BOOK NOTE: Major genealogical reference book released (10/24/99)

BOOK NOTE: Major genealogical reference book released

Produced by Miriam Weiner, an American genealogist renowned for her expertise in Eastern European archives, "Jewish Roots in Ukraine and Moldova" is the result of eight years of intense effort and numerous trips overseas.

A combination reference book, travel guide, Holocaust book and genealogical handbook, "Jewish Roots in Ukraine and Moldova," co-published by the Route to Roots Foundation and the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, is a unique publication that could not have been attempted before the collapse of communism in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.

With its archival inventories representing 1,400 shtetls and towns, this 624-page book effectively puts to rest the once widely held belief in the West that virtually all documents pertaining to Jews in these countries had been destroyed. However, these archives became accessible to the public for genealogical research only after Ukraine and Moldova declared their independence in 1991.

Listed for the first time in English are precise inventories of the vast Jewish materials in the archives of Ukraine and Moldova, presented with the full cooperation and blessings of the state archives of both countries. Of extraordinary value for genealogists, "Jewish Roots in Ukraine and Moldova" is also a travel guide, with 1,200 photographs, maps and document examples, including many rare antique postcards. The sections titled "The People and The Places" and "Town Clips" offer many more mementos of Jewish life, past and present.

The chapters on towns and cities highlight 190 places in Ukraine and Moldova. They include the important Jewish centers of Lviv (Lwow), Odesa (Odessa) and Chisinau (Kishiniev) and lesser-known places such as Nemyriv (Nemirov), Sudylkiv (Sudilkov), Soroky (Soroki) and Pryluky (Priluki). The text includes the transliteration of place names both as they appeared in the original archives (usually from Russian, Hungarian or Polish), as well as their current transliterations from Ukrainian and Moldovan.

The Holocaust chapter includes poignant photographs of memorials to the victims of the Nazis in cities, towns and villages all over Ukraine and Moldova, along with detailed maps and accompanying text.

Some photographs are pre-World War I, and some were taken just a few months ago. More than 900 of the photographs are in full color, as are all 20 maps.

Ms. Weiner is an internationally known author, lecturer and syndicated columnist. She is the former executive director of the American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors in New York and co-editor of The Encyclopedia of Jewish Genealogy (1991). She has led tours to Poland and Ukraine where tour participants had on-site access to Jewish documents in state archives.

Ms. Weiner is the author of "Jewish Roots in Poland: Pages from the Past and Archival Inventories" (1997). She is also a member of the Advisory Board of The Holocaust and War Victims Tracing and Information Center of the American Red Cross. She is president of the Routes to Roots Foundation, which has offices in the United States, Poland and Ukraine, offering archival research in Poland, Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova; town visits; and customized individual and family tours. "Jewish Roots in Ukraine and Moldova" can be purchased directly from Routes to Roots by calling 1 (800) 742-5403. The cost of the book is $60 plus tax, and shipping and handling. The foundation's website is located at www.rtrfoundation.org.

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