Museum of Family History: New exhibits

What's new at the Museum of Family History this month?

Walk in My Shoes: Collected Memories of the Holocaust

-- Chaim Basist (Lida, Belarus): He and his family hid in the forest with the Bielski partisans. Hebrew/English.

-- Peter Kleinmann (Munkacs/Mukachevo, Ukraine). Nine of 12 chapters of his autobiography are online with more to follow very soon. He was in Auschwitz, Gross-Rosen and Flossenburg.

MOFH Film Series (through April 18): World War II and the Holocaust

-- "The Jews of Krakow's Kazimierz District." 1936 archival film shows Krakow's Kazimierz Jewish district. Most buildings can be visited today and are in a similar condition - only the people who walked those streets are long gone. Note: A YouTube version of this film states the years are 1938-9, not 1936.

Exhibit: "The Jewish Ghetto" (coming in 2010)

-- "The Ghettos of Dabrowa Grnicza and Bedzin" (10:51). Two parts shot in the ghettos of Dabrowa Grnicza and Bedzin, probablywhen the ghetto was founded in May 1942, although deportations began in October 1940. Despite cooperation with the occupiers, as shown in this film, several large deportations took place in 1942; the last major ones were in 1943: 5,000, 22 June 1943; 8,000, around 13 August 1943. The 1,000 remaining Jews were subsequently deported. An uprising took place August 1943, was quelled and the ghetto eliminated. Both films are in the Polish film archive (ul. Chelmska, Warsaw.

Al Jolson Film Festival

-- Jolson stars in and sings in the film trailer to "Hallelujah, I'm a Bum." Don't forget to visit the Museum's large Al Jolson exhibit, "The Immortal Al Jolson" (see and hear many more videos, more than 40 sound clips).

ERC Lecture Series: The Development of Yiddish Literature

-- Since the Czernowitz Conference: In October 2008, Boris Sandler, Forverts editor-in-chief, gave a Yiddish speech at the IAYC (International Association of Yiddish Clubs) conference about the development of Yiddish literature since the 1908 Czernowitz conference on the future of the Yiddish language. A transcript of the talk is now available in English and can be found within the "ERC Lecture Series" at the Museum's Education and Research Center.

Visit the Museum of Family History online. Learn what's new at the Steve Lasky's blog.

Questions for Steve on new exhibits or material you'd like to share? Contact him.

JGSLA 2010: Blondes, Poles, Pix, Razzle Dazzle

No matter your personal research interests, JGSLA 2010 holds something for somebody regardless of your ancestry, ethnicity, research skill or genealogical knowledge.

Here are just a few of the topics in store for you at JGSLA 2010, July 11-16, in Los Angeles.

Research techniques for family scandals

Unearthing scandals will be demonstrated by Robin Seidenberg, who will show how historical newspapers and old-fashioned detective work will find family history in Hollywood and the Jewish Roaring 20s crowd in Chicago. She'll talk on "My Uncle, the Hollywood Producer: A Spicy Tale” and "The Kissing Blonde."

Warsaw's Jewish Genealogical Learning Center

It will be great to again see Yale Reisner and Anna Przybyszewska-Droz, from Warsaw's Jewish Genealogical Learning Center.

Their topics include "How to Do Genealogy Research in Poland And How Not to: Potential and Pitfalls," "Grandma’s Name Was Rosenberg: Am I Jewish?," "Uniquely Jewish Surnames - What They Prove and What They Don’t," "The Lost Tribes of Poland: Apostasy, Intermarriage and Jewish Genealogy in Poland" and "A Different Memory: Poles, Jews & What We Think We Know About Them."

Thinking out of the box, photographically.

"Photo Detective" Maureen Taylor will analyze photographic questions posed on JewishGen's Viewmate over the years and also provide private consultations while Ava (aka Sherlock) Cohn (with ancestors from Belarus, Romania, Ukraine and the Austrian Empire), will demonstrate how to find clues our immigrant ancestors left for us in their photo portraits.

Technology and journalism to razzle dazzle

TV news producer and reporter Leron Kornreich will show how to use multi-media and reporting skills to document family history in "Razzle Dazzle ‘em: Using Technology to Present Your Family History Research with Pizzazz" and "Breaking News: A Reporter's Guide to Genealogical Research and Using Video to Capture Roots & Shtetl Travel."

For all conference details, check out JGSLA 2010.

Inspiration: Vote for this Jewish genealogy video

"Genealogy is roots, connections, wanderings, imaginings, hearts, souls and minds," says one participant in a short inspiring video that all genealogists - Jewish or not - should see (and vote for now).

Developed by the Jewish Genealogical Society of Colorado and produced by the multi-talented Ellen Shindelman Kowitt, this video has the potential to influence a large audience of young people and bring them into the field.


But the JGSColorado needs the help of Tracing the Tribe's readers to do it. Watch the video here as it reveals to viewers concisely and precisely what Jewish genealogy is, why we do it and some advice for beginners.

It takes only eight minutes to view the video and a few seconds to vote for the full five stars it deserves.

Ellen is one of the most dedicated and passionate genealogy people that I know. Her work focuses on the preservation and connectivity of the Jewish community in Colorado and throughout the world. Her passion for our favorite topic has brought people to their roots and revealed stories that would have been lost forever.

The video was produced as part of a larger JGSColorado project, and the group needs your help in a grass-roots video contest.

If the video wins any final position from first to fifth place, it will be announced at the Jewlicious Festival - the largest Jewish student and young adult festival in the world - in southern California February 19-21. It is the only video with a genealogy theme in the competition.

