Jews of Belarus

This is an umbrella project for all of the projects related to the Jews of Belarus, plus some links to closely related discussions. "Belarus was once a major center of European Jews, with 10% of the population being Jewish. But since the mid-20th century, the number of Jews has been reduced by the Holocaust, deportation, and emigration, so that today it is a very small minority of less than one percent." (Belarus, Wikipedia, 2016 Jun 14)

Links to projects and discussions at Geni are organized here into three broad categories: geography/administration, family surname, and other links. Project names are shown in bold. Some notes and a list of links to additional resources are at the bottom of the page. This page may not include every project at Geni related to Jews of Belarus, but please post to the Organizing Belarus discussion if you'd like to see one added.

Contents

• Geographical/Administrative Regions of Belarus, c. 1900
  • Region of Grodno
  • Region of Minsk
  • Region of Mogilev
  • Region of Vilna
  • Region of Vitebsk
• Surname Projects for Jews of Belarus
• Other "Jews of Belarus" Projects
• Additional Notes
• More Resources

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Geographical/Administrative Regions of Belarus, c. 1900

Most Jews researching their ancestors from Belarus are descended from people who emigrated during the late 19th and early 20th century. The historical records of that time (e.g. passenger lists) will of course refer to the administrative areas that existed then. For this reason, the Belarus SIG (special interest group) at the JewishGen genealogy website has chosen to organize based on the historic administrative regions circa 1900. For the same reason, and to smooth cooperation between the projects, this page is also organized by those historic regions rather than the modern ones.

You can use the JewishGen Communities Database to search for specific towns, each of which has a page that indicates which region and district the town was assigned to then and later. Information about Jewish population numbers, nearby towns, and links to other resources may also be provided on that page. Other tools that may be useful are the Shtetls of Belarus search and the JewishGen Gazetteer. Region (gubernia or oblast) and district (raion or uyezd) names are written with the primary spelling from the Communities database.

The heading names of regions below link to the Belarus SIG at JewishGen page for that region. The districts within each region are listed, and if there is a district-specific project at Geni then that name is linked to the corresponding project. Because the districts are mostly named after significant cities, if there is a city-specific project with that name then the district name links to it. Note that although the Kovno region is shown on the map, it is usually considered as part of historic Lithuania for Jewish genealogy. Visit the Litvaks - ליטבאקים - Lithuanian Jewry Data page or the Jewish Lithuania Guide page for more information.

[left] A map of modern Belarus, c. 2009, with lines showing railways (black/white), rivers (light blue), and major highways (red or yellow). [right] This map shows the Byelorussian region of the 1910 Russian Empire, with 1910 borders for each gubernia/region and (in blue) their English names, but showing the modern city names.

Region of Grodno

Districts: Bialystok, Brest-Litovsk, Grodno, Kobrin, Pruzhany, Slonim, Sokolka, Volkovysk

• Derechin, Belarus or Dereczyn, Poland
• Dereczyn Ghetto
• Jews of Hrodna (Grodno)
• Grodno Ghetto
• Jewish Families from Kobryn
• Jewish families in Milejczyce
• Sporovo, Biaroza District, Brest Region, Belarus / Спорово, Березовский район, Брестская область, Беларусь
• Jewish Families from Skidel, Belarus
• Jewish Families from Visokaye (Visoko-Litovsk), Belarus
• Levin Family From Grodno Guberniya
• Kielbasin Transit Camp

Region of Minsk

Districts: Bobruysk, Borisov, Igumen/Cherven, Minsk, Mozyr, Novogroudok, Pinsk, Rechitsa, Slutsk

• Jewish Families of Babruysk
• Jewish Communities of the Borisov District
• Jewish Families of David-Horodok
• Igumen/Cherven Uezd of Minsk Governorship
• Jews of Logoysk
• Jewish families from Lyakhavichy (Belarus)
• Minsk Ghetto גטו מינסק
• Pińsk Ghetto
• Jewish Families from Rechytsa
• Shatsk, Belarus
• Jewish Families from Slutsk
• Stolin, Belarus
• Jewish Families of Turov and Zhitkovichi, Belarus
• Jews from Zaslavl (Zaslawye)
• Kugel Family of Minsk Region Belarus
• Kushners from Baranovich
• Baranovichi Ghetto Extermination Camp
• Maly Trostenets Extermination Camp

