Genealogy Guide: Czech and Slovak Republics

Czech Republic Archives

The main source of Jewish vital records, books of Jewish families in particular towns (“familiant books”), and other genealogical records is the Czech State Archives, which is made up of the Central State Archives and the National Archives in Prague. The map at http://calzareth.com/czechmap shows towns where Jewish vital registers were created, which may be helpful if you are trying to locate the nearest towns where Jews who lived in a small village may have registered. Additional Jewish vital and non-vital records, as well as pre-1930 census records, are held in Czech Republic’s regional [oblastní], provincial [zemský], district [okresní], and city [města] archives and at the Jewish Museum of Prague.

Czech State Archives

Records up to ca. 1850:
Central State Archives
Statni ustredni archiv
Tř. Milady Horákové 133
Praha 6 – Dejvice, PSČ 166 21
Czech Republic
Phone: +420 233 326 755
E-mail: na1@nacr.cz

Records since ca. 1850:
National Archives in Prague
Narodni archiv v Praze
Acrhivini 2257/4
Praha 4 – Chodovec, PSČ 149 00
Czech Republic
Phone: +420 974 847 240 (operator)
E-mail: na@nacr.cz

For an inventory of Jewish vital records in the Czech State Archives, see:

Gundacker, Felix. Matrikenverzeichnis der Juedischen Matriken Boehmens [Register of Jewish Vital Statistics in the Czech State Archives pertaining to Bohemia]. Vienna: Felix Gundacker, 1998. In German and English.  Leo Baeck Institute   q HB 1001 G83 1998

Gundacker, Felix. Matrikenverzeichnis der Juedischen Matriken Maehrens [Register of Jewish Vital Statistics in the Czech State Archives pertaining to Moravia]. Vienna: Felix Gundacker, 2000. In German and English.  Leo Baeck Institute   q 69

The Czech State Archives digitized their entire collection of Jewish community registers of birth (more than 100 years old), marriage (more than 75 years old), and death (more than 75 years old). They may be viewed by clicking here.  Click on “Inventář” and then “ÚŘEDNÍ KNIHY (matriky a indexy)”. N = births, O = marriages, Z = deaths. Please note these registers are not searchable.

The Czech State Archives has also placed online Jewish vital registers 1780 -1904 (bulk from 1780-1860’s) at http://www.badatelna.eu/fond/241 and Jewish marriage registers 1714 – 1783 (patronymics only) at http://www.badatelna.eu/fond/291.

Regional and local archives in the Czech Republic

For contact information and links to the digitized records of the Czech Republic’s regional, provincial, district, and city archives, click here. 

In some cases, Jewish vital records were written in the back of Catholic and Protestant registers. Felix Gundacker, a professional genealogist, developed a guide to where Jewish records for many Czech towns are currently held and whether they are found in Jewish or non-Jewish registers.

The Prague City Archives’ digital collections includes parish and civil registers and census records. Click on “The Catalogue”.

The Jewish Museum of Prague holds Jewish vital records for some towns, vital records indexes, records of Jewish communities and organizations, and Holocaust records.

Jewish Museum of Prague
Zidovske Muzeum Praha
U Stare skoly 1
110 00 Praha 1
Czech Republic
Phone: +420 222 749 211, +420 222 749 212
Fax: +420 222 749 300
General E-mail: office@jewishmuseum.cz
Holocaust Department E-mail: holocaust@jewishmuseum.cz
Jewish Communities Documentation Department E-mail: jiri.fiedler@jewishmuseum.cz

For a detailed listing of the museum’s holdings, see: Herman, Jan, and K. Dolista. “The Jewish Community Archives from Bohemia and Moravia.” Judaica Bohemiae. Vol. 7, No. 1 (1971). Leo Baeck Institute C59 or YIVO 015009038

The museum is currently in the process of cataloging and digitizing its collections, beginning with the archive of its Shoah History Department. For more information, visit http://collections.jewishmuseum.cz/index.php/Splash/About.

Most military records for the Czech Republic can be found in one of two archives. For records up to the end of World War I (~1918), the War Archive in Vienna is the primary repository. Later records are kept at the Military History Archive in Prague.

War Archive in Vienna
Kriegsarchiv
Nottendorfer Gasse 2
A-1030 Wien
Austria
Phone: +43-1-79540-452
Fax: +43-1-79540-109
Email: ka@oesta.gv.at

Military Central Archive in Prague
Vojenský ústřední archiv
 Pilot 217/12
 161 00 Praha 6 - Ruzyně
Czech Republic
Phone: 973 213 311
Fax: 973 213 308
E-mail: podatelna-vua@army.cz

English-language guides to locating Austro-Hungarian military records are available at http://ahmilitary.blogspot.com and https://www.statearchives.gv.at/family-research/kriegsarchiv.html.