As genealogists, we are always talking about how we can bring in younger people. Imagine if this video were played to that huge young audience? How may this video impact the future of the Jewish genealogy world?

Be a part of this dream and help the JGS of Colorado - and perhaps the entire field of Jewish genealogy - by voting for this video.

Let's win one for Jewish genealogy! Vote now!

Send this announcement to the members of your family, to the members of your genealogy societies, to your friends who understand your passion to this field, and ask them to vote as well. This post will be on Facebook and on Twitter, so if that's your thing, please "LIKE" it and retweet it to let people know about it.

Go here or http://www.leadel.net/jews-that-do-contest/videos/connecting-your-roots

Some relevant quotes from the video:

According to Rabbi Josh Rose of Congregation Har HaShem:

"It isn't just accumulating information about your [ancestors], but being drawn into the process and being affected by it. Genealogy is you. Both what we discover and the very process of discovering is at the core of what we are. Link this to the study of Torah and you are learning the story of our people, the genealogy of our people. It is not only what we discover but the process, how that learning informs you, changes you, draws you in."

Martin Mandelsberg, a Holocaust artist, notes that genealogy asks (and sometimes answers): "Where did I come from? How far can I go back? Are there people like me? I had to come from somewhere - who am I?

Terry Lasky, who has documented 22,000 Jewish burials in Colorado, advises viewers of two important points: "Have patience. Don't expect to find everything in an hour," and "Never give up."

Go to the link above, see the full video, be inspired and vote for it now.

Florida: A video life story, Jan. 26

Documentary producer Diane L. Hirsch will present "My video life story: A legacy of a life well-lived," at the next meeting of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Orlando on Tuesday, January 26.

The meeting begins at 1pm, at the Congregation of Reform Judaism, 928 Malone Dr.

Hirsch will show how family historians and genealogists can interview and record by tape or video, and document historical accounts of vital records from a relative for future research of family from family trees.

As an Emmy-award winning documentary producer who has interviewed presidents, celebrities and athletes, I know every person has a unique story to tell ... I want to be the one to tell your story!

Her goal is to create an entertaining historical account that becomes a priceless family heirloom to be shared by families and friends and to be relived over again.

NOTE: Tracing the Tribe always recommends that family historians and genealogists record (both audio and video) their interviews with family members, and this program should help participants learn how to do this for their own families. With today's technology, it is easy to always carry a small digital voice recorder and a small digital video recorder - you never know when it might come in very handy at unexpected opportunities. Many people do this themselves successfully. For those who desire, companies like Hirsch's will do it for them at a price.

Hirsch's mother Lois died young at 57 from breast cancer in 1984. Although there were diaries, many photos and home movies, she had never interviewed her mother, to hear her tell about her life in her own words. She didn't want to lose this opportunity with her father, Raymond, and interviewed him for three hours. As Hirsch notes on her website, everyone in the family has copies of this interview and will know all about him.

See three moving clips of her father's video interview here.

Her company, My Video Life Story, specializes in producing custom, high-end personal and corporate video biographies, which can cover celebrating the passing into a new era of life, preserving once-in-a-lifetime memories and cherished moments, sharing your heritage with generations to come, and telling special video life stories featuring people, companies or pets that would otherwise be forgotten or lost. They can celebrate life cycle events (birthday, wedding, anniversary, graduation, retirement), a family gathering, family video history, memorials, cultural and religious celebrations and more.

The meeting is free and open to the public.

For more information on the JGS of Greater Orlando, click here.

Oregon: Jewish Museum reopens

The Oregon Jewish Museum has moved to a new home in the northwest part of Portland.

Its resources include art exhibits and much more, including the Jewish historical society's archives and library (open by appointment to researchers).

Back in the 1950s, the city's Old South Waterfront was a vibrant Jewish and Italian neighborhood. There is a walking tour of the area.

The opening was on Sunday, and various exhibits included:

The Shape of Time: accumulations of place and memory
Arnold Newman – Street Scenes
The Berger Collection of Ceremonial Judaica
Deanne Belinoff – The Book of Keys
Alex Appella – The Janos Book
Shelley Jordon – Family History

The museum also conducts the Oral History Jewish Cemetery Project and the Oral History Project. Seniors' memories are a precious resource that dwindle over time, and both projects are aimed at saving these memories and archiving them.

The first project takes small groups to Portland's Jewish cemeteries to film and interview the seniors as they walk together and talk about family and friends buried there. Gravestone names trigger memories and conversation. The films will be open to archival research and eventually made public. This project is funded by the Oregon Heritage Commission, the Oregon Cultural Trust and Helen and Jerry Stern.

The second oral history project is part of the museum's mission to preserve the state's Jewish history. The current project expands the Oregon Jewish Oral History and Archive collection begun in the 1970s. Its goal is to collect a wide range of oral histories from community members across the state. Volunteers are trained to to conduct interviews and transcribe tapes.

A third project - Museum in a Suitcase - is an outreach program for elementary school students. The goal is to teach diverse students about the successful integration of the Jews, who were one of the state's earliest immigrant groups. Significant objects including Judaica are included in the suitcase, along with curriculum materials and teaching guide. The museum wants to train docents who will visit schools and organize programs. Funding is via The Collins Foundation, Oregon Heritage Commission and the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland have funded this project.

Go to the museum site (link above) and read all about the exhibit... - Shape of Time - which explores urban landscapes and public memory through the Jewish experiences in the state. It utilizes the museums extensive collection of historic photographs.