Gesher Galicia

07/24/2026

Please comfort us all this Shabbat and always. Nachamu Nachamu. Shabbat Shalom.

07/22/2026

As has become a tradition on Tisha B'Av we post this picture of a group of Polish women davening in Poland circa 1926. It is always an extremely popular post.

We wish all those observing Tisha B’Av, or the Ninth of Av an easy and meaningful fast.

wrote about this picture of Polish women commemorating Tisha B'Av in the Galitzianer. Please read the article here: https://tinyurl.com/2sb6uuz9

07/07/2026

✨ New Records Added to the All Galicia Database! ✨

We’re excited to share that another 6,000 new records have been added to the All Galicia Database this month. These updates span dozens of towns and include birth, marriage and death records that open new doors for your family history research.

Newly added collections include:

• Bóbrka Jewish Births (1830–1876)
• Borszczów Jewish Births & Deaths (1940)
• Czortków Jewish Births, Marriages & Deaths (1940–1941)
• Dobromil Jewish Marriage Bann & Marriages (1913–1940)
• Dukla Jewish Births, Marriages & Deaths (1914–1941)
• Horodenka Jewish Marriages (1856–1931)
• Husiatyn Jewish Births, Marriages & Deaths (1940)
• Kańczuga Jewish Marriages (1859–1876)
• Mikulińce Jewish Marriages (1931)
• Monasterzyska Jewish Births (1940)
• Rudki Jewish Marriages (1886–1890)
• Rzeszów Jewish Marriages (1917)
• Sambor Jewish Births & Deaths (Index Books, 1877–1913)
• Stryj Jewish Births (1904)
• Strzeliska Nowe Jewish Marriages (1920)
• Świrz Jewish Deaths (1940–1941)
• Tarnopol Jewish Births (1942)
• Tartaków Jewish Marriages (1933–1934)
• Żółkiew Jewish Marriages & Deaths (1898–1899)

All Galicia Database link: https://www.geshergalicia.org/all-galicia-database/

Photo: Synagogue and Beit Midrash of Żółkiew. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Happy searching!

Scott Genzer
Research Coordinator

07/02/2026

In the interest of bringing the story of what we do to interested parties around the world GG President Steven Turner will be presenting a talk on Galicia to the Australia Jewish Historical Society. The talk will be on Saturday night July 11th, 8Pm ET which is Sunday the 12th at 10AM in Australia. Hope to see many of you there. Register here:https://ajhs.com.au/event-calendar/ #!event/2026/7/12/all-about-jewish-galicia-and-gesher-galicia

06/25/2026

Just in time to add to your summer reading list, the June issue of "The Galitzianer" is out! From Jewish given names to a Kabbalist from Podhajce to a genealogical success story, this issue covers a lot of ground. We also meet a rabbi who went from Holocaust survivor to chaplain in the Polish army, and a man who likely sailed to Israel on the Altalena.
“The Galitzianer” is a membership benefit of Gesher Galicia, so if you haven't already, join or renew your membership at www.geshergalicia.org to secure your copy.
Have an idea for an article on a Galicia-related theme or a photo of a Galician relative you’d like to share? Contact us at [email protected]. Both members and nonmembers are invited to submit.

05/24/2026

We’ve expanded the All Galicia Database again with over 3600 newly indexed records from the towns below. If your family came from any of these places, let us know in the comments what you have discovered!

Scott Genzer
Research Coordinator

Gliniany Jewish Voters (1861, 1867, 1870)
Gorlice Jewish Banns (1907, 1911-1912, 1920, 1922-1923, 1932)
Gorlice Jewish Births (certificates) (1875, 1880, 1888-1889, 1903, 1906)
Gorlice Jewish Deaths (certificates) (1942)
Gródek Jagielloński Jewish Births (1893)
Gródek Jagielloński Jewish Deaths (1915)
Jezierna Jewish Marriages (1940)
Korolówka (near Borszczów) Jewish Births (1940)
Mielnica Jewish Births (1940)
Mielnica Jewish Deaths (1940)
Mikulińce Jewish Births (1867, 1905-1907, 1918-1920, 1940.04-1940.12)
Mikulińce Jewish Deaths (1940)
Mikulińce Jewish Marriages (1940.06-1940.12)
Mosty Wielkie Jewish Marriages (1920-1938)
Nadwórna Jewish Births (1925)
Nadwórna Jewish Births (certificates) (1942)
NKVD Files, Kyiv and other locations, TsDAHOU (1939-1941)
NKVD Files, Stanislav Region, AUCBUI-F (1939-1945)
Okopy Jewish Births (1940)
Przemyślany Jewish Marriages (1919-1939)
Rohatyn Jewish Voters (1865 + 1870)
Sołotwina Jewish Births (1925)
Stanisławów Jewish Births (1923-1932)
Stary Sambor Jewish Marriages (index book) (1874-1935)
Tarnopol Jewish Births (1940.01-1941.06)
Tarnopol Jewish Deaths (1940.01-1940.12)
Trembowla Jewish Births (1940.04-1940.06)
Zabłotów Jewish Marriages (index book) (1877-1920)
Złotniki Jewish Births (1940)

Free genealogy search engine for over 900,000 records from the former Austro-Hungarian province of Galicia, which is today eastern Poland and western Ukraine.

