About us
Jewish merchants may have been present in the region that is today western Ukraine since the early days of Kievan Rus', yet the earliest concrete evidence for Jewish communal presences in the area dates to around the 12th century. With the possible exception of Jews living on Ukraine's westernmost fringes, there does not appear to be solid evidence for continuity of Jewish settlement from these communities to those that postdate the Mongol invasions. In the late 14th century, as Western Ukraine came under the control of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, small Jewish communities spread out over the vast territory that Jews referred to as East K'nan began to emerge. These communities experienced a continuous yet relatively minor flow of immigration from Ashkenazi Jews until 1569.
The establishment of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth at that date created a multitude of economic incentives for Ashkenazim to move to Western Ukraine, and this influx demographically dominated East Knanic communities, likely by several orders of magnitude. The Jews of Western Ukraine today overwhelmingly descend from Ashkenazi Jews who migrated to the region post-1569. In 1648 the Khmelnitski massacres uprooted most of the communities in the region, though many were reestablished in the 1660s by their original inhabitants, joined by additional Ashkenazi migrants. Ottoman rule in 1672, though it lasted only 27 years, drastically reduced the population of Jews in Western Ukraine. However, during the first half of the 18th century migration to the region grew exponentially, adding to local communities of Ashkenazi Jews Ashkenazim from Poland, Germany, Lithuania, and Wallachia. This migration then plummeted by the second half of the same century, as religious crises, political instability, worsening economic conditions, and violent pogroms made the region less attractive for potential Jewish immigrants.
The Russian Empire formally conquered Western Ukraine in 1793, prompting a short-term improvement in the situation of local Jews. This began a period of massive internal Jewish population growth, largely unsupplemented by migrants, despite the worsening conditions Jews faced under Russian rule after the first few decades in the Russian Empire. Jews were forced to adopt surnames for the purposes of military recruitment, and most did so between 1804 and 1818. Jews faced discriminatory policies and state-sponsored violence throughout the 19th century. A wave of pogroms beginning in the 1880s prompted a wave of Jewish emigration from the region, mostly to America, which prompted a decline in the Jewish population that persisted to the end of this emigration in 1920.
In 1922, the Soviet Union formally took control of the Western Ukraine region, with the exception of the Volhynia and Galicia areas which were annexed only following World War Two, and were ruled by Poland during the interwar period. The USSR began a campaign of state-sponsored anti-Semitic policies that made the lives of Jews in Western Ukraine more difficult. These policies also rapidly increased secularization, a process which largely began to take hold in the beginning of the 20th century. During the Holocaust, 40% of Jews from Ukraine were murdered, while some survived by serving in the military, evacuating further east, or living in a select number of ghettos where mass murders were not carried out. Following the war, the proportion of Jews living in large cities rapidly increased, adding to a tendency that began in the early days of the Soviet Union. For the most part, this marked the death of the Jewish institution known as the shteytl - the typical Jewish town immortalized in works like "Fiddler on the Roof."
During the late 1970s a new wave of emigration began to the United States and Israel. This wave lasted into the 2000s and drastically diminished the Jewish population of Western Ukraine. Today, very few Jews live in Western Ukraine, and those that remain live nearly exclusively in cities such as Odessa and Kiev. Yet the descendants of a once large Jewish population with a unique and impactful culture live on around the world.
SOME HELPFUL BOOKS:
SOME HELPFUL FACEBOOK GROUPS:
GENEALOGY RESOURCES:
https://www.jewishgen.org/
https://forum.j-roots.info/ (russian language)
https://uk.wikisource.org/wiki/Архів:Єврейське_містечко (original genealogical records)
RESOURCES ON ODESSA AND UKRAINE:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~ukrodess/index.html
LEARNING ABOUT GENETIC GENEALOGY:
Family Tree DNA learning center: www.familytreedna.com/learn/
Family Tree DNA webinars: www.familytreedna.com/learn/ftdna/webinars/
ISOGG beginner's guide to genetic genealogy: www.isogg.org/wiki/Beginners'_guides_to_genetic_genealogy
A glossary for those unfamiliar with the terminology: www.isogg.org/course/glossary.htm
Helpful websites on Sephardic genealogy:
Harry Stein's www.sephardim.com
Jeff Malka's www.sephardicgen.com
For an overview of the human migration out of Africa and an interactive map and timeline where you can trace your Haplogroup, check out the National Geographic Genographic Project:
https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/
The establishment of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth at that date created a multitude of economic incentives for Ashkenazim to move to Western Ukraine, and this influx demographically dominated East Knanic communities, likely by several orders of magnitude. The Jews of Western Ukraine today overwhelmingly descend from Ashkenazi Jews who migrated to the region post-1569. In 1648 the Khmelnitski massacres uprooted most of the communities in the region, though many were reestablished in the 1660s by their original inhabitants, joined by additional Ashkenazi migrants. Ottoman rule in 1672, though it lasted only 27 years, drastically reduced the population of Jews in Western Ukraine. However, during the first half of the 18th century migration to the region grew exponentially, adding to local communities of Ashkenazi Jews Ashkenazim from Poland, Germany, Lithuania, and Wallachia. This migration then plummeted by the second half of the same century, as religious crises, political instability, worsening economic conditions, and violent pogroms made the region less attractive for potential Jewish immigrants.
