Episode Overview

Podcast: Family Tree Magazine Podcast
Episode Title: Exploring JewishGen – An Interview with Caitlin Hollander Waas
Date: December 15, 2025
Host: Lisa Louise Cook (Editor at Family Tree Magazine)
Guest: Caitlin Hollander Waas (Chief Genealogist at JewishGen)

This episode highlights JewishGen.org, a comprehensive global resource for Jewish genealogy. Lisa Louise Cook interviews Caitlin Hollander Waas, diving into JewishGen’s mission, its unique global approach, and how both beginners and experienced researchers can use the site’s tools, records, and community to uncover family histories.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

JewishGen’s Mission and Scope

• Global Resource: JewishGen’s mission is to preserve Jewish family history and heritage for future generations.
• Unlike region-specific sites, JewishGen focuses on "the greater Jewish experience" owing to the Jewish diaspora, with records from Europe, the U.S., the Middle East, and beyond.
• Record Diversity: Includes notary records from the Ottoman Empire, military records, voting records in the Russian Empire, and name adoptions from pre-Germany areas.
• "We don't focus on a record set from a single location... we're looking at the greater Jewish experience." – Caitlin (02:23)

Free and Unique Resources

• Free Access: All resources are free for researchers.
• Beyond Basic Records:
  • Features unique document sets like Yizkor Books (memorial books), community databases, and context-rich materials that "flesh out the story" of individuals.
• "We have resources that... go beyond the record sets... It helps sort of flesh out the story of people." – Caitlin (03:28)

Getting Started: Tips for New Researchers

• Preparation:
  • Know as much as possible about the region, languages spoken, and names (which may differ on records and actual use).
  • Historic geopolitical complexities mean national identities can be misleading (“Poland” pre-1919 means something very different than today).
  • Hebrew names are particularly helpful; find graves or Hebrew inscriptions if possible.
  • Stay open-minded and ready to engage with the active JewishGen community discussion groups.
• "Come in with the idea that the names that they're using may not be the names that are on documents." – Caitlin (04:22)
• "Our discussion groups and our communities are very, very active." – Caitlin (04:40)

Record Geographic Coverage

• Global Breadth:
  • Records from Europe, U.S., U.K., South Africa, Middle East, and even Chinese-Jewish communities.
  • U.S. and other “destination countries” feature mostly religious life records, not civil ones.
• "We're not a European exclusive website... We have records out of some of the Chinese Jewish communities. It's a very, very global website." – Caitlin (06:25)

Pinpointing Ancestral Locations

• Communities Database/Town Finder:
  • Caitlin’s favorite tool: Search for a historic Jewish community using any of its many names (German, Yiddish, Polish, Russian, etc.).
  • Phonetic search helps resolve spelling and transliteration inconsistencies.
  • Returns context on the town’s historic and current nation, shows maps, and links to specific resources like cemetery or Yizkor book pages.
• "The JewishGen Communities database... allows you to search for a Jewish community that has existed historically under any of the names that it has historically existed under." – Caitlin (07:08)
• Example: A town from the Austro-Hungarian Empire could have German, Polish, and Yiddish names, all retrievable through the database. (07:19–08:03)

Yizkor Books: Town Memorials

• Rich Context:
  • Yizkor books (post-Holocaust town memorial eulogies) offer deep insights, not only on the losses of the Holocaust but also on what daily life was like, personal anecdotes, and the vibrancy of pre-war communities.
  • Includes histories, personal stories, and names of individuals lost.
• "It's like a eulogy for a town... This is what it was like growing up here... It gives this beautiful, rich tapestry before it goes into the horrors." – Caitlin (08:55)
• Translations: Wide language array (Yiddish, Hungarian, Czech, German, Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Hebrew) with volunteer translations.
• "We actually have a team of volunteers that does the translation work for them." – Caitlin (10:19)

Education & Support for New Researchers

• Educational Offerings:
  • Regular webinars.
  • In-depth courses with assignments.
  • On-site support at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in NYC, where researchers can get in-person help from genealogists.
• "We offer regular webinars... really in-depth education on how to do genealogy." – Caitlin (10:39)
• "You can sit down with one of our genealogists... and we'll actually sit down with you and work on a problem." – Caitlin (10:54)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Names & Origins:
  "The names that they're using may not be the names that are on documents." – Caitlin Hollander Waas (04:22)
• On Geographic Fluidity:
  "Somebody who says that they're from Austria might not mean Vienna, they might mean Lviv, which is today in Ukraine." – Caitlin (04:19)
• On Community Engagement:
  "Our discussion groups and our communities are very, very active. It's one of the most active parts of our websites." – Caitlin (04:40)
• On Yizkor Books:
  "It's like a eulogy for a town.... This is what it was like growing up here... This is what the market days were like... beautiful, rich tapestry before it goes into the horrors." – Caitlin (08:55)
• Host’s reflection:
  "Sometimes those signatures, just knowing that they were holding that pen... that's them speaking to you through a record is just tremendous." – Lisa Louise Cook (11:32)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Introduction & JewishGen’s Mission: 01:56–03:21
• Free Access and Scope of Resources: 03:25–03:49
• Advice for New Researchers: 04:04–05:23
• Global Coverage Discussion: 05:55–06:37
• Communities Database/Town Finder: 07:00–08:36
• Yizkor Books & Translations: 08:49–10:28
• Educational Resources & Onsite Support: 10:38–11:12
• Closing Reflection: 11:12–11:41

Episode Takeaways

JewishGen.org offers a rich, global, and free platform for Jewish genealogy, with critical resources and community for all levels of researchers. From Yizkor books painting the full picture of lost communities, to an active support network and robust educational opportunities, JewishGen aims to help every researcher give their ancestors’ stories depth, context, and meaning.

Start your journey at jewishgen.org.