The U.S. and the Holocaust will premiere on PBS September 18, 2022. Check with your local cable provider for the station. The U.S. and The Holocaust, a new three-part , six-hour documentary directed and produced by Ken Burns, Lynn Novick and Sarah Botstein, explores America’s response to one of the greatest humanitarian crises in history. Americans consider themselves a “nation of immigrants,” but as the catastrophe of the Holocaust unfolded in Europe, the United States proved unwilling to open its doors to more than a fraction of the hundreds of thousands of desperate people seeking refuge. Through riveting firsthand testimony of witnesses and survivors who as children endured persecution, violence and flight as their families tried to escape Hitler, this series delves deeply into the tragic human consequences of public indifference, bureaucratic red tape and restrictive quota laws in America. The series will air September 18, 19 and 20, at 8:00-10:00 p.m. eastern/pacific 7:00-9:00 PM Central (check local listings) on PBS, https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/us-and-the-holocaust/

The Records Access Alert reports on records access. Therefore, the current national discourse about records being removed from the White House by former President Trump and NARA being the repository of all presidential records is a relevant posting issue.

The acting US Archivist, Debra Wall, says:

“The National Archives has been the focus of intense scrutiny for months, this week especially, with many people ascribing political motivation to our actions. NARA has received messages from the public accusing us of corruption and conspiring against the former President, or congratulating NARA for ‘bringing him down.’ Neither is accurate or welcome,.” This was said in an Aug. 24 message to staff members that was made public on Aug. 30.  https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/22272015-debra-wall-letter-to-staff

“For the past 30-plus years as a NARA career civil servant, I have been proud to work for a uniquely and fiercely non-political government agency, known for its integrity and its position as an ‘honest broker.’ This notion is in our establishing laws and in our very culture. I hold it dear, and I know you do, too,” she added.

“Our fundamental interest is always in ensuring that government records are properly managed, preserved, and protected to ensure access to them for the life of the Republic. That is our mission, and what motivates us as we seek to uphold the public trust. I thank all of you for your dedication to that mission and your professionalism and integrity in carrying it out in a non-political and diligent manner.”

Fifteen boxes were transferred from the resort to NARA in January, when Wall’s predecessor David Ferriero was still in charge. NARA said that the boxes contained classified records. Some were torn up and taped back together; others that had been torn up weren’t reconstructed by the White House, according to Ferriero.

In separate letters to Reps. James Comer (R-Ky.) and Mike Turner (R-Ohio), Wall said that the Department of Justice has been “exclusively responsible” for the investigation into the classified materials since NARA referred the matter to the department in early 2022.

“NARA has not been involved in the DOJ investigation or any searches that it has conducted. Accordingly, NARA is unable to provide a briefing or any documents in response to your letter, and we refer you to the DOJ,” Wall told Comer, the top Republican on the House Oversight Committee, and Turner, the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee. “Please note, however, that NARA is preserving all records related to this matter.”

To read more see: https://www.ntd.com/national-archives-head-says-agency-fiercely-non-political-after-anti-trump-accusations_832802.html

To read previous postings about NARA and the Presidential Records Act and Removal of Records from the White House see the IAJGS Records Access Alert archives at: http://lists.iajgs.org/mailman/private/records-access-alerts  You must be registered to access the archives. To register for the IAJGS Records Access Alert go to: http://lists.iajgs.org/mailman/listinfo/records-access-alerts.  You will receive an email response that you have to reply to or the subscription will not be finalized. It is required to include your organization affiliation (genealogy organization, etc.)

https://www.familysearch.org/en/blog/1950-census-timeline-update

MyHeritage announced they are offering FREE Access to all U.S. census records from August 30-September 6, 2022.  To search go to: https://www.myheritage.com/research/category-1100/us-census They have the 1950 US Census indexed for Wyoming and Delaware with more to follow

Now Live! The 1950 U.S. Census Index for Wyoming and Delaware

The United States has conducted a census of its population every 10 years since 1790. MyHeritage offers the full set of currently available U.S. census records from 1790 to 1950, including high-resolution scans. These records offer important snapshots of the lives of people living in the United States throughout its history. Censuses are particularly valuable in that they can help you watch the lives of your ancestors unfold as they move from location to location, get married or divorced, have children, or change careers. They often include important details on each person’s occupation, including their trade and i

On Monday, 19 September 2022 at 7 pm MST, we are pleased to hear Tina LaFreniere, the

Founder & Chief Executive Officer of

talk on Connecting Faces Through Time – How to Use Related Faces for Identifying Unknow People in Photos.

Watch for the Zoom link in a later email.

I am pleased to announce the 2022 conference from the Polish Genealogical Society of America, which will take place virtually on September 16, 17 and 18th. 

Register here: https://pgsa.org/product/2022-pgsa-virtual-conference/

We assembled a wonderful lineup of Polish and American genealogists with six lectures over three days. Sessions begin each day at 11:00am Central time. 

LECTURE TOPICS
Getting More from Genealodzy.pl – the Little Known Databases
Navigating Szukaj w Archiwach – Unknotting the Knots
Russian Partition Discoveries – Beyond Family Search
The End of Serfdom – Impact on the Records
Maps for Family Research – More Than Geography
Nazi Occupation of Rural Poland – History and Remembrance

REGISTRATION
Members: $30
Non-Members: $45
Register: https://pgsa.org/product/2022-pgsa-virtual-conference/

MyHeritage added Jewish Historical Records from Vienna in partnership with the National Library of Israel. MyHeritage is making this collection available free to search. However, if you want to view or save the records to your family tree or computer you will need a MyHeritage Data or Complete Plan subscription-both are paid subscriptions.

