New York: Red Star Line emigrants, Oct. 17

Jewish emigrants of the Red Star Line will be the topic at the next meeting of the Jewish Genealogical Society of New York, on Sunday, October 17.

The program begins at 2pm, at the Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16th Street, Manhattan.

Speaker Erwin Joos Erwin Joos is the curator of Belgium’s Eugeen Van Mieghem Museum and president of the non-profit Eugeen Van Mieghem Foundation, with more than 1,000 members.

A mass emigration of Eastern European Jews took place from Antwerp to America from 1873-1934. Most arrived after the pogroms (1900-1914). The grueling steerage journey to American ports took from seven to 14 days. Some 30-40% of Jewish Americans have ancestors who sailed with the Red Star Line, one of the most important American lines.

Many stories have been written about the emigration experience from Antwerp by such Jewish authors as Sholom Aleichem and Yuri Suhl. Some famous passengers were Irving Berlin, Golda Meir and Albert Einstein.

Antwerp artist Eugeen Van Mieghem created a collection of works of art about these emigrants. His parents' tavern was located on Montevideo Street opposite the Red Star Line warehouse.

Joos has spoken at international Jewish genealogy conferences, organized exhibits in numerous museums and has authored five major art books, including "Antwerp New York: Eugene Van Mieghem" and edited 12 albums.

Early arrivals for the program may use the Ackman & Ziff Family Genealogy Institute from 11am for networking, access to research materials and the computers.