DNA Holocaust Project Launched

A new project will use genetic testing to reunite families separated by the Holocaust.

The DNA Project aims to build a database of the DNA of 300,000 known survivors, using methods employed to identify victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Syd Mandelbaum, the son of Holocaust survivors, will work with geneticist Michael Hammer of the University of Arizona, who co-authored the paper which used genetics to demonstrate that Kohanim, or Jews of the priestly caste, are descended from a single male ancestor.
The two, with help from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, will collect cheek swabs from survivors and look for matches with DNA samples taken from the remains of unidentified Holocaust victims.