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knowledge or becoming an active user of Virtual
Shtetl?
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If you do not find answers to your questions – just ask us
These instructions describe each particular part of Virtual Shtetl and explain how to navigate through it.
1. Registration and log in
2. Navigation and adding content
3. Searching through Virtual Shtetl
4. Shtetl Community
We may ask following questions during an interview.
While conducting some research, searching for materials, you may make use of the search queries that we have carried out and other available materials:
Search query ,,Midrasz"
Search query ,,Słowo Żydowskie"
Search query conducted in the Jewish Historical Institute Bulletin – materials from 1950 to 2008
While searching through the Internet in order to find some information, we may visit following websites:
A social networking portal gathering people saved from the Holocaust, their children and grandchildren. Holocaust museums, organizations connected with them, research centers and all the people interested in inculcating tolerance take part in creating it. This portal helps in finding places where the survivors come from and gathering information about them.
Archiwum Map Zachodniej Polski (The Archive of Western Poland Maps)
Archiwum Map Zachodniej Polski popularizes copies of archival maps of a very high quality. It is an invaluable research help e.g. for regional history and genealogy.
Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe (National Digital Archive – a search engine of archival information)
Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe gathers, compiles, maintains and renders accessible some archives such as photos, audio and video files, which constitute a part of the national records. Under this address you may find a unit which is to popularize some archival information via the Internet.
Bibliografia Historii Polskiej (Polish History Bibliography)
The electronic version of Bibligrafia Historii Polskiej compiled together with The Institute of National Remembrance. The electronic version enables to search the data from 1990 to 2005.
Biblioteka Narodowa (The National Library – catalogues and bibliographies)
The National Library is one of the most important cultural institutions in Poland. It is the main archive of national literature and the domestic center of bibliographic information.
This website popularizes the digital materials of such institutions as Center for Jewish History, the American Jewish Historical Society, the American Sephardi Federation, the Leo Baeck Institute, Yeshiva University Museum, and the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research. The archives include more than 25 000 items such as rare books, books for children, letters, maps, photos and others.
A very rich source of materials concerning the Holocaust, the third Reich and fighting against the persecution of Jews during the Second World War.
Avotaynu is the leading publisher of products of interest to persons who are researching Jewish genealogy. You may find here both general genealogical guidebooks and information concerning single surnames.
Miasta w Dokumencie Archiwalnym (Towns in the Archival Documents)– Polska.pl
You can find here the history of towns which had a special impact on the economic and cultural history of Poland. Here are the documents gathered in the framework of the Miasta w Dokumencie Archiwalnym (Towns in the Archival Documents) Project.
This website covers the history of Poland from the 16th to the second half of the 20th century.
This website gathers information concerning population centers of Jews in Poland. You can find here maps of towns, photos and historical data.
The Central Database of Shoah Victims' Names
Yad Vashem, together with its partners, gathers data concerning the victims of the Holocaust. All information is published on this website.
International Jewish Cemetery Project
International Jewish Cemetery Project is a non-profit organization basing its existence on volunteers’ work. It is an initiative which originated thanks to cooperation with the IAJGS (the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies), the portal JewishGen and JewishGen Online Worldwide Burial Registry. It is to provide documentary evidence and describe all Jewish cemeteries and burial places all over the world. Each user can make a donation in the form of photos, information and materials about some chosen cemeteries and burial places.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Research
The data base of the Holocaust Museum in Washington providing the access to many academic publications, the catalogue of the Museum’s library and the lists of survivors.
USC Shoah Foundation Institute I Video Testimony Clips
The archive includes some testimonies of the survivors from the Holocaust and also other witnesses.
Yad Vashem Library has rich collections concerning the Holocaust.
A great collection of photos concerning the Holocaust.
Żydowski Instytut Historyczny – zbiory (The Jewish Historical Institute – collections)
The Jewish Historical Institute has a very rich collection of both publications and works of art concerning the history and culture of Polish Jews. The underground archive from the Warsaw Ghetto , i.e. Ringelblum’s Archive, is the most important part of the collection.
The Holocaust Center in Boston commemorates the key historical events by creating an extraordinary collection of books, films and archival materials. The main goals of the Center are to document and preserve the historical heritage, fight with education against hatred , prejudice, ignorance and indifference, to prevent future tragedies by conducting some historical research.
Centropa, concentrating on the oral history, has managed to collect over 1300 interviews with Jews who lived in Middle and Eastern Europe, previous Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and also in municipalities in Greece, Turkey and Balkans.
The Miriam Weiner Routes to Roots Foundation
The Miriam Weiner Routes to Roots Foundation was established in 1994. Its main goals include e.g. studying and documenting Jewish heritage, archives and Judaica in eastern Europe, promoting the study of Jewish genealogical material, preserving it and also assembling, cataloguing and publishing information from research of Jewish materials.
Lo Tishach is an organization aiming at ensuring effective and permanent protection of Jewish cemeteries in Europe. Its goal is to educate young Europeans so that they respect differences between people and take care of the multicultural heritage of the continent. The members of Lo Tishach visit cemeteries, gather information and do the maintenance to protect those historically important places.
Lo Tishkach’s website includes a public data base of all Jewish burial places in Europe, i.e. over 9000 cemeteries and mass graves.
Jewish History Museum in Arizona
Jewish History Museum in Arizona was established in 1910. It presents very rich Jewish heritage and also runs a special program concentrating on individual stories and oral history.
Map Archive of Wojskowy Instytut Geograficzny 1919 – 1939
Non-commercial project with scans of maps and geographic materials published by the Wojskowy Instytut Geograficzny (WIG), 1919 – 1939.
Project Radzima.org is an attempt to record and classify the history and heritage of Belarus.
Globus Belarus shows the architectural and other monuments in Belarus. It gathers 9 200 objects and 39 000 pictures of churches, castles, chapels, tenements and others. The history of the buildings is shortly described and the most interesting trip with other monuments mentioned is also shown.
National Library of Belarus Portal
Portal of National Library of Belarus provides access to information resources (electronic catalogue of library collections, images, databases and electronic publications) and information services.