Region of Mogilev

Districts: Byhov, Chausy, Cherikov, Gomel, Gorki, Klimovichi, Mogilev, Mstislavl, Orsha, Rogachev, Senno

• Klimavichy, Belarus
• Mogilev Region (Belarus)
• Tufelds from Mogilev, Belarus

Region of Vilna

Regions: Disna, Lida, Oshmyany (Oshmiany), Vilejka, Novo-Aleksandrovsk, Augustov, Sventsyany

• Jewish Families of Dolginovo (Dolhinov), Belarus
• Families from Glubokoye (Hlybokaye)
• Jewish Families from Lida, Belarus
• Jewish Families from Vasiliški, Belarus
• Jewish families from Voranava (Voronovo), Lida, Belarus
• Katz Family from Smorgon and Greater Vilnius Area
• Burros / Бураш Families of Soly and Oshmyany, Belarus

Region of Vitebsk

Districts: Drissa, Dvinsk, Gorodok, Lepel, Liutsin, Nevel, Polotsk, Rezhitsa (Rechitsa), Sebezh, Velizh, Vitebsk

• Jewish Families from the city of Vitebsk, Belarus
• Beshenkovichi, Vitebsk Oblast, Belarus

Surname Projects for Jews of Belarus

Surname projects for specific locations are also duplicated above under the appropriate region.

• Ajdukowsky Family of Belarus
• Burros / Бураш Families of Soly and Oshmyany, Belarus
• Butensky Family
• Eigs from Smilovichi / Семья Эйгов из Смиловичей
• Gelfands from Smilovichi / Семья Гельфандов из Смиловичей
• Granadier Families of Belarus
• Hurowitz from Belarus Project
• Kapilevich-Kalmen Family of Belarus and Lithuania
• Katz Family from Smorgon and Greater Vilnius Area
• Kugel Family of Minsk Region Belarus
• Kushners from Baranovich
• Levin Family From Grodno Guberniya
• Meisels Family
• Shifrin Family Circle
• Zabich/Zabitz/Zhabich family from Smilovichi and Iliya Забич из Смиловичей и Илья

Other "Jews of Belarus" Projects

• Belarusian Jews (mostly Gorelik family)
• Shoah in Belarus
• Belarus SIG, Geni Users Group - International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS)

Additional Notes

Soviet Belarus between 1938 and 1960 was divided into administrative regions called voblasts. At times some were divided or renamed. Voblast names were: Babruysk, Baranavichy, Belastok (Bialystok), Brest, Gomel, Grodno (Grodnenskaya), Maladzyechna, Mogilev, Molodechno, Minsk, Navahrudak, Pinsk, Polatsk (Polotsk), Polesia, Vitebsk, and Vileyka. (from Regions of Belarus @ Wikipedia)

In 2016, Belarus is divided into six oblast regions and the city of Minsk, which has a special status being the capital of Belarus. The regions are named Brest, Gomel, Grodno, Mogilev, Minsk, and Vitebsk.

Three sketches showing the Byelorussian SSR voblast borders and English names in 1940, 1944, 1991, and in the bottom right a map of modern Belarus with Belorussian labels.

More Resources

• Belarus SIG (special interest group) @ JewishGen
• KehilaLinks for Belarus @ JewishGen
• Genealogy & Family History @ Archives of Belarus
• Articles & essays, Archive contacts, Maps, & Archivist insights @ Routes to Roots Foundation
• Belarus @ Wikipedia
• Regions of Belarus @ WIkipedia
• List of renamed cities in Belarus @ Wikipedia
• History of the Jews in Belarus @ Wikipedia
• The Holocaust in Belarus @ Wikipedia
• Belarus @ YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe
• Belarus Virtual Jewish History Tour @ Jewish Virtual Library
• Belarus Genealogy Resources @ Federation of East European Family History Societies
• Jewish Heritage Research Group in Minsk
• Belarus Governates and Voivodeships @ FamilySearch
• Jewish Belarus
• Jewish Community of Belarus @ European Jewish Congress
• Yad Yisroel (travel services and record searches)
• The Jews of Belarus (with some focus on Turov)
• Historic graveyards in Belarus