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INTRODUCTION

   INTRODUCTION TO EASTERN EUROPEAN ARCHIVAL DATABASE


Central State Historical Archives - Ukraine
 
Central State Archives of Ukraine
in Lviv, 1991

Photo credit: Miriam Weiner
Forty years ago, genealogy was typically described as a hobby for retired people who trudged from archive to archive and few Jews at that time were among them. Then a series of events occurred beginning with Alex Haley’s Roots that mesmerized television audiences night after night. The thought of tracing one’s ancestors back to the old country struck a chord in literally millions of people, whether it was back to Africa or the shtetls of Eastern Europe.

Hidden within the files of archives and libraries throughout the world are old pieces of paper testifying to the lives of our ancestors in the "old country." When the family historian discovers one of these documents, an aging piece of paper is transformed into a profound connection between past and future.


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