Genealogy Jungle

17/03/2026

For the past few months, Genealogy Jungle has been unusually quiet.

No new posts, no archival discoveries, no genealogical rabbit holes.

Several readers wrote to ask if everything was okay. The short answer is yes, but something big has been happening behind the scenes.

Last Rosh Hashanah together with a group of friends, we founded the Association for Central European Jewish History and Genealogy, and since then I’ve been working intensely on building the organization and organizing our first international conference in Vienna.

In this new blog post I share:
• why the blog suddenly went silent
• how the new association came to life
• a followup on my research on the Jewish community of Palárikovo
• and how Jewish genealogy in Central Europe sometimes turns into unexpected family reunions

If you are interested in Jewish genealogy, Central European Jewish history, or tracing family roots in Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, Bohemia, Galicia and beyond, I think you may enjoy this story, and the conference Parallel Paths, Shared Past: Jewish History and Genealogy in Central Europe .

And hopefully we will also meet in Vienna this May.

Read the full post here:

Why Genealogy Jungle went temporarily silent and how it led to a new international conference on the Jewish history and genealogy of Central Europe in Vienna. Discover research, stories, and networking for anyone tracing Jewish family history in Central Europe.

21/02/2026

If you're interested in Central European Jewish Heritage - this conference is where you'll want to be between 4-6 May 2026 :-)

Schedule of events for the 2026 Parallel Paths, Shared Past Conference presented by the Central European Jewish History of Genealogy

13/01/2026

I'm proud to share the talk I gave to members of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain, introducing the Association for Central European Jewish History and Genealogy and the international conference we are organizing together with the CEU Jewish Studies Program.

This talk was followed with an hour of Q&A. It was great to see how much of an interest there is in our themes, and a few of the JGSGB's members have already joined the CEJHG as well!

26/12/2025

My last blog post for 2025 is a continuation of the Grünwald family's journey through Jewish history - from Moravia to Bulgaria, from Vienna to Haifa, New York, Montevideo, Ibiza and beyond.

The second part of the story of the Moravian Grünwald family reveals a branch of descendants of Rabbi Meir Eisenstadt, known as the "Panim Meirot" or Maharam ASH, and includes the Chief Rabbi of Bulgaria, lost records, personal tragedies, the Holocaust, and descendants scattered all over the world, some of whom are completely unaware of their family's incredible story.

Read and subscribe to my website to get future posts!

A moving journey through Jewish history - from Moravia to Bulgaria, from Vienna to Haifa, New York, and beyond. A Chief Rabbi, lost records, Holocaust tragedy, and descendants spread across continents—some unaware of their incredible heritage. Read Part 2 of the Grünwald family story and uncover ...

23/12/2025

Did you know that one of Vienna’s most beloved Christmas traditions was introduced by a Jewish woman?

🎄 Baroness F***y von Arnstein (born Franziska Vögele Itzig in Berlin in 1758) brought the Christmas tree tradition - rooted in old German and Nordic pagan winter customs - from Berlin to Vienna.

After marrying the Viennese banker Nathan Adam von Arnstein, she moved to Vienna and became one of the most influential Jewish salonnières in the city’s elite society. Through her famous cultural salon and social leadership, the Christmas tree tradition took hold in her new city. Vienna, a place renowned for its elegance and love of beauty, embraced it wholeheartedly - and today it’s celebrated around the world for its magical Christmas atmosphere. This year, Vienna’s Rathaus Christmas Market was even voted the most beautiful in the world. 🎄✨

Jewish history is full of stories like this: moments where Jewish lives shaped culture, heritage, and memory in ways many people never realized - deeply intertwined with European culture in surprising and fascinating ways. ✨

The attached photos show christmas trees in Vienna’s Rathaus and Schönbrunn Christmas markets, from outside the famous Café Landtmann, and one from the Austrian hospice in Jerusalem, Israel, and a portrait of Baroness F***y von Arnstein.
If you love discovering unexpected connections, forgotten heritage, and the people who shaped history.

Follow for more fascinating stories, research insights, and amazing family discoveries, and explore your roots with Mattan Segev-Frank's Genealogy Jungle!

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate!

22/12/2025

Two of my friends and partners in the foundation of the Association for Central European Jewish History and Genealogy were featured yesterday on the Ö1 Radio program “Menschenbilder” (in German).

Historian and author Marie-Theres Arnbom, and genealogist, author, and owner of Wilhelm Jungmann und Neffe, Georg Gaugusch.

If you understand German - feel free to listen and enjoy the program and get to know these wonderful people that I'm proud to be a friend of.

Our German speaking followers are invited to enjoy the radio program “Menschenbilder” which was broadcasted yesterday on Ö1, about two of the Co-Founders of the Association for Central European Jewish History and Genealogy: Our Deputy Chairperson, historian and author Marie-Theres Arnbom, and her husband, our Treasurer, genealogist, author, and owner of Jungmann und Neffe, Georg Gaugusch.

Feel free to listen, and tell us what you think!

https://oe1.orf.at/player/20251221/816942/1766322303000

21/12/2025

הצטרפו להמשך המסע הגנאלוגי שלי אחר השושלת העשירה של צאצאי הרב מאיר אייזנשטאדט (הידוע גם בכינוי "פנים מאירות"), בפוסט חדש בבלוג שלי, בו אני חושף ענף של צאצאים ממוראביה - משפחת גרינוואלד. דרך מחקר ששילב הסתמכות על מקורות ספרותיים, איתור חומרים ארכיוניים וחשיפת קשרים היסטוריים, צאצאים חיים שלא היו מודעים לייחוס המעניין שלהם (או לקרבה המשפחתית בינינו) חוברו לעץ המשפחה העצום של צאצאי הפנים מאירות.

