Researching if my German / Hungarian ancestors were Jewish (Hajek, Landsmann)

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Hello,

I am new to JewishGen. Disclaimer: I am not Jewish. I am trying to find out *if*
any of my ancestors were Jewish.

The most recent generations of my family were German Catholics. My mother has done
a lot of genealogical research, mostly in church records. Her findings hit a wall
a few generations back — the same generations that have names like Landsmann,
Dreckman, Bruggeman, etc. I wonder if these were Jewish ancestors who converted
(either by choice or under duress).

I would love to discover another realm of family history — one that, to be
truthful, I might feel a stronger religious connection to. I will never be able to
reconstruct their personal experiences, but I would cherish the chance to honor
their memory.

Does anyone have any advice for me? I'm just starting to dig into the databases.

A few names and places I know, circa 1830s:
- Johan and Eva Landsmann of Modrice (Czechia), and Vienna
- Magdelena Tinkl of Modrice
- Barbara Tupdstein (or Popelstein; conflicting records) of Resita (Resicabanya),
Romania
- Venceslaus Hajek of Hungary
- Anna Dreckman of Germany

Thanks for reading. Best wishes and a bright Passover to all.
Gwenivere Hajek Roolf
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[David Lewin david@lewinsdlondon.org.uk]

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Gwenivere Hajek Roolf wrote:
>The most recent generations of my family were German Catholics. My mother has done
>a lot of genealogical research, mostly in church records. Her findings hit a wall
>a few generations back the same generations that have names like Landsmann,
>Dreckman, Bruggeman, etc. I wonder if these were Jewish ancestors who converted
>(either by choice or under duress).

I have just conducted a very similar search in Czechoslovakia and Vienna for a
Brown family. They thought ther had been Catholic for generations - indeed they
were! It turned out= that one grandmother was not "clean enough" fro, the Nazi
point if view and ended up in England. Conversion in the mid-1800 was rife.

I suggest you start in the Jewishgen Spcial Interest Group "Austria-Czech SIG"
<austri...@lyris.jewishgen.org>

Do you read/understand either Czech or German> That will help hugely

Best of luck

David Lewin
London