The collection contains 228,250 digitized Jewish immigrant applications from Vienna between World War l and World War ll, It offers an important glimpse into the lives of Austrian Jews at this pivotal moment in history and is exclusive to MyHeritage.  In May 1938, Jews living in Austria registered with the emigration department of the Israelitische Kultusgemeinde (the Jewish community organization in Vienna) if they intended to leave the country and escape Nazi persecution.

The MyHeritage blog post says, “Each head of household had to fill out a detailed questionnaire, containing the following information: name of the applicant, address, date of birth, place of birth, marital status, nationality, residency status in Vienna and whether and how long the applicant resided elsewhere, information about the profession and the last-held professional position, any newly learned professions, language skills, economic situation and monthly income, and additional comprehensive information related to emigration… In addition to the information about the applicant, the questionnaires contain information about any dependents, including degree of relationship, name, places of birth, dates of birth, and occupation. In some cases, the questionnaires also provide information about the applicant’s parents.”

The forms often have supplemental documents which include letters, affidavits, official papers and correspondence as well as stamps and hand-written notes that were added as part of the file processing.

The emigration papers are part of the extensive communal archive of the Viennese Jewish Community that constitutes some of the holdings of the Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People (CAHJP) in Jerusalem.

To read more about this and see some examples of the types of records see MyHeritage’s blog: https://tinyurl.com/bdh8jxrf

Original URL:

MyHeritage and the Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People Publish Exclusive Collection of Jewish Records from Vienna

The U.S. and the Holocaust will premiere on PBS September 18, 2022. Check with your local cable provider for the station. The U.S. and The Holocaust, a new three-part , six-hour documentary directed and produced by Ken Burns, Lynn Novick and Sarah Botstein, explores America’s response to one of the greatest humanitarian crises in history. Americans consider themselves a “nation of immigrants,” but as the catastrophe of the Holocaust unfolded in Europe, the United States proved unwilling to open its doors to more than a fraction of the hundreds of thousands of desperate people seeking refuge. Through riveting firsthand testimony of witnesses and survivors who as children endured persecution, violence and flight as their families tried to escape Hitler, this series delves deeply into the tragic human consequences of public indifference, bureaucratic red tape and restrictive quota laws in America. The series will air September 18, 19 and 20, at 8:00-10:00 p.m. eastern/pacific 7:00-9:00 PM Central (check local listings) on PBS, https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/us-and-the-holocaust/

To read the release see: https://www.pbs.org/about/about-pbs/blogs/news/the-us-and-the-holocaust-to-premiere-september-18-2022-on-pbs/

Legacy Family Tree, a member of the MyHeritage Family of companies, will be holding a Webtember event  all five Fridays throughout September. They are hosting 31 live an pre-recorded free webinars. The presentations will be free to view until the end of the month at your convenience.

To see the line up of presentations see: https://news.legacyfamilytree.com/legacy_news/2022/08/webtember-2022-all-genealogy-all-september-long.html

You do need to register at:

Upcoming Webinars

We are all aware of Newspapers.com, a great fee-based source for newspaper research. Your public library likely has free historical newspaper research tools along with a number of other free online tools. When I was researching the Bookbinders of Philadelphia restaurant fame, I wanted to check the Philadelphia Jewish Exponent. Newspapers.com did not have it, but Newspaper Archive did and was available through the Los Angeles Public Library. Using my LAPL card, I was able to access it remotely. This month’s Practicing Safe Coputing article discusses some of the resources likely available from your public library to advance your genealogical research.

“Free Online Databases Courtesy of Your Public Library” has been published in the August 2022 issue of “Venturing into Our Past”, the Newsletter of the Jewish Genealogical Society of the Conejo Valley and Ventura County (JGSCV). Current and prior newsletters are freely available at the Society’s website, https://www.jgscv.org

All Practicing Safe Computing articles published to date are available in a single searchable PDF. This resource is freely accessible at https://tinyurl.com/SafeComputingArticles . Consider placing a link to it on your society’s web site or otherwise sharing it with your members as an ongoing free resource

As a reminder, our August Webinar for the Polish Genealogical Society of America: “Members Sharing Knowledge” is coming up Sunday, August 21, 2022, 2-4 pm Central Time.

Our panel of three individuals with deep and varied experience in researching Polish roots will answer questions submitted by you. The types of questions to ask:
– How do I…
– Where do I find…
– What is available…
– Whom do I contact…
Do not send questions regarding specific persons or family research.

EMAIL YOUR QUESTIONS at contactus@pgsa.org with “Meeting Question” in the topic line.

… and do not forget to register, with or without a question…

Register: https://pgsa.org/product-category/webinars/

• MEMBERS: To obtain the member benefit of free attendance you must login before registration.
• NON-MEMBERS: There is a non-members charge of $10.

Let me know if you have any questions and please distribute our flyer!

Ellen

European Days of Jewish Culture (EDJC) kick off September 4^th, however some events are starting in August. This year’s theme is “Renewal”. See: https://jewisheritage.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Renewal.pdf from the National Library of Israel. The EDJC is coordinated under the auspices of the AEPJ (European Association for the Preservation and Promotion of Jewish Culture and Heritage), in partnership with the National Library of Israel. This European-wide event, which has been organized since 2000, is to highlight the diversity and richness of Judaism and its local, regional and national historical importance, with the firm intention of promoting dialogue, recognition and exchange through conferences, concerts, performances, guided tours and other activities, which take place simultaneously throughout the continent.

A pan-European festival of tourism and education centered on Jewish built heritage, the EDJC takes place each year in more than two dozen countries across the continent, and has become Europe’s most successful cross-border Jewish cultural initiative.

To find events and national programs see: https://jewisheritage.org/edjc/2022-renewal