Overview

Galicia and Bukovina were important Jewish centers as far back as the 13th Century and were home to over one million Jews, with unique cultural characteristics and a vibrant intellectual and spiritual life. These regions produced prominent Jewish thinkers, rabbis, writers, artists and public activists, who created influential texts and institutions that have had a long-lasting impact on the Jewish world. The Torah scholars and Jewish intellectuals of Galicia and Bukovina were known for their tolerance and openness towards modernity, while being firmly rooted in Jewish tradition and learning.
This thriving Jewish world was wiped out in the Holocaust.

This section offers a look in to the glories Jewish world and its remnants in today Ukraine and Poland.

The sub-sections in this branch are:

Historical background:

You can read a general overview and a number of articles on the historical background of the Jews in Galicia and Bukovina.

Maps:

You can view our collection of historical maps. We offer general maps of the entire area and maps of specific cities.

Organizations:

Here you can find information on different Jewish organizations in Galicia and Bukovina   

Communities:

We offer close to 500 community pages detailing the history of the Jewish people in each community and links to other websites for further research.

Tombstones:

We have a large collection of tombstones assembled by our field schools in a number of cemeteries in Galicia. You can see a photograph and the epitaph of each tombstone.

Selected Bibliography:

The bibliography section contains descriptions of scholar books and articles regarding to the Jewish history and culture in Galicia and Bukovina. This section is constantly expanding with the most recent publications in the field.