About the project

I’m Yarik Herman, a Jewish genealogist and lecturer. For years I have been teaching genealogy and helping families restore their histories through archival research and historical context.

In April, I am launching a structured educational project focused on Jewish communities in Ukraine. This page will be updated with the program outline, schedule, cities, and other details.

The Jewish Genealogy Project is a structured educational initiative dedicated to preserving and restoring the family histories of Jewish communities in Ukraine. Through guided genealogical research, archival work, and historical context, the program helps participants reconstruct personal and family heritage that was fragmented or lost — especially as a result of the Holocaust and 20th-century repression.

The Holocaust and Soviet-era repression created a profound rupture in Jewish continuity between generations. Entire families were destroyed, records were scattered, and many relatives remain unknown. For many people, family memory survives only in fragments. This project aims to restore those connections — not only by confronting tragedy, but by reconnecting with the rich Jewish life that existed before it.

The project’s impact is twofold. First, it strengthens Jewish self-identity among existing community members by deepening their connection to their ancestry, the memory of the Holocaust, and intergenerational continuity. Second, it supports newcomers to Jewish life in discovering and confirming their Jewish roots, enabling them to build a meaningful connection to Jewish heritage and integrate into the community. In this way, the project both preserves family history and reinforces Jewish identity for future generations.

The project aims to restore, preserve, and document Jewish family histories in Ukraine through genealogical research and historical education. In practical terms, the project seeks to:

• provide clear research methods and step-by-step genealogical algorithms

• teach work with archival documents, digital sources, community records, and family materials

• support research into relatives who lived through or were murdered during the Holocaust

• encourage the collection and preservation of oral testimonies before this memory is lost

• connect personal family history to the broader history of Jewish life in Ukraine

• strengthen Jewish self-identity through deeper knowledge of ancestry

• support newcomers in building a meaningful connection to Jewish heritage and community life

• create collaboration and exchange between Jewish communities across Ukraine

• contribute verified information to Holocaust remembrance and documentation initiatives