Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain Blog

There is no JGSGB meeting next Sunday due to Shevuot, but an upcoming special meeting in about a month in the JGSGB Programme is a joint meeting between the JGSGB and the Jewish Historical Society of England (JHSE) by Zoom and in person at the Jewish Museum, Camden, London.   Here are the details: • Date: Sunday July 3rd 2022 • Time: 14:00 London; 09:00 New York; 16:00 Jerusalem; 15:00 Switzerland • Title: “Just Passing Through: Interactions With the World, 1938-2021” • Speaker: Daniel Snowman • Venue: Zoom details below, and/or in-person at the Jewish Museum London, Albert Street, London, NW1 7NB • Essential: To attend in person please email programme@jgsgb.org.uk to avoid paying Museum entrance. • Description: We will celebrate a book that is as much an autobiography as a history of Britain, and of English Jews: Just Passing Through: Interactions with the World, 1938–2021 . In the book, historian Daniel Snowman writes of a Jewish child's memories of the War, gives c...

Our next meeting in the JGSGB Virtual Meeting Programme is a Leeds Regional Group Meeting by Zoom. Date: Sunday May 29th 2022 Time 14:00 London; 09:00 New York; 16:00 Jerusalem; 15:00 Switzerland Title: “Mamaliga Blues - a Brazilian man's J-Family search in Moldova” Speaker: Cassio Tolpolar Description: This is an award winning & interesting film "Mamaliga Blues" & the director Cassio Tolpolar is from Brazil; he travelled with his family to find his Jewish roots in Moldova. The film is in English and English subtitles.(Yiddish/Portuguese) Following the showing will be Q&A after the talk. About Cassio Tolpolar     Cassio Tolpolar was born in the south of Brazil. Cassio’s debut as a director and writer, the short Venus , was screened in a number of film festivals around the world and won several awards, including Best Director and Best Cinematography. It led him to direct for television and, ultimately, to move to the US and complete the MFA in Film at the San F...

Our next Sunday meeting in the JGSGB Programme is an in-person only visit to the Novo Cemetery. . • Date: Sunday May 22nd 2022 • Time: 12:00 – 16:00 BST • Venue: Queen Mary University, Mile End Rd, Bethnal Green, London E1 4NS • Event: OUTSIDE EVENT - a visit to the NOVO cemetery • Facilitator: Raymond Montanjees • Description: The cemetery is located within and at the rear of the University's grounds. Between MILE END and STEPNEY GREEN Underground stations. About a seven-minute walk from either. Easy, free parking in Bancroft Rd and surrounding roads. I'm asking for volunteers please to assist in an inscription clean-up of a tombstone or two for a NOVO database. Cleaning material, gloves, implements etc. etc. will be provided. It’s not hard work – in fact, it’s quite an enjoyable, worthwhile and heart-warming task. If you just wish to simply explore the grounds, then you will be more than welcome. . RSVP and/or for further information: raymondtax2@gmail.com ...

Our next Sunday meeting in the JGSGB Programme is an in-person only workshop for beginners. • Date: Sunday May 15th 2022 • Time: 14:00 – 16:30 BST • Duration: 2.5 hours • Venue: in-person at the Jewish Museum London, Albert Street, London, NW1 7NB • Event: JGSGB Beginners’ Workshop • Speaker: Daniel Morgan-Thomas and JGSGB Mentors • Description: This workshop is for anyone interested in getting started in tracing their Jewish ancestors, whenever they arrived in the UK. The workshop will include: 1. Presentation on how to start tracing your Jewish ancestors and where to look for information. 2. A chance for one-to-one advice from a genealogical expert. 3. A tour of JGSGB's unique library, now hosted at Jewish Museum London. • The cost of the workshop includes admittance to the Jewish Museum's exhibitions and will be redeemable against membership of JGSGB if you decide to become a member of the Society. • To book, please visit: Eventbrite at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/ e/...

Our next Sunday meeting in the JGSGB Virtual Meeting Programme is a specialist talk by Zoom. • Date: Sunday May 8th 2022 • Time: 14:00 London; 09:00 New York; 16:00 Jerusalem; 15:00 Switzerland • Title: “The Jewish Association for the Protection of Girls, Women and Children” • Speaker: Dr Martin Walsh • Description: Almost all Jewish women entered England through London’s East End, where a cross-section of the poorer and working-class Jewish community resided. It was a dangerous and overcrowded place with its warren of lanes and criminality; most noted for the Jack the Ripper murders of the late 1880s. Many of the promises of marriage and employment never materialised. Worse still, some of these women arrived in London only to end up on the next boat to South America as part of the white slave trade. Even in London there was a real risk of these women ending up in the clutches of brothel keepers when the promised employment fell through and family members were not there to p...