Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain Blog

This year's Sam Johnson Memorial Lecture will take place on 3rd December at 17.30. Dr Jean-Marc Dreyfus (University of Manchester) will be delivering the lecture on “Mischling: the contrasted destiny of 'half-Jews' in the Third Reich, between persecution and survival”. His presentation will describe the state of the research on the topic of ‘half-Jews’ in Germany and also the difficult memory of their persecution.  'Mischling' : the contrasted destiny of ‘half-Jews’ in the Third Reich, between persecution and survival Nazi policy obsessively classified people. With the Nuremburg racial laws of September 1935, the status of ‘half-blood’ Jews, whether of ‘first’ or ‘second degree’, was inscribed in the German civil code. At least 700 000 Germans fell into those categories and were submitted to severe legal restrictions. At the end of the war, many were interned in labour camps. We now know that they survived; the final decision on their fate remained pendin...

The Arolsen Archives have added around a million new documents to their online archive. These latest additions include pictures of prisoners and transport lists from Auschwitz concentration camp as well as thousands of letters written by Soviet forced laborers to their families. A comprehensive collection of documents from the British and French occupation zones can now also be searched for the names of victims of Nazi persecution. See https://arolsen-archives.org/en/news/update-online-archive/

Our next meeting in the JGSGB Virtual Meeting Programme is a meeting from the JGSGB Chilterns Regional Group (RG) by Zoom. Here is the information for this meeting: Date: Tuesday Dec 8th 2020 Time: 19:30 London (note, 14:30 New York, 11:30 San Francisco, 21:30 Jerusalem) Title: “Polish Ancestral Tourism, Part 2: Busting a Gut in Warsaw, Łódź & Łomża” Speaker: Leigh Dworkin Description: This talk details Ancestral Tourism in Warsaw, Łódź and Łomża (pronounced “Wutch” and “Womja”). It describes the speaker’s second trip to Poland at the time of the IAJGS (International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies) Conference in Warsaw back in 2018. This time the trip was meticulously planned with a gaggle of cemeteries, memorials and ancestral towns/villages explored, not forgetting the occasional archive, synagogue and museum too. Had everything gone exactly to plan it would have been boring … Learn how to ignore medical emergencies whilst extending your family histo...

Our next meeting in the JGSGB Virtual Meeting Programme is an extra meeting from the JGSGB Eastern European Special Interest Group (EE SIG) by Zoom. This is the third of three speakers on Eastern European ancestral tourism in November, making it Ancestral Tourism month! There is also another Polish Ancestral Tourism meeting coming soon in December … More details about this and subsequent meetings will follow in the coming weeks. Here is the information for the next meeting: Date: Sunday Nov 29th 2020 Time: 14:00 London (note, 09:00 New York, 06:00 San Francisco, 07:00 Arizona) Title: “An Epic Journey: Eastern Europe in 22 Days”  Speaker: Dr. Janette Silverman Description: In 2018, Janette Silverman and five members of her research team headed off to visit places where Jews once lived and do onsite research in Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine, Moldova, Romania and Hungary. As you can imagine, the trip was filled with challenges but also resulted in some amazing finds. Janette wi...

The web version of the 1851 Anglo-Jewry Database has been updated, and a revised and enriched version is up on JewishGen. Please see http://www.jewishgen.org/jcr- uk/1851/introduction.htm .

From Ton Tielen and David Mendoza Moroccan Sephardic Migration to England in the 19th Century During the 19th century many Sephardic families from the city of Mogador/Essaouira in Morocco migrated to England where they became part of the rich fabric of the Jewish community. Sidney Corcos was born in Agadir, and left Morocco to go to Israel as a child. He served as director of the Natural History Museum in Jerusalem and is currently working on the new Beit Dakyra museum in Mogador/Essaouira. Sidney has done extensive research on the history and genealogy of his family and other Moroccan Sephardim. Topic: Moroccan Sephardic Migration to England in the 19th Century Time: Sunday Nov 22, 2020. 2pm NYC, 7pm London, 8pm Amsterdam/Paris, 9pm Jerusalem. Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89624186516 Best wishes, Ton Tielen and David Mendoza Sephardic World

