FIRST STEP
GATHER as much information and and as many documents as possible :
ID cards, passports, military records, birth, wedding, or death
announcements, correspondence etc… Speak with your parents,
grand-parents, aunts, uncles, cousins close and distant. You cannot
imagine how many details an aged person can recall ! Even the
smallest and most vague piece of information can be precious (e.g.“my
aunt was married near Lunéville but I don’t know exactly where.
It was in July 1920”).
ADD
TO YOUR INFORMATION by writing to the Town Halls (« mairies » in
French). For
events from the 20th century you will be sent a copy of a
certificate, or at least an extract from it. Complete
certificates of births and marriages less than 100 years old can
only be obtained by producing proof of direct relationship
(descendant, spouse). For records from the 19th century some
Mairies are cooperative, others will refer you to the Departmental
Archives.
REMEMBER
THE CEMETERIES! If you know where one of your relatives is
buried the administration of the cemetery will tell you the
date of death and burial (occasionally after a long wait), and
sometimes even the names of others buried in the same tomb.
Note that for Paris, there is a central office for all of the
cemeteries, at the following address: Service Central des
Concession de Cimitières Parisiens, 71, rue des Rondeaux,
75020 - Paris;
Tel
#: (+33) 1 40 33 5 85. Also check the
heading for Cemeteries on our site.
SECOND STEP
JOIN
THE CERCLE de Généalogie Juive (see Our Association)! You will benefit from our members expertise (See Our meetings).
DO
NOT HESITATE to
ask questions (in English or in French)
in the Questions-Answers section of our Journal,
available to our members, or under the heading Questions-Answers
on the
present site. You have a good chance of receiving an answer
from one of our members, or even from a previously unknown cousin!
YOU
SHOULD OBTAIN :
Le
Guide Pratique de Généalogie Juive en France
et à l'étranger
by Basile GINGER (see Publications), published in 2002
by the CGJ. It will give you detailed steps to follow for all
situations, in France and abroad. (in French)
L’Annuaire
de Rapprochement des Familles
(FamilyFinder)(click on Publications), for members only,
which is regularly updated and where you can enter the surnames you
are researching.
CONSULT:
The
Catalog of our Library. Continuously
updated, it contains genealogical documents for all regions and all
countries.
On
this site click on Library
or
acquire the printed version (click on Publications).
The
documents can be read and photocopied (for members only) at the
Library of Alliance Israélite Universelle, 45 rue La Bruyère,
75009 Paris. If you are unable to come in person, you may request, for the
same price, a copy of the documents of interest to you (see Library)
THIRD STEP
For
each Jewish ancestor in whom you are interested,
ASK
YOURSELF THE QUESTION: was s/he born and/or lived in France, in
North Africa, or abroad ?