הפוסט זמין בעברית, באנגלית ובסלובקית באתר שלי.

#מחקרגנאלוגי #היסטוריהיהודית #גנאלוגיה

פוסט זה ממשיך את המחקר שלי המתחקה אחר צאצאיו של הרב מאיר אייזנשטאדט, ה"פנים מאירות". באמצעות רישומים ארכיוניים ומקורות ספרותיים ורבניים, אני חושף את משפחת גרינוואלד, ...

21/12/2025

Explore the fascinating continuation of my genealogical journey, where I delve into the rich lineage of Rabbi Meir Eisenstadt (also known as the 'Panim Meirot'), tracing the Moravian roots of the renowned Grünwald family. Through careful archival digging and revealing historical connections, forgotten lives now shine anew in the tapestry of Jewish heritage.

The post is available in English, Hebrew, and Slovak on my website.

Click to uncover the intricate details! 📜


https://www.genealogyjungle.com/post/the-gr%C3%BCnwald-family-a-czech-branch-of-the-descendants-of-rabbi-meir-eisenstadt-the-panim-meirot

Magyar Zsidó Múzeum és Levéltár - Hungarian Jewish Museum and Archives
Jüdisches Museum Wien
Židovské muzeum v Praze - Jewish Museum in Prague
Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust
SNM - Múzeum židovskej kultúry
אנו - מוזיאון העם היהודי

This post continues my family research tracing the descendants of Rabbi Meir Eisenstadt, the “Panim Meirot.” Using archival records and classic rabbinic sources, I uncover Grünwald family, a Moravian branch of his lineage, clarify names, dates, and family links, and reconnect forgotten lives to...

13/11/2025

Please don't forget!

Submissions to the Association for Central European Jewish History and Genealogy's international conference "Parallel Paths, Shared Past: Jewish History and Genealogy in Central Europe" are open till Saturday 15 November (including).

https://cejhg.org/en/call-for-papers-cejhg/

09/11/2025

Tonight marks the 87th anniversary of *Kristallnacht* — or, as it is called in Austria, the “November Pogrom.”
On the night of November 9–10, 1938, a massive coordinated attack against Jews took place across the Third Reich — in Germany, Austria, and the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia. The perpetrators were members of the SA and SS, Hi**er Youth, and ordinary citizens, while the authorities stood by and allowed the violence to unfold unchecked.

The name *Kristallnacht* (“Night of Broken Glass”) refers to the shards of glass that covered the streets after the windows of Jewish synagogues, homes, and shops were smashed and trampled. More than 1,400 synagogues and prayer halls were destroyed or set on fire. Over 7,000 Jewish-owned businesses were looted and vandalized. 30,000 Jewish men were arrested and sent to concentration camps. Early reports spoke of 91 Jews murdered, but modern research suggests the true number was far higher.

Tonight I’m sharing with you an image of one of the synagogues destroyed that night — the Leopoldsädtertempel was Vienna’s largest synagogue, located on Tempelgasse Street in the city’s second district. It could seat 2,500 worshippers.
Today, that street is grey and lifeless; it’s hard to imagine that one of Europe’s most magnificent Jewish landmarks once stood there. In that synagogue, hundreds and thousands of Jews were married — native Austrians as well as immigrants from across Central and Eastern Europe.

After the war, there was no one left to fight for its reconstruction. A third of Austrian Jews were murdered in the Holocaust. A third fled. A third “disappeared.” The survivors who remained were few, frightened, and broken. Who could have demanded to rebuild it then?

That’s why the image I’m sharing here is the result of a collaborative project between myself מתן שגב פרנק together with my talented friend Maya created using three different AI systems and detailed manual editing in attempt to revive a world that was erased, and to show you a glimpse of the beauty that was destroyed.

21/09/2025

Every year we recite the blessing "May the year and its curses end, and may the new year start with its blessings", but in general - the Jewish year 5785 sucked...

I hope for a much better year, in which the hostages will finally released, and those among them who can still be treated will receive all the restorative treatment they need and peace; I hope that the State of Israel will bless itself with a government that is worthy of leading its residents, who will deal with repairing, healing and rehabilitating the horrors and psychological scars that have been added to us this year. I also hope that the war will end already, and that both sides will finally find a way to live next to each other civily, and perhaps will even find a way to start a new chapter and forge peace despite the horrors both sides created. And I hope that the world will somehow return to the right track, and the general atmosphere will return to one of peace and prosperity.

We all deserve a better year, which will allow us to focus on what matters (and in general).

May we merit strong health, joy and love, and exciting and joyful genealogical discoveries!

14/09/2025

During my recent trip to Brazil, I had the privilege of helping reunite a family whose branches had been separated for nearly a century.

After decades of research and more than ten years of unsuccessful attempts to reconnect, my client finally spoke to her 2nd cousin for the very first time — a moment filled with “happy tears,” as she described it.

Here’s what she shared about the experience ⬇️ (see image).

Genealogy is about so much more than documents — it’s about identity, healing, and bringing families back together. If you’d like me to help uncover your family’s story or reconnect with long-lost relatives, I’d be honored to work with you.

📩 Get in touch with me here on Facebook or through my website.