Request from Emma Shaw at Newcastle University in Australia: Our research team at the University of Newcastle (Drs Shaw, Donnelly, Burke and Parkes from the School of Education) are conducting research into family history and DNA testing and its impacts on people’s understanding of themselves and their place in history, as well as some general demographic information. To this end, we are conducting an online survey which is expected to take about 20 minutes. This study is an Australian first and provides your group members with an exciting opportunity to be involved in a new worldwide project about exploring the past. We are hoping that you would be able to share this invitation, either by email or social media, with your group’s members and direct them to the link provided: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2DDTC2L Thank you for considering this invitation, Dr Emma Shaw (for the research team)

Our next meeting in the JGSGB Virtual Meeting Programme is a speaker meeting from the JGSGB Anglo-Jewish Special Interest Group (Anglo SIG) by Zoom. Here is the information for this meeting: Date: Sunday Nov 22nd 2020 Time: 14:30 London (note 09:30 New York, 06:30 San Francisco) Title: “Medieval River Jews 1066-1290” Speaker: Rabbi Dr. Jonathan Romain Description: Jewish Communities 1066-1290. Generally, but in particular along the Thames from Windsor to Oxford. After the talk, there will be an opportunity for Q&A and discussion on the talk. Following a quick tea break, we will return for a workshop where we will offer help for any genealogical problems and listen to your genealogical successes. Beginners always welcome. About Rabbi Dr. Jonathan Romain Rabbi, writer and broadcaster, Jonathan Romain is minister of Maidenhead Synagogue in Berkshire. He writes for The Times , the Guardian and the Jewish Chronicle and is often heard on the BBC. His many books include The J...

From Ton Tielen and David Mendoza: David Lisbona will discuss the history of his Sephardic ancestors who originated in Portugal and later settled in Damascus, a major city on the Silk Road. The 'Franco' Sephardic community maintained a distinct identity from the indigenous Arabic-speaking Jews. Using available historic and genealogical sources, including records new to us, David tells the remarkable story of his family, who were prominent in the Damascene Jewish community. Upheavals in the Ottoman Empire and the opening of the Suez Canal led to a decline in the community, with migrations to Egypt, England, the United States and elsewhere. Topic: From Glory to Dispersion - The Sephardic Lisbona family from Damascus Time: Nov 16, 2020. 2pm NYC, 7pm London, 8pm Amsterdam/Paris, 9pm Jerusalem. Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81392277216 Best wishes, Ton Tielen and David Mendoza Sephardic World     [If you're viewing this post via the summary email and the...

Our next meeting in the JGSGB Virtual Meeting Programme is an extra meeting from the JGSGB Eastern European Special Interest Group (EE SIG) by Zoom. This is the second of three speakers on Eastern European ancestral tourism in November, making it Ancestral Tourism month! Don’t forget there is also an Anglo-Jewish Special Interest Group meeting coming soon. Lots more details about subsequent meetings will follow in the coming weeks. Here is the information for the next meeting: • Date: Sunday Nov 15th 2020 • Time: 14:00 London (note, 09:00 New York, 06:00 San Francisco) • Title: “Travels in Latvia, Ukraine & Poland - In search for the Elusive Family” • Speaker: Carole Shaw • Description: This talk will launch in Great Britain, with Carole’s initial forays into the wild world of genealogy, quickly migrating to Latvia, Ukraine and Poland, which she visited in 2019, on a quest for family and Jewish history. Some of this should dovetail with Leigh Dworkin’s talk on 1st November as it in...

In case you missed the item in the October Newsletter, we have put together a list of the reference books and records which are normally available in our Library but which Library volunteers have at home. If you would like one of the volunteers to do a look-up for you from one of the volumes listed below, please e-mail library-lookups@jgsgb.org.uk and we will arrange for this to be done. Please ensure that you provide sufficient information to enable the volunteer to do a search, e.g. for a marriage record, specify which record, the name of the person and a date range. If you believe that you have volumes which are not listed below and might be helpful for researchers, please let us know at library-lookups@jgsgb.org.uk . Martin Hill Secretary, JGSGB   Book and Records available for Library Look-ups Bevis Marks Records: Part 2: marriages from the earliest times to 1837 Bevis Marks Records : Part ...

