The Museum of Family History
HONORING AND PRESERVING THE MEMORY OF OUR ANCESTORS
FOR THE PRESENT AND FUTURE GENERATIONS

 JANUARY 2008


EDUCATION AND RESEARCH CENTER:
--New lists of former synagogues of New York City: In addition to the previous list of synagogues of the Lower East Side, you  can now search two new lists: one for Brooklyn (Kings County), and another for the Bronx.
 

THE HOLOCAUST:
--Photographs of the transit camps of Drancy, as well as le Camp des Milles, both in France, as well as of the concentration camp in Struthof, France (Alsace region) are now online.
 

HOLOCAUST MEMORIALS OF CANADA:
--Photos of the memorial on the grounds of Congregation Emanu-El Cemetery in Victoria, British Columbia is now available for viewing.
 

HOLOCAUST MEMORIALS OF  EUROPE:
--The first Museum photos of Holocaust memorials located in France, Italy and Norway are now online, as well as photos of more from Hungary. More memorial photos from Germany have been added; Austria memorials to come.
--Photos of the Holocaust memorial in Zamosc, Poland is now online.
 

HOW WE WORKED:
--The Jewish fire department of Krakes (Krok), Lithuania.

LINKS:
--Russian Defense Department database of Russian soldiers who died or disappeared during World War II.
--Gedunkbuch: lists 128,000 German Jewish victims of Nazi persecution.


NEW EXHIBITIONS:
--The Habima in New York: The innovative Habima acting troupe left Russia in 1926 in order to tour and perform in various cities in Europe and the United States. "The Habima in New York" will tell of their origins and their time in New York. The exhibition includes photographs of the cast members in costume, scenes from acts, as well as reviews of the five plays they performed as part of their repertoire. Also, a letter of support by Russian playwright Maxim Gorky is included. The Habima would eventually leave New York for then Palestine, making Israel their permanent home.
--Castle Garden: The First Entry Point of America: Before Ellis Island served as the gateway for our immigrant ancestors to enter the United States, most of them entered a location once used as a fortress, situated at the tip of the island of Manhattan named Castle Garden.
--The Modjacot Marionette Theatre: The only Jewish puppet theatre in America, cir 1920s.
--The Life & Death of a Yiddish Art Theatre: In the 1920s, various groups, such as the Unser Theatre, tried to make a go of it at a Yiddish theatre in the Bronx, New York, supported by renown Yiddish playwrights David Pinski and Peretz Hirshbein, as well as set designer Boris Aronson.
--An American Kibbutz: From Odessa to Oregon, Utopia in Brief: "Our long wandering comes to an end and a new life begins for us," wrote a young Russian Jewish immigrant in 1882, about to start an agricultural commune. The foreign soil he would soon till, however, was not in Eretz Yisrael, but in the U.S.A., in Oregon, 250 miles south of Portland, near the present-day town of Glendale.
--"Once a Kingdom: The Life of Maurice Schwartz and the Yiddish Art Theatre": With permission of the Estate of author Martin Boris, the Museum is exclusively publishing the only known biography of Yiddish acting great Maurice Schwartz and the Yiddish Art Theatre that he founded. This book will be published here in serialized form, i.e. several chapters each month for approximately one year. This book will be tied to a future exhibition of Schwartz and the Yiddish Art Theatre to come in the not too distant future. Also see the display of photos and review of the 1932 Yiddish Art Theatre production of I. J. Singer's "Yoshe Kalb."
 

POSTCARDS FROM HOME:
The exhibition's collection of family photos from pre-war Western Europe are now being augmented within this exhibition, e.g. from London and Sheffield, England, as well as Stockholm, Sweden. More are always welcome.
--Lithuania: Joniskis, Krakes and Siauliai.
--Poland: Czestochowa.
--Ukraine: Donetsk, Konstantinovka, Korostyshev and Luhansk.
 

STORIES FROM OUR ANCESTRAL HOMES:
--Memoirs of Yardena: The story of the life of Yardena Winter nee Grunwald from Nemešany, Slovakia.
 

TOWNSITES:
--More links to modern-day photographs from Zamosc, Poland.

