Does anyone know how I can find out if any of my ancestors are Jewish?

Answer 1

Ask your family.

Answer 2

To begin with, if you are able to determine that your ancestors are from eastern Europe, it's very possible that they were Jewish, as this was one of the primary regions the religion is traced back to (also Russia and Spain). Of course this wouldn't be conclusive, but it may be a start.

There is one pretty good Jewish Genealogy database I have come across; www.jewishgen.org. Unfortunatley, today even current completely Jewish families have trouble tracing their roots any further than WWII. In many cases records were kept in local town halls in small eastern European towns that were completely destroyed.

If you are unable to build your family tree to more than a few generations back, I would reccomend that you record as much as possible to provide future generations the detail we don't always have.

Answer 3

first of all you need to acquire information. gathering data on your family members. www.ancestry.com has free portions to it and you have to find it. It is www.ancestry.com/learn/content center that's where you need to be in ancestry;com. Write down all that you can find about your ancestors. On line you can go to goggle and put in finding Jewish genealogy sites. Genweb.org/jewish is a good site. but goggle gives you more options. a family tree is the first thing to get put your self and the connection to your family down in pencil because chances are you will be erasing. keep records. a good genealogist keeps records. So you can download. They have holocaust sites also. Its is difficult in Germany because of the destruction of many records .However, Hitler kept a record of all Jews. Look at pictures of your ancestors. Interview your grandmothers and grandfathers and tape there voice and them make a paper back up copy. basics. www.familysearch.org for tips. The family history centers are a good place there loaded with tips and people that can help you . The local library in you are is listed on that sit. organize and do research. NARA. National America regional Archives have lots of info. www.Nara.org. There on a state to state bases have alot of information and family history consultants to help. The two i gave you have the best information. but start with your self.

Answer 4

All I can say is do the research. Trace everyone back in every line. Look for burials in Jewish cemeteries or names like Abraham Goldstein from Warsaw. Also look at who married your ancestors. Were they married in a church? civil ceremony? at a temple? Build your body of evidence from all available paper in the trail. Until then, you can only guess.