Latvia SIG - Session 1: Documenting Litvak (Latvia-Lithuania) migrations to the West 1876-1930

17

JULY

2012

Latvia

Lithuania

The dispersal of Russia's Jews to the United States, Canada and South Africa during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century transformed the world's Jewish community forever. However tracing Litvak ancestry remains difficult despite the digitization of German, British, and North American passenger records during the past decade. This illustrated talk demonstrates how historians researching Russian Jewish migration can help Jewish genealogists to unearth information on the pioneering journeys made by their ancestors. In particular it will demonstrate how digitised newspaper archives are an under-utilised tool for those with Litvak ancestry.

CGV