05/10/2026

NEW YOUTUBE CLIP RELEASED OF THE MAMALES SINGING YIDL MITN FIDL FROM THE GESHER GALICIA VIRTUAL CONCERT

A clip from this performance was just uploaded to YouTube and you can watch it by clicking on this link.
https://youtu.be/LW4Emlu_rx8

The response to the concert has been incredible. By popular demand we are thrilled to be able to offer an encore opportunity to grab tickets and see this unforgettable performance for yourself.

BUY TICKETS HERE - https://tinyurl.com/geshergalicia

Purchasing this ticket will entitle you to start watching the concert within 30 days and then for another 30 days after you start watching it you can watch it as many times as you like.

Previously a clip from the finale was uploaded to YouTube and you can watch it by clicking on the picture below. Hear them sing the classic Chiribim Chiribum.
https://youtu.be/RE2o_Lyh1DQ


The Mamales go a great job bring our Galician Yiddish culture to a new and wider audience. We are very confident that if you choose to watch the concert you will thoroughly enjoy it.

Happy Mothers Day to all our Mama's out there. A ticket to this concert is a great gift for our Yiddishe Mamas.

5 likes, 1 comment. "The Mamales in a Virtual Concert for Gesher Galicia: Finale"

05/03/2026

FIRST BATCH OF VOTER RECORDS RELEASED FROM THE SCHNEIDER COLLECTION

Gesher Galicia is happy to announce the release of the first batch of voter records from the Schneider Collection Project, which are being extracted and indexed by our team from fond 684 stored at the Krakow National Archive. The project page for the collection can be found on our website here.
https://www.geshergalicia.org/projects/voter-lists-from-the-antoni-schneider-collection/

Antoni Schneider (1825–1880) was an ethnographer whose life was consumed by a monumental obsession to document the "cultural fabric" of Galicia. While serving a three-year sentence for participating in the 1848 Hungarian uprising, he developed a visionary plan: the creation of a definitive encyclopedia of his homeland Galicia. To this end, Schneider scoured paper mills and antique shops for documents building an extensive archive of documents on Galicia.

The specific records we obtained from the Schneider collection are lists of residents eligible to vote in parliamentary elections for the Galician Sejm (parliament) for the elections of 1861, 1867 and 1870. These lists typically record the names, occupations, and house numbers of eligible individuals. It is important to note that these lists do not represent the entire population (during this period in Galicia (1860-1870), only a small percentage of residents were permitted to vote - primarily male heads of families who paid significant taxes). Despite this partiality, the data included in the lists is an important substitute for missing census records and can be also used to cross-reference with other resources such as vital records and tax lists which researchers may have from other sources. This is useful for the following purposes:

(1) Pinpointing Ancestral Residences: The house numbers found in some voter lists allow researchers to cross-reference data with cadastral surveys and vital records to locate the exact plot of land an ancestor inhabited.
(2) Socio-Economic Profiling: Understanding an ancestor’s eligibility to vote for the Sejm, alongside their listed occupation, provides insight into their tax status and social standing - especially with the occupation.
(3) Insights into less-documented locations: Schneider documented locales that often lack their own archival fonds, preserving the only surviving evidence of their 19th-century residents.

We thank Ross Maurer, Logan Kleinwaks, Idan Livne, Yoav Mentesh for their work on this project.

Prof. Yaron Wolfsthal
Director, Gesher Galicia
Project Coordinator, Schneider Collection

04/30/2026

The response to the live stream has been so incredible that by popular demand, we’re thrilled to offer an encore opportunity to grab tickets and see this unforgettable performance for yourself.
Tickets are priced at $25 (plus a $7.28 service charge) and will entitle the viewer for 30 days to log in and view the concert and then for 30 days after the purchaser starts to view it to watch as many times as they like.

PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS HERE:
https://tinyurl.com/geshergalicia

Here is a clip of The Mamales singing the Yiddish classic Chiribim Chiribum from the finale to give you a taste of what the concert has in store for you when you choose to watch.
https://youtu.be/RE2o_Lyh1DQ

Besides Yiddish classics, the set includes Broadway show tunes and pop hits - many in English and many in a Yiddish/English combination.

The legendary genealogist, Miriam Weiner wrote after viewing the concert on the livestream:
"The voices, interpretations and joyous enthusiasm remind an entire generation of these long-ago memories and more importantly, that they are shared memories with our parents and grandparents.
As a long-time genealogist, I understand how important it is to connect with the past and while our work is done primarily in old archives, cemeteries and interviewing relatives, what you all
do adds another component to the end result. It is equally important and I say that with much sincerity."

With Mother’s and Father’s Days coming up this may be a good present to purchase for a parent with love of this music. With a ticket one can view this concert on a TV or on any computer, tablet or mobile device. This is a very professional production. There were 5 cameras mounted around the theatre that filmed the entire concert and then afterwards it was edited from those 5 feeds to maximize the viewing experience.

Your purchase of tickets supports Gesher Galicia and the work we do and we appreciate that support. We hope you take advantage of this special opportunity to experience and celebrate our Jewish culture.

Thank you.

5 likes, 1 comment. "The Mamales in a Virtual Concert for Gesher Galicia: Finale"

04/26/2026

We are so happy to report that The Mamales were a huge success in the virtual concert produced by Gesher Gesher today. As someone commented in the chat on the livestream, "somewhere up in heaven the Barry Sisters are smiling down on these 3 talented young women".

Those who watched the livestream can attest to the wonderful joy that watching The Mamales brings. The "on demand" video will be available starting tomorrow for those who bought tickets.

Please let us know your thoughts on the event. Thank you.