jewish family trees. MyHeritage’s collections of global historical records likewise include millions of records that are valuable to individuals researching Jewish heritage, such as passenger and immigration lists that document the wave of Jews seeking refuge in North America, South America, and Israel after their communities were devastated by the Holocaust.
The records in the newly published collections will now be integrated with from MyHeritage’s data management and web technologies, which automatically match historical records with the 83 million family trees on MyHeritage. Until now, JewishGen records were available to search and view in English only. But now, international users will benefit from MyHeritage’s Global Name Translation Technology™, which allows individuals researching in other languages, such as Hebrew, Russian, or Greek, to search and view these records, with the names translated into their native languages. The application of this cutting-edge technology to the genealogical resources offered by JewishGen will open new doors to those seeking information on their Jewish roots.
Gilad Japhet, Founder and CEO of MyHeritage commented “Our new collaboration with JewishGen is an important milestone that makes MyHeritage indispensable for every Jewish genealogist. Genealogy has been deeply important to the Jewish people for millennia. JewishGen is the key resource for Jewish genealogy and we are happy to bring its records to MyHeritage.”
“The agreement between JewishGen and MyHeritage furthers our goal to expand the availability of JewishGen’s valuable collection of historical records to genealogy researchers around the world,” says Jack Kliger, President & CEO of the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust. “We are pleased that this agreement will also contribute to the expanding interest in Jewish genealogy.”
“We are delighted that a significant percentage of our historical records will now also be available via MyHeritage,” said Avraham Groll, Executive Director of JewishGen. “The collaboration with MyHeritage will help millions of people across the world learn more about their Jewish roots.”
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