YIDDISH WORLD:
--Please note above the new exhibitions about the Habima theatre group from Moscow, and the Modajcot Marionette Theatre.
--Unknown Yiddish Star: If you think you can identify the Yiddish star in this photo, please let the Museum know at postmaster@museumoffamilyhistory.com.
--The Life & Death of a Yiddish Art Theatre: In the 1920s, various groups, such as the Unser Theatre, tried to make a go of it at a Yiddish theatre in the Bronx, New York, supported by renown Yiddish playwrights David Pinski and Peretz Hirshbein, as well as set designer Boris Aronson.
--On the page dedicated to the Vilna Troupe, you can now see the cast of characters of their first New York City performance of Ansky's "The Dybbuk",  as well as learn the names of the Troupe who played these parts. You can also read the review and short synopsis of this classic of the Yiddish theatre. You can also hear a sound clip from a 1998 interview with Yiddish actress Luba Kadison on her days with the Vilna Troupe before WWII.
More clips will follow, as Ms. Kadison reflects on her life and career, also that of her husband Yiddish actor Joseph Buloff, and their relationship with others, e.g. Maurice Schwartz and the Yiddish Art Theatre.
--Once a Kingdom: The Life of Maurice Schwartz and the Yiddish Art Theatre: With permission of the Estate of author Martin Boris, the Museum is exclusively publishing the only known biography of Yiddish acting great Maurice Schwartz and the Yiddish Art Theatre that he founded. This book will be published here in serialized form, i.e. several chapters each month for approximately one year. This book will be tied to a future exhibition of Schwartz and the Yiddish Art Theatre to come in the not too distant future.
 

FEBRUARY 2008


EDUCATION AND RESEARCH CENTER:
--Former synagogue lists have been created for all of Manhattan (includes all the synagogues once on the Lower East Side as well as all the others) and for Queens and Richmond (Staten Island) counties.

CEMETERY PROJECT:
--A grounds map for Shaarey Zedek Cemetery in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada has been added.
 

FORUMS:
--Zambrow, Poland: Some information about names found on gravestones found in Zambrow Cemetery and more.


HOLOCAUST MEMORIALS OF EUROPE:
--Austria: Vienna.
--Belarus: Brest (Brisk) and Pinsk.
--Czech Republic: The first memorial photo is now online for the town of Kolin and Pilsen, both located in today's Czech Republic, but formerly in Bohemia.
--Germany: Bonn and Rotenburg an der Fulda.
--Netherlands: This is a new page too, featuring photos from the towns of Harderwyck and Kampen and the city of Amsterdam.
 

LINKS:
--Jewish Genealogy in Italy.
--Los Angeles, California City and Street Address Directory 1929-1987.
 

POSTCARDS FROM HOME:
--Latvia: Liepaja (Libau) and Riga.
--Poland: Grajewo and Pultusk.
--Ukraine: Berdychiv and Konotop.
 

TOWNSITES:
--Link to new ShtetLinks Miskolc, Hungary page.
 

YIDDISH WORLD:
--Newark's 3rd Ward Yiddish Theatre:  Recollections about the Elving's Metropolitan Theatre, once located in the Jewish area of Newark, New Jersey.
--Lives in the Yiddish Theatre: Eliyahu Goldenberg.
--The Hebrew Actors Union 1923.
--Josef Schmidt, Lyric Tenor.
--Four more chapters of Maurice Schwartz's biography.
 

MARCH 2008

FORUMS:
--Zambrow, Poland: Photographs from the Zambrow cemetery and a rededication ceremony. Also, a short tribute to Rev Fishel Danilewicz, a melamed of Zambrow, by his grandson Dr. Yisrael Levitz.

POSTCARDS FROM HOME:
--Belarus: Pinsk.
--The first pre-war family photos from Scotland have been added to the exhibition.
--Ukraine: Kovel and Luhansk (Lugansk).
 

TOWNSITES:
--Link to ShtetLinks Brzesko, Poland page.
 

YIDDISH WORLD:
--Josef Schmidt, Lyric Tenor.
--Kadison, Buloff and the Vilna Troupe: Read about Yiddish acting greats Luba Kadison and her husband Joseph Buloff, their times with the Vilna Troupe, their professional lives, and their acting philosophies. This exhibition contains several excerpts taken, with permission, from an interview conducted with Kadison by the late Martin Boris.
--Chapters 8 to 11 from the Maurice Schwartz's biography "Once Upon a Kingdom..."
 

