Type in the name you seek. Whenever possible, include both first and last names.
If possible, include a place in your search.
Press the "Search" button to begin your search.
A list of resulting records will appear on the left side of the page. Click on any name in the list to see the information available for that record.
If you don't find the name you seek, you might wish to search again. Don't forget to try alternate spellings of names or adding more information to your search.
Learning More About the Person You Seek
The more you know about the person you seek the better are your chances of finding Holocaust records for that person. The following types of information will be helpful in your search.
You will want to know the full name of each person you seek. Last name alone will often result in a large number of records with questionable value for your search.
You should know the wartime or prewar residence of each person you seek. Often knowing a prewar residence will provide clues as to the fate of an individual.
Whenever possible, obtain the birth date and place for each person you seek. This information will help you positively identify a matching record.
Learn more about your genealogy. The information described above is basic genealogical data. See the Resources section of tips for suggested organizations and websites for genealogy.
Finding the Person You Seek:
It is not always easy to find the person you seek, even if they are in the Name Search system. Use the following tips to help you pinpoint the person you want.
If exact spelling of a name does not return the person you seek, try using part of the name. For example, instead of looking for the last name "Goldstein" type "Gold" and you will see any name that starts with Gold.
You might also wish to include less information about the person you seek. Try leaving off place information from your search.
Try using alternate spellings for each name. Many names are changed as they are written in different languages and different documents. For example, the name Levy could appear as "Levi" or "Lewi" or "Lewy."
Some records contain more details about an individual than others.
As you look at different records in the Name Search system, you will notice that some lists include many details about a person such as birth date, death date, wartime residence, occupation, and nationality. In comparison, other lists contain only basic information such as names. This is because:
Each list is created from different sources. Some lists were created from Holocaust documents that included only limited personal details. Other lists had access to more information - such as oral testimonies.
Each list was created for a specific reason. A list created for a memorial being carved into stone tablets might have room for only names and birth years while a list created as part of a memorial book might want to record full birth dates, birth place, and the names of family members.
Each list was created by a particular institution. The lists in Name Search were created by many different groups and reflect the interests of that group. Information about the maiden name of an individual's mother is particularly important to genealogical groups but not necessarily to a restitution organization.
Working with Different Lists:
Each record in the Name Search system comes from a unique list of Holocaust victims and survivors. It is important to understand the source, purpose, and creator of each list in order to get the most out of each record returned by your search. Use the following tips to help you understand each list.
Consider the methods used for creating each list. Was the list created to be a published memorial book? If so, each name on the list might have been carefully researched. Compare this to a list that indexes the names on a Holocaust document. Names in an index reflect the specific information on the original document and not information from additional sources.
Examine the source or sources used to create the list. Information remembered by a family member 50 years after the Holocaust might be different from details recorded on a registration form in Auschwitz.
Check for possible overlap. Two lists in Name Search might have used the same source. If this is a case, you should consider what information might have been added to one list or omitted from another.
