Gesher Galicia

What Gesher Galicia does

Gesher Galicia is a US-incorporated non-profit organization (Gesher Galicia, Inc., headquartered in Long Beach, New York) founded in 1993 to conduct Jewish genealogical and historical research on Galicia, the former Austro-Hungarian province now divided between southeastern Poland and western Ukraine. The organization operates a digital research platform hosted on Linode and AWS that delivers the All Galicia Database (over 500,000 searchable historical records), the Family Finder networking tool, the Map Room (300+ digitized historical cadastral and regional maps), Record Inventories (catalogs of Polish and Ukrainian state archive holdings), and Members' Towns directories. Its quarterly research journal The Galitzianer has been published since 1993, and specialized research projects include the 1940-1941 Vital Records Project, the Holocaust Project, the Maps Project, and the NKVD Criminal Cases Project (12,081 criminal case files indexed as of 2024).

The business model is membership-based and donation-supported: individuals pay annual dues starting at $50 to access exclusive content including the quarterly journal, Family Finder, webinars, podcasts, and the All Galicia Database, with tax-deductible donations underwriting operations and specific research initiatives. The go-to-market is direct-to-consumer via geshergalicia.org and search.geshergalicia.org, targeting individual Jewish genealogists and family historians globally. The organization maintains formal partnerships with seven archival and cultural institutions — Ossolineum, the Galicia Jewish Museum, the Ukrainian Jewish Community (UJCU), the Center for Urban History (Lviv), POLIN Museum, ESJF European Jewish Cemeteries, and the Jewish Historical Institute (JHI) — and receives supplementary grant funding from bodies such as the IAJGS Rabbi Malcolm Stern Grant. Project coordinators include Tony Kahane (1940-1941 Vital Records), Andrew Zalewski (NKVD Criminal Cases), and Pamela Weisberger (Maps Project). No headcount, employee count, or financial figures are publicly disclosed; there is no venture capital, private equity, or parent-company backing.

Name

Gesher Galicia

Legal name

Gesher Galicia, Inc.

Website

https://geshergalicia.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Gesher Galicia is a US non-profit founded in 1993 that supports Jewish genealogical research on the former Austro-Hungarian province of Galicia (now Poland and Ukraine) via a searchable database of over 500,000 historical records, 300+ digitized historical maps, and member networking tools serving individual family historians worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Genealogical Research Services

NAICS

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Libraries and Archives (519210)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Libraries, Archives & Special Collections (BPAGAHAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Conference Proceedings & Research Reports Publishing (EDAGAFAL)

Keywords

• Jewish genealogy research
• Historical records database
• Genealogical archive services
• Historical map digitization
• Holocaust documentation projects

Headquarters

HQ city

Long Beach

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees starting at $50 per year, providing access to The Galitzianer quarterly journal, Family Finder, webinars, podcasts, and the All Galicia Database
2. Donations: Tax-deductible contributions supporting operations, the All Galicia Database, Family Finder, The Galitzianer, specific research endeavors, and webinar/podcast series

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Gesher Galicia provides a membership-based genealogical research platform focused on Jewish ancestry in the former Austro-Hungarian province of Galicia. Its core offering is the All Galicia Database containing over 500,000 searchable historical records (births, marriages, deaths, and other vital records), supported by interactive historical maps, surname/networking tools, and a quarterly research journal. Specialized indexed research projects (Holocaust records, NKVD criminal cases, 1940-1941 vital records) extend the platform's coverage into specific historical periods.

Product overview

Gesher Galicia is a non-profit organization offering a comprehensive genealogical research platform focused on Jewish roots in the former Austro-Hungarian province of Galicia. The core product portfolio centers on the All Galicia Database, which provides searchable access to over half a million historical records. Supporting products include the Family Finder for surname networking, The Galitzianer quarterly journal, and the Map Room with over 300 digitized historical maps. The organization also conducts specialized research projects including the Holocaust Project, 1940-1941 Vital Records Project, Maps Project, and NKVD Criminal Cases Project. Record Inventories provide searchable cataloging of archival sources, while Members' Towns offers a directory of researched locations. Webinars and podcasts complement the research tools as member benefits.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Galitzianer: Gesher Galicia's quarterly research journal, published since 1993, covering Jewish genealogical and historical research on Galicia.

