The library of the Jewish world
DoJR hopes to tell the stories of Jewish ancestors and provide insight into how they lived.
The Australian Jewish Genealogical Society Victoria has recently launched the “Documentation of Jewish records worldwide” (DoJR) project.
Backed by the Le Dor v’Dor Foundation, DoJR is a project that is aimed at Jewish family history researchers, from those hoping to learn about their ancestors to professionals and archivists compiling or researching this information.
Dr Helen Gardner, the team leader for the Victorian group compiling information for the DoJR international program said this will be a great resource for both the Australian and international community.
“Although we have a wealth of information on the lives of Jewish Australians since colonisation, that information and where to find it is virtually unknown, even in Australia, let alone overseas.”
The small local team for the DoJR project is completed with Liz James and Bubbles Segall, who join Gardner in showcasing Australian Jewish data to the Jewish world.
As much of the history on Jewish ancestors has been lost due to the Holocaust, DoJR hopes to ensure that never occurs again. By creating a catalogue, JCat, of every record set of Jewish information in the world, detailing what records are available, where to find them and who to contact about them, they hope to provide a cohesive collection of Jewish history.
JCat will publish a description of what the data contains, not the actual data, and will include information on who to contact if someone would like full access to a particular data set.
DoJR hopes to tell the stories of Jewish ancestors and provide insight into how they lived.
Emeritus Professor Andrew Markus says this project will benefit the Jewish community.
“This important project will provide a comprehensive overview of records held in the Victorian Jewish community for the benefit of current and future generations,” Markus said.
Gardner explained, “[We] need to collect information from current organisations, so that our descendants will be able to construct the stories of our lives. We compiled a list of over 250 Jewish organisations in Victoria, and are now at the point of approaching these organisations to discover what record sets they hold.”
The goal is to complete a state-wide regional survey of all documentation available, and the Australian Jewish Genealogical Society hopes to invite the wider Jewish community to participate in this project.
For more information, visit: ldvdf.org/partner-faqs-ajgs-vic
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