The Germany where your Jewish ancestors lived is not the Germany of today. Its boundaries have changed several times. Before its unification in 1871, Germany was more of a concept than a state, composed of dozens of kingdoms, duchies and principalities large and small. Each area had its own laws and attitudes toward Jews.

To do research in this historic “Germany” one must know which places belonged to which state at a given time, the legal status of Jews in each place, and the records that were kept in those places. Germany has an enormous wealth of records pertaining to Jews, especially after 1800, but there are no simple, global rules for using them.

Working backwards from today’s Germany to the early 19th century, Lustig will focus on key historical events, their impact on Jewish life, and the way records were kept.

This program is made possible by support from the William M. Lowenstein Genealogical Research Endowment Fund at the Jewish Community Foundation.

REGISTRATION

This virtual program costs $5 per person. It’s free for Jewish Genealogical Society members. Please register online.

This program is a collaboration between the Jewish Genealogy Society of Pittsburgh and the Rauh Jewish History Program & Archives at the Heinz History Center. The program is free for JGS-Pittsburgh members and $5 for the general public. To become a member of the JGS-Pittsburgh and receive a free membership code, please visit their website.