Vivian Kahn: Resources and Tips for Finding Your Jewish Ancestors in Greater Hungary

Vivian Kahn is an expert on Hungarian Jewish research and her talk will highlight the resources available for finding Jewish ancestors from Greater Hungary.  Before the end of World War I, greater Hungary was three times larger than Hungary is today. With almost 2 million records already on-line and more added regularly, the JewishGen Hungary Database is widely recognized as one of the best resources for researching Jewish families from this vast area, which includes Slovakia, Transylvania (now in Romania), Transcarpathian Ukraine, Moravia (now part of the Czech Republic), and other parts of Europe. There are, however, a wide variety of other web sites that can help you to grow your family tree. This presentation will highlight what’s available from JewishGen as well as other less familiar on-line resources that can help you to expand your Hungarian research horizons. Although many of these are in Hungarian, with a list of basic genealogical terms and an understanding of their organization and contents, you can use these resources even if you don’t speak Hungarian. Vivian will also provide you with tips for travel to Hungary and other areas once part of greater Hungary where your ancestors may have lived before immigrating.

Vivian Kahn directs JewishGen’s Hungarian Research Division and volunteers on outreach and program development for the California Genealogical Society. She has presented Jewish genealogy workshops and given numerous presentations at the IAJGS annual conferences and for Jewish genealogical societies and other groups. In May 2015, she presented a program in Sighet, Romania for a gathering of Sighet descendants. While researching her own family from greater Hungary and helping others learn about their Hungarian roots, she has used a wide range of archival, print, and on-line resources for families from Hungary, Moravia, Slovakia, Romania, and Galicia.  She has also travelled to Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, and Israel for research and reunions with relatives.  Vivian was recognized with the IAJGS Life-Time Achievement Award in 2023 and was JewishGen’s Volunteer of the Year in 2021. A native of New York, NY, Vivian lives in Sonoma County, California and is an urban planning and development consultant.