The Russian Empire formally conquered Western Ukraine in 1793, prompting a short-term improvement in the situation of local Jews. This began a period of massive internal Jewish population growth, largely unsupplemented by migrants, despite the worsening conditions Jews faced under Russian rule after the first few decades in the Russian Empire. Jews were forced to adopt surnames for the purposes of military recruitment, and most did so between 1804 and 1818. Jews faced discriminatory policies and state-sponsored violence throughout the 19th century. A wave of pogroms beginning in the 1880s prompted a wave of Jewish emigration from the region, mostly to America, which prompted a decline in the Jewish population that persisted to the end of this emigration in 1920.
In 1922, the Soviet Union formally took control of the Western Ukraine region, with the exception of the Volhynia and Galicia areas which were annexed only following World War Two, and were ruled by Poland during the interwar period. The USSR began a campaign of state-sponsored anti-Semitic policies that made the lives of Jews in Western Ukraine more difficult. These policies also rapidly increased secularization, a process which largely began to take hold in the beginning of the 20th century. During the Holocaust, 40% of Jews from Ukraine were murdered, while some survived by serving in the military, evacuating further east, or living in a select number of ghettos where mass murders were not carried out. Following the war, the proportion of Jews living in large cities rapidly increased, adding to a tendency that began in the early days of the Soviet Union. For the most part, this marked the death of the Jewish institution known as the shteytl - the typical Jewish town immortalized in works like "Fiddler on the Roof."
During the late 1970s a new wave of emigration began to the United States and Israel. This wave lasted into the 2000s and drastically diminished the Jewish population of Western Ukraine. Today, very few Jews live in Western Ukraine, and those that remain live nearly exclusively in cities such as Odessa and Kiev. Yet the descendants of a once large Jewish population with a unique and impactful culture live on around the world.
SOME HELPFUL BOOKS:
The Maternal Genetic Lineages of Ashkenazic Jews by Kevin A. Brook, 2022
Endogamy: One Family, One People by Israel Pickholtz, 2015
The Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy by Blaine T. Bettinger, 2019
Genetic Genealogy, The Basics and Beyond by Emily D. Aulicino, 2013
Legacy: A Genetic History of the Jewish People by Harry Ostrer, 2012
SOME HELPFUL FACEBOOK GROUPS:
Ashkenazi Jewish Genetic Discovery and Discussion: https://facebook.com/groups/721277488758101/
Jewish DNA for Genetic Genealogy and Family Research: https://www.facebook.com/groups/DNAHelpJewishJourney/
Jewish Genealogy Portal: https://www.facebook.com/groups/JewishGenealogyPortal/
Tracing the Tribe: www.facebook.com/groups/20364215746/
Sephardic Jews in Poland: www.facebook.com/groups/PolSephardim/GENEALOGY RESOURCES:
https://www.jewishgen.org/
https://forum.j-roots.info/ (russian language)
https://uk.wikisource.org/wiki/Архів:Єврейське_містечко (original genealogical records)
RESOURCES ON ODESSA AND UKRAINE:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~ukrodess/index.html
LEARNING ABOUT GENETIC GENEALOGY:
Family Tree DNA learning center: www.familytreedna.com/learn/
Family Tree DNA webinars: www.familytreedna.com/learn/ftdna/webinars/
ISOGG beginner's guide to genetic genealogy: www.isogg.org/wiki/Beginners'_guides_to_genetic_genealogy
A glossary for those unfamiliar with the terminology: www.isogg.org/course/glossary.htm
Helpful websites on Sephardic genealogy:
Harry Stein's www.sephardim.com
Jeff Malka's www.sephardicgen.com
For an overview of the human migration out of Africa and an interactive map and timeline where you can trace your Haplogroup, check out the National Geographic Genographic Project:
https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/