JEWISH GENEALOGY AT
MI POLIN MEZUZAH CENTER
JANEK WĄSIŃSKI
Senior Genealogist at the Mi Polin Mezuzah Center since 2025. Previously – a journalist, book and article editor, literary translator, project manager, and community activist. He has always based all his career on an exceptional ability to research, verify, and cross-check facts and sources. He draws on both the benefits of modern technology/digitalization and his own talents, such as attention to detail, tenacity, and intuition.
Genealogy services
Languages: Polish / English / Spanish / Ukrainian
Services:
– family research document
– research for Polish Card / Karta Polaka
– history of specific buildings
jan.wasinski@gmail.com
Learn about ancestors
The most interesting genealogical studies Janek made for the Mi Polin Mezuzah Center about Kielce: 68 3 Maja St. After weeks poring over the local museum’s archives, Janek unearthed unique interwar-era property records and pieced together the incredibly complex pre-war house numbering system and street name changes. And this finally paved the way for him to uncover the life of a merchant who also owned a property on Planty St.—the very same property where, several decades later, the Kielce pogrom would take place.
Solve your family secret
Krakow: 14 Józefa St. – Janek unearthed a rather incredible story almost straight out of a thriller novel. After Kristallnacht in Germany, a wealthy merchant from Krakow wanted to send their teenage son somewhere safe. The youngster was a Zionist, so he turned down a cozy option in Paris and chose Palestine. Shortly before the war broke out, his father visited him to see how he was doing. The rest of their family back home perished, they survived. And the teenager himself was soon helping to lay the military foundations of a still-unindependent Israel; he also traveled to Poland on a fake passport to recruit diplomats for the Haganah.
Get your documents translated
Perhaps you came across a pile of old documents while cleaning your house and you don’t know what to do with it. You can share them and receive obtain the translations. Very often such records are the most precious source of information. If this is something you are interested in, or if you have any specific request, contact Janek.
Contact the Genealogist
Contact our genealogist
researcher Janek!
jan.wasinski@gmail.com
genealogist Statement
In addition to individual commissions, he derives the greatest satisfaction from the results of his genealogical research àrebours, as part of the “Mezuzah From This Home” project, restoring the memory and image of ordinary people and their lives. He begins his work with a contemporary address where a trace of a pre-war mezuzah has been found. He verifies the correspondence between modern and pre-war house numbering, contacts local museums, archives or community organizations, and thoroughly examines preserved address and national and local archives records. The results of reconstructing these lost little worlds can be truly captivating.
JEWISH ROOTS IN POLAND
AND EASTERN EUROPE
Jewish genealogy research in Poland helps people of Jewish heritage reconnect with their family roots and discover the history of their ancestors from Polish towns and cities. Millions of Jews lived in Poland before World War II, making Polish archives one of the most valuable sources for Jewish family history research today. Through birth records, marriage certificates, cemetery databases, and historical documents, descendants can trace Jewish ancestors from Warsaw, Krakow, Lodz, and many other regions of Poland.
JEWISH LIFE IN POLAND
Professional Jewish genealogy services in Poland assist families in building accurate family trees and uncovering lost branches of their heritage. Exploring Polish Jewish ancestry is a meaningful way to preserve family history, identity, and the memory of generations connected to Jewish life in Poland.