APRIL 2008

HOW WE WORKED:
--Berlin, Germany--Zysia Pressman at his men's clothing store and factory, before 1933.
 

THE FAMILY HISTORY THEATRE:
--The virtual theatre is meant to serve as an audio-visual instrument that can be used to inform the museum "visitor" of some of the exhibitions that exist within the Museum. Here you can see some video and hear some audio that cannot be found elsewhere in the Museum. The first parts include a short video clip from the upcoming Great Artists Series exhibition about the great Al Jolson, a sound clip from the exhibitions "Living in America: Family Life During the Great Depression," "Lives in the Yiddish Theatre: Luba Kadison and Joseph Buloff," and a sample video clip from the Museum's Screening Room, from the film "Yiddish Theatre: A Love Story."
 

LINKS:
--Heska Amuna Cemetery in Knoxville, Tennessee-names of burials in this small cemetery.


POSTCARDS FROM HOME:
--Poland: Czyzewo--Hear a short audio clip from the testimony of someone who managed to survive in the woods of Czyzewo. The clip can be found at www.museumoffamilyhistory.com/pfh.czyzew_szczupakiewicz-pearl.htm. Look for the earphones icon to find the clip.
--Poland: Warszawa and Pilica (Piltz).
 

TOWNSITES:
--Belarus--Dokshytsy. Also see their site about the Dokshytsy cemetery restoration.
--Moldova--Bricheva.
--Poland--Wegrow.
--Romania--Galaţi.
 

MAY 2008

Please use the 2008 Updates archives link above to read about any late April additions to the Museum.


CEMETERY PROJECT:
--A new unique surnames list for Wielun, Poland has been added. The lists for Czernowitz and Pryluky, Ukraine, as well as Szczuczyn, Poland have been amended.

EDUCATION AND RESEARCH CENTER:
--new! Research Stories: "Family Past Unfolds Like Detective Story"--Sonia Pressman Fuentes is a public speaker, writer, lawyer, and co-founder of NOW (National Organization for Women). She has given the Museum permission to reprint an article she wrote in 1995 for Washington Jewish Week that deals with her trials and travail in conducting research for the memoirs that she would later write. Those researching the Polish towns of Pilica (Piltz) and/or Bendin (Bedzin) might be especially interested in reading her story, as these are the towns that Ms. Fuentes has researched. You can also see some of her pre-WWII family photos in the Museum's "Postcards from Home" exhibition under "Pilica" and "Warszawa" (Dombek).

--new! The ERC Lecture Series: The Museum hopes to present a series of lectures once given and represented here anew, or eventually lectures given especially for the Museum itself. Hopefully, audio and video will be included in these lectures. The first lecture is by Ms. Sonia Pressman Fuentes about her life as a child in pre-war Europe and her subsequent immigrant experience in the United States.

FAMILY HISTORY THEATRE:
--The Museum's Family History Theatre represents the interactive, multimedia aspects of the site. Here you can see representations of many of the exhibitions within this virtual museum that have both audio and video components. You can take the "virtual tour" by visiting www.museumoffamilyhistory.com/family-history-theatre.htm.  The latest component of the tour to be added: excerpts from USC Shoah Foundation Institute interviews with Arthur and Valerie Rosenthal (done with permission of the Foundation.) The Rosenthals are from Miskolc and Vac, Hungary. These interview excerpts are part of the Museum's ongoing exhibition "Walk in My Shoes: Collected Memories of the Holocaust." If anybody has copies of their own interview by SFI, and would like the Museum to place excerpts of said interview, please contact the museum at postmaster@museumoffamilyhistory.com . You would have to send the DVDs to the Museum (copies of the original), as the Museum cannot request said DVDs from them as there would be a large fee involved.

Please be patient with the time needed to download any video clip. The speed of download depends on various factors, e.g. connectivity. The videos are best played on computers with high speed internet access, as the use of land (phone) lines might cause the video clips to download terribly slowly or worse. Also, these clips (mp4 fomat) play best with Apple's QuickTime media player or Windows Media Player 7 or newer.

HOLOCAUST MEMORIALS OF CANADA:
--Cote St. Luc (Montreal), Canada: The memorial of Beth Zion Congregation.
--Toronto, Canada: Memorial of the Piotrokov-Tomashow-Belchatow and Vicinity Society in Toronto.

--World Holocaust Memorials: The Museum has combined all three of its Holocaust memorial exhibitions so that they fall under the heading of "World Holocaust Memorials." Links to the web pages containing photographs of the memorials in North America, Europe and elsewhere can be accessed from this page.
The link is www.museumoffamilyhistory.com/whm.htm .
 

HOW WE WORKED: EUROPE:
--Berlin, Germany: The Gentlemen's Clothing House of Sigmund Pressman; includes a translated advertisement of his store once located on Linienstrasse.
 

LIVING IN AMERICA: THE JEWISH EXPERIENCE:
--"Eat First, You Don't Know What They'll Give You"--excerpts from the memoirs of Sonia Pressman Fuentes, co-founder of NOW, on the years she and her family spent in the Catskills during the 1930s and 40s.


POSTCARDS FROM HOME:
--Belarus: Grodno.
--Germany: Berlin.
--Latvia: Rezekne (Rezhitsa).
--Lithuania: Druskieniki and Vilkaviškis.
--Poland: Czestochowa and Zambrow.
--Russia: Pskov.
--Ukraine: Czernowitz and Mukachevo (Munkács).
 

TOWNSITES:
--More JewishGen ShtetLinks pages have been created. These pages are associated with the following locations:
   --Czech Republic: Teplice.
   --Poland: Plonsk, Skierniewice and Zamosc.
   --Ukraine: Lanovtsy.


YIDDISH WORLD:
--Chapters 12 to 15 from the Maurice Schwartz's biography "Once Upon a Kingdom..."
--The Catskills: "Julie Oshins, a Catskills Tummler.
 

JUN 2008

Please use the 2008 Updates archives link above to read about any late May additions to the Museum.


CEMETERY PROJECT:
--Maps have been added for three Cleveland, Ohio area cemeteries: Glenville, Lansing, and Ridge Road #2.

FAMILY HISTORY THEATRE:
--Screening Room: A video preview for a thirteenth Jewish documentary in this series, "A Man from Munkács: Gypsy Klezmer" by Yale Strom, is now available for viewing.

GREAT ARTISTS SERIES:
--Maurice Schwartz and the Yiddish Art Theatre: For those of you interested in the history of the Yiddish theatre, this is a must read. You can read a serialized version of the only known biography of Schwartz, see photos of many of the actors of the Yiddish Art Theatre troupe, as well as those who worked behind the scenes. You can see photos of various scenes from various productions and view a list of nearly two hundred Yiddish Art Theatre productions, as well as see photos of many of the authors of the works produced by the Theatre.

LINKS:
--Beverly Davis Database: searchable database of almost 50,000 burials within Australasia and Oceania plus Australian War Graves.
--Rookwood Cemetery, Sydney, Australia has a searchable database.

LIVING IN AMERICA: THE JEWISH EXPERIENCE:
--you can read excerpts from Sylvia Siegel Schildt's book about life in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, New York. There are two interesting chapters to read, including one about the Loew's Pitkin movie house.
 

POSTCARDS FROM HOME:
--England: Manchester.
--Lithuania: Gruzdziai and Vilnius.
--Poland: Lodz and Pultusk.
--Romania: Braila.
--Ukraine: Drohobycz.

PRESERVING JEWISH HERITAGE:
--Wyman Brent has plans to house a Jewish library in Vilnius, Lithuania, and he hopes to collect 100,000 books to make up its collection. If after reading Wyman's story, you feel that you have books you believe would make a good addition to this library, please contact him directly using the email address provided.

SYNAGOGUES OF EUROPE:
--Lithuania: Gruzdziai.

TOWNSITES:
--Ukraine: Shchirets ShtetLinks site.
 

WORLD HOLOCAUST MEMORIALS:
--A new section that features memorials to the Holocaust that have been erected in Israel has been added, though only a few photos are in the Museum's possession. If you have such photos, please consider sending them to the Museum at memorials@museumoffamilyhistory.com . Please include, when applicable, the town and country that is associated with the memorial, any English translations of the memorial inscriptions, where the memorial is located, and if possible, the date the memorial was erected. To date, photos of memorials dedicated to Zdunska Wola, Poland and Medzhibozh, Ukraine, as well as a memorial to the six million Jews that stands in Petach Tikva, are included.

THE YIDDISH WORLD:
--Chapters 20 to 23 in the only biography written about Yiddish acting great Maurice Schwartz. The book is called "Once a Kingdom," and is presented exclusively to visitors to the Museum of Family History in a serialized form in a four-chapter sequence (ending January 2009.)
 

JUL 2008

Please use the 2008 Updates archives link above to read about any late June additions to the Museum.


CEMETERY PROJECT:
--Waldheim Cemetery, Forest Park, Illinois: A list of more than two-hundred and fifty societies who own burial plots at the cemetery, including when applicable, the town and country associated with the particular plot.
--Societies with burial plots at both Menorah Gardens and Jewish Oakridge Cemeteries are also represented on this page.

--Society Gates: Photos of the gates (no names inscribed) of two Szczuczyn, Poland society plots have been added (see under "Grajewo-Szczuczyn.") Also, Czernowitz, Ukraine, Pilica and Wielun, Poland, including the names of society officers and members.
 

EDUCATION AND RESEARCH CENTER:
--Resources: The Library of Congress' Geography and Map Reading Room.
 

HOLOCAUST MEMORIALS OF THE WORLD:
--Another Holocaust memorial from Verona, Italy.
--A memorial photo in Copenhagen, Denmark--The "Tomb of the Unknown Concentration Camp Prisoner."
 

THE JEWISH WOMAN IN HISTORY:
--New "room" in the Museum dedicated to the Jewish woman. The first exhibition is entitled "The Quintessential Jewish Mother: Gertrude Berg as Molly Goldberg." Many of you may be familiar with the television show "The Goldbergs."


LINKS:
--Other Sites of Interest: "Women in Judaism" journal.
 

PRESERVING JEWISH HERITAGE (also HOLOCAUST MEMORIALS OF EUROPE):
--More photographs of the cemetery restoration and rededication at Losice, Poland. Also two memorial plaques on the walls by the gates of the cemetery.


SCREENING ROOM:
--A very good documentary on the Vilnius of old, released in 2006, entitled "The World Was Ours."

TOWNSITES:
--Ananiev, Chervonograd (Krystynopol), Klyucharki and Krasilov, Ukraine ShtetLinks sites; also Körmend, Hungary.

THE YIDDISH WORLD:
--Chapters 24 to 27 in the only biography written about Yiddish acting great Maurice Schwartz. The book is called "Once a Kingdom," and is presented exclusively to visitors to the Museum of Family History in a serialized form in a four-chapter monthly sequence (ending January 2009.)

--Yung Vilne ("Young Vilnius"): Between the two world wars, a  number of young writers and artists of Vilne (Vilnius) came together and formed what was to become an important Yiddish literary group called "Yung Vilne."
 

AUG 2008

Please use the 2008 Updates archives link above to read about any late July additions to the Museum.

CEMETERY PROJECT:
--A map has been added for the Jewish sections at Rosemont Park Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois.
--Society Gates: Czernowitz society plot, Wellwood Cemetery, Pinelawn, New York.
--Unique Surnames Lists: New lists are being added for various society plots at Bayside Cemetery in Ozone Park, New York. Many of these plots are associated with towns in Europe, others are associated with other types of organizations. Other landsmanshaftn lists are being updated. New town lists include:
Belarus: Lyubcha; Lithuania: Kalvarija, Kraziai, Marijampole, Salant and Veisiejai; Poland: Biezun, Gniezno, Golub-Dobrzyn, Konin, Pyzdry and Wloclawek. Lists will be updated for the following towns: Poland: Ciechanow, Grajewo, Kalisz, Krakow, Kutno, Makow Mazowiecki, Mlawa, Nasielsk, Plock, Przasnysz, Sierpc, Stawiski, Suwalki, Szczuczyn and Trzcianne.


Q & A:
A very interesting feature. The Museum will conduct a number of interviews with people of interest. The first Q & A is called "Interview with a Cemetery Manager," and is an in-depth discussion with the manager of Mount Judah Cemetery, a Jewish cemetery located in Ridgewood, Queens, New York. Some of the topics of discussion have to do with the ins-and-outs of running a cemetery, what occurs from the time a funeral director calls the cemetery in order arrange for a funeral, to the time a funeral is concluded. Also, what kind of information on the deceased does a cemetery actually have? Many questions were asked and answered, so reading this interview should be a learning experience for many. The interview should be especially interesting and pertinent to Jewish genealogists.


POSTCARDS FROM HOME:
--Latvia: Riga.


SCREENING ROOM:
--"The Litvak Connection": The fifteenth film preview to be featured at the Museum. This 2008 documentary depicts the role of Nazi collaborators during the Shoah who were complicit in the liquidation of Latvian and Lithuanian Jewry, i.e. the Litvak population, as well as their connection to present day war crimes issues.

TOWNSITES:
--Links to the following ShtetLinks pages have been added:
  --Belarus: Braslav and Vishnewo.
  --Lithuania: Leipalingis and Židikai.
  --Ukraine: Chabanivka and Zolotyy Potik (Potok Zloty).
 

WORLD HOLOCAUST MEMORIALS:
--Holocaust Memorials of Canada: At Bathurst Lawn Cemetery in Toronto, Canada, in a Minsker Farband/Adath Sholom Synagogue society plot.
--Holocaust Memorials of New York and New Jersey: A memorial erected at Beth Abraham Cemetery in New Jersey by New Lubliner Society and Vicinity, representing Lublin, Poland. 
 

THE YIDDISH WORLD:
--Chapters 28 to 31 in the only biography written about Yiddish acting great Maurice Schwartz. The book is called "Once a Kingdom," and is presented exclusively to visitors to the Museum of Family History. The biography is presented in a serialized form in a four-chapter monthly sequence; the final chapters will be presented in January 2009.
 

SEP 2008

Please use the 2008 Updates archives link above to read about any late Aug additions to the Museum.
The Museum and its founder were honored by the IAJGS (International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies) in Aug 2008 with the award for "Outstanding Contribution to Jewish Genealogy via the Internet, Print or Electronic Product." You can see the plaque inscription on the Museum News page.

CEMETERY PROJECT:
--Unique Surnames Lists: New lists are being added for various society plots at Bayside Cemetery in Ozone Park, New York. Many of these plots are associated with towns in Europe, others are associated with other types of organizations. Other landsmanshaftn lists are being updated. New town lists include:
Belarus: Lyubcha; Lithuania: Kalvarija, Kraziai, Marijampole, Salant and Veisiejai
Poland: Biezun, Gniezno, Golub-Dobrzyn, Konin, Pyzdry and Wloclawek.
Lists will be updated for the following towns: Poland: Ciechanow, Grajewo, Kalisz, Krakow, Kutno, Makow Mazowiecki, Mlawa, Nasielsk, Plock, Przasnysz, Sierpc, Stawiski, Suwalki, Szczuczyn and Trzcianne.
--Maps: A map for Eden Memorial Park located in Mission Hills, California has been added.
--Online searchable databases: Mt. Lebanon Cemetery in Glendale, New York, holding more than 88,000 burials, has now put online their own searchable database. It can be found at www.mountlebanoncemetery.com .
 

EDUCATION AND RESEARCH CENTER:
--Genetics: This is a new feature of the ERC. Here you can read about some of the latest projects and technology that have to do with genetics, e.g. testing, whether it be for genetic diseases (especially those that affect the Jewish population), or trying to use DNA to create a database that can be used to help match up families that may have been separated during the time of the Holocaust. There also may be others who may be somehow related to each other, but have no idea that they are. They may be linked through the use of "genetic markers."
The first entry within this section of the Museum talks about The DNA Shoah Project, which is currently underway at the University of Arizona, "aiming to reunite families torn apart by the Holocaust. The DNA Shoah Project is a non-profit, humanitarian effort, working to build a global genