Gesher Galicia is pleased to share its next research update that highlights three projects. We also provide information on how family history researchers can access the relevant data. For other projects, please refer to our last report (July 2021) or contact us at info@....

Jewish Medical Students Project (1784-1939)

Objectives: The project aims to create searchable information on Jewish university students. Over the past four years, our archival research has focused on medical students who aspired to become dentists, medical doctors, midwives, pharmacists, or surgeons.

Results: Datasets span the period from the end of the 18th to the beginning of the 20th century, with the last group of records from 1939. In total, we have indexed close to 7,000 records from several universities frequented by Galician Jews. The project included: Kraków (Jagiellonian) and Lemberg/Lwów/Lviv universities; Pest (Budapest) University; and Prague University.

This year, we have uploaded the following records:

–       Lwów/Lviv University: Applications to Study Medicine and Pharmacy, Oct. to Dec. 1939

In the first months of Soviet occupation of eastern Poland, about 1,600 Jews from former Galicia and elsewhere applied for admission to study medicine or pharmacy. These unique documents inform us about the applicants and the whereabouts of their parents, and often shed light on family separations between the German- and Soviet-controlled territories.

Resources: To search for a Jewish student by surname, go to the All Galicia Database (an open-access resource). If needed, narrow your search by entering the surname and applying an optional filter; for example, from “Record type” select “School”:

https://search.geshergalicia.org/

To find more about the project, its archival sources (the inventory table), and other references, please visit the project page (an open-access resource):

https://www.geshergalicia.org/projects/galician-medical-students-doctors-project/

Gesher Galicia’s members may also access full listings of Jewish medical students, supplemented by the data from other sources, where available. From the Gesher Galicia homepage (https://www.geshergalicia.org/) follow the path:

Member Login>Members Portal>Archival Records>Jewish Medical Students. 

If you know of additional details (emigration data, Holocaust-related, or year of death) concerning Jewish medical students identified in the All Galicia Database, please contact us at info@.... We plan to make periodic updates to this database.

Jewish Students from Galicia in Vienna (1898-1938)

Objectives: Gesher Galicia has entered into a joint project with the Vienna University of Economics and Business (Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien). We aim to create an inventory of Jewish students from Galicia who studied at the two predecessor institutions in Vienna, the Export Academy (k.k. Exportakademie, 1898–1918) and the University of World Trade (Hochschule für Welthandel, 1919–1938).

Results: A preliminary review reveals the prospect of many important discoveries. We learn that the first woman who graduated from the Export Academy in 1917 was a Jewish female student from Kołomyja, Galicia. With the Nazi takeover of Austria in 1938, we note a number of students who were forced to abandon Vienna. 

The project is expected to be completed in 2022 when searchable records will be made available by Gesher Galicia. These efforts are coordinated by Johannes Koll (Head of University Archives, Vienna University of Economics and Business) and Andrew Zalewski (Gesher Galicia).

The project is funded by the Future Fund of the Republic of Austria and the National Fund of the Republic of Austria for Victims of National Socialism.

Josephine & Franciscan Surveys Project (1787-1859)

Objectives: The project aims to offer information from cadastral surveys, which were conducted for the purpose of land and real estate taxation; the Josephine survey at the end of the 18th century and the Franciscan survey in the early 19th century.

Results: Over the past five years, we have inspected files for 67 towns, yielding more than 56,000 indexed records, typically containing the names of family heads.

This year, we have uploaded the indexes for the following towns (years in parentheses):

–       Baranów (1788, 1820); Bursztyn (1787, 1820); Dubiecko (1820); Dunajów (1820); Jazłowiec* (1787, 1821); Kozowa (1787); Nowy Sącz (1859); Tarnobrzeg (1787, 1820, 1850).

* In addition, we have indexed the property records from Jazłowiec (1792), showing transitions between Jewish patronymic names and fixed hereditary surnames.

All researched localities can be found listed on the project page (see resources below).

Resources: To search by surname, go to the All Galicia Database (an open-access resource). If needed, narrow your search by entering the surname and applying optional search filters; for example, from “Town” select the name of locality and from “Record type” select “Property”:

https://search.geshergalicia.org/

To find more about the project, its detailed archival sources with the listing of all towns (the inventory table), and other references, please go to the project page (an open-access resource):

https://www.geshergalicia.org/projects/josephine-and-franciscan-surveys-project/

Gesher Galicia’s members may also access scans of the records, if available. From the Gesher Galicia homepage (https://www.geshergalicia.org/) follow the path:

Member Login>Members Portal>Archival Records> Josephine and Franciscan Cadastral Surveys

Acknowledgements

We acknowledge expert help of several individuals: (a) Research: Maria Vovchko (Lviv, Ukraine), Michał Majewski (Warsaw, Poland), and Tony Kahane (London, UK); (b) Database/Website: Pawel Malinowski (Warsaw, Poland), Liliana Serhejczuk (Kraków, Poland).

Please direct questions regarding the above projects or supplementary information for the Jewish Medical Students Project to info@.... 

Andrew Zalewski

Vice President, Gesher Galicia

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