Products and services

• All Galicia Database Online searchable database containing over half a million historical records from Galicia, including births, marriages, deaths, and other genealogical documents from Polish and Ukrainian archives, available to members.
• Family Finder A networking platform allowing members to share the family surnames and towns they are researching, enabling connections with other researchers tracing the same Galician Jewish family lines.
• The Galitzianer Gesher Galicia's quarterly research journal published since 1993, covering genealogical and historical research findings related to Jewish Galician families and distributed to members.
• Map Room Online interactive platform providing access to over 300 digitized historical cadastral maps, street maps, and regional maps of Galicia, allowing users to browse and explore geographical information for genealogical research.
• Record Inventories Searchable catalog of archival sources from Poland, Ukraine, and other countries, providing indexes to records available for Jewish genealogical research in Galicia.
• Members' Towns Directory of towns that Gesher Galicia members are actively researching, with family surname connections and researcher contact information.
• 1940-1941 Vital Records Project Project indexing Jewish births, marriages, deaths, and divorces from Soviet vital records (1940-1941 and 1944-1945) held in Ukrainian state archives, covering the period of Soviet occupation of eastern Galicia.
• The Holocaust Project Comprehensive project documenting Holocaust-period records (1939-1945) including vital records, municipal records, testimonies, questionnaires for medical personnel, and ghetto records from former Galicia.
• The Maps Project Project digitizing and providing access to historical cadastral maps, street maps, and regional maps that help researchers locate places where family homes and businesses once stood throughout Galicia.
• NKVD Criminal Cases Project Project indexing criminal prosecutions of Jews arrested by the NKVD from October 1939 to June 1941, providing searchable information about victims including arrest details, offenses, and sentences.
• Webinars and Podcasts Educational content series providing research guidance, historical context, and expert presentations on Jewish genealogical research in Galicia, available as a member benefit.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over half a million records searchable through the All Galicia Database
• +3 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• OssolineumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPolish cultural institution and library that holds relevant archival materials for Galician Jewish genealogical research.
• Galicia Jewish MuseumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMuseum in Kraków documenting Jewish history and culture in the Galicia region, complementary research focus.
• Ukrainian Jewish Community (UJCU)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUkrainian Jewish organization engaged in preserving Jewish heritage in Ukraine.
• Center for Urban History (Lviv)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch institution in Lviv focused on urban history, holds relevant archival materials.
• POLIN MuseumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPolish Jewish history museum in Warsaw, resource center provides access to relevant archival collections.
• ESJF European Jewish CemeteriesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization documenting and preserving Jewish cemetery sites across Europe.
• Jewish Historical Institute (JHI)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWarsaw-based institution holding extensive collections of Jewish historical records, including materials referenced in the Holocaust Project.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Ancestry: Largest commercial genealogy platform with extensive European Jewish record collections. Comparable as a competing genealogy database provider, but operating at vastly greater commercial scale and serving a much broader audience.
• MyHeritage: Global genealogy platform offering record databases, DNA testing, and family tree tools with growing European Jewish record coverage. Comparable as a general-purpose genealogy database competitor with broader scope.
• FamilySearch: Free genealogy platform operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with one of the world's largest historical record collections, including European Jewish records. Comparable as a generalist incumbent in the genealogy record-access market.

Direct peers

• International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS): Umbrella association of Jewish genealogical societies worldwide, providing grants (including the Rabbi Malcolm Stern Grant which funds Gesher Galicia's NKVD project) and coordination across regional Jewish genealogy organizations.
• JewishGen: The largest non-profit Jewish genealogical organization, offering databases, discussion groups, and research tools covering Jewish communities worldwide. Directly comparable as a membership-supported, volunteer-driven Jewish genealogy non-profit with a similar data/research mission.
• LitvakSIG: Lithuanian Jewish Special Interest Group, a non-profit genealogical society indexing Jewish records from Lithuania. Comparable in structure: a volunteer-run SIG affiliated with JewishGen that focuses on a specific Eastern European Jewish region.
• Avotaynu: Long-running publisher focused on Jewish genealogy research, including journals, books, and databases. Comparable as a content/research-focused Jewish genealogy organization serving the same researcher audience as Gesher Galicia.
• JRI-Poland: Jewish Records Indexing – Poland, a non-profit that indexes Jewish vital records from Polish state archives. Closely comparable as a region-specific Jewish genealogy indexing project funded by memberships and donations with access to Polish archival sources.

Others

• Jewish Historical Institute (JHI): Warsaw-based research institute and archive holding collections of Jewish historical records, listed as a Gesher Galicia partner. Adjacent peer given shared archival mission and overlapping audience of researchers.
• POLIN Museum: Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw and a current Gesher Galicia partner. Comparable as an adjacent institution with overlapping archival and educational mission focused on Polish Jewish heritage.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/geshergalicia

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Gesher Galicia