News from the National Archives at Kew: Reading room service suspended as of Thursday 5 November We will be suspending our reading room service as of Thursday 5 November, in line with the new national restrictions in England. We know this will be very disappointing to many and look forward to welcoming visitors again as soon as this is possible. We will continue to provide access to our collections and services online, including: Our website, including research guides , blogs , podcasts , learning resources and online exhibitions Discovery , our online catalogue and digital home of our collections Online education sessions and resources Naturalisation certificate requests Record copying Online shop Freedom of Information requests We will continue to review government guidance and to provide regular updates. Greater access to online collections We can confirm that we’re now doubling the monthly limit on downloading free digital records from our website , from 50 to 100. This service, m...

From JewishGen: We invite you to attend another free presentation in our series of JewishGen Talks webinars, with our speaker, Genie Milgrom. Introducing the New JewishGen Crypto Jewish Collection Tuesday, November 10, 2020 3:00 pm Eastern Time (New York) Advance Registration Required - Please Click Here ! After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about how to join the webinar. About the Talk: It has been extremely difficult for those trying to trace their ancestors back to the 14th and 15th centuries since, during the Inquisition, many Jews were forced to convert, change their names, and assume Christian identities in order to save themselves from death sentences. Many of these Jews were exiled from Spain and later from Portugal, and they scattered throughout Europe and Latin America. In this presentation, Genie Milgrom will describe the data she has spent more than 15 years compiling, and how it can be accessed through JewishGen. About Genie Milgrom: Director of Jewish...

From Ton Tielen and David Mendoza: Menasseh ben Israel vs. The Rabbis Do you think conflicts within Jewish communities are something new? It is possible that the re-admission of Jews to England was a consequence of a squabble between Amsterdam's leading rabbis. With the merger of the three original Amsterdam Sephardic communities, the city found itself with four rabbis. All of them were strong characters. Inevitably, there were disputes over who had religious authority and who should be paid the most.  It is possible that Menasseh's trip to London, and the establishment of a Jewish community there,  partly had its roots in his differences with Saul Levi Morteira, Isaac Aboab, David Pardo. Our expert speaker this week, Professor Steven Nadler, is Professor of Philosophy and of Jewish Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research focuses on philosophy in the seventeenth century. He has written extensively on Descartes and Cartesianism, Spinoza...

From Manchester Jewish Museum's newsletter: Manchester Jewish Museum is re-emerging and transforming.  Ahead of our reopening next Spring we present a season of treats and sneaky peeks on our brand new website . Kicking off in November is a rollicking high-camp digital drag night with Chanukah Lewinsky , followed in December by musical conversations with Klezmer musician Francesca Ter Berg and Special Guests about radical ways of thinking and living. In January our Creative Activists showcase creative responses to Mancunian Holocaust experiences. February will see audiences literally eating their way through the archives during a live in-person event with theatre chef Leo Burtin . And finally in March, another live opportunity to explore personal journeys on foot by walking back in time though Redbank and Cheetham with The Bare Project Theatre Company . Come and re-imagine our museum, reset the conversation and reconnect with the stories from our collection that are bursting...

Members may be interested in the collection of family trees held in the London School of Jewish Studies Library. The catalogue can be accessed at https://eclipse.microlibrarian.net/ If the direct link doesn't work, please try from this page: https://www.lsjs.ac.uk/about-our-library.php Michael Roodyn is the Lead Volunteer and is happy to assist, although the library will be closing tomorrow. Michael can be contacted at Michael.Roodyn@BTinternet.com      

After last week’s speaker on Eastern European ancestral tourism, with two more to come in November, this is turning out to be Ancestral Tourism month despite the pandemic not allowing us to do any! We appreciate that not everyone is Eastern European, so we also have an exciting Anglo Special Interest Group meeting later in the month. Lots more details about all these meetings will follow in the coming weeks. More importantly, our next meeting in the JGSGB Virtual Meeting Programme is from the JGSGB South East Essex Regional Group (SEE RG) with a genealogical workshop by Zoom. The details: • Date: 8 Nov 2020 • Time: 14:00 London • Title: "A cross between a workshop and 'Ask the Expert'" • Leader: Anne Marcus • Description: The South East Essex Group is hosting a workshop to help answer your family tree questions and knock down some of your brick walls. Everyone is welcome to join the meeting, wherever you are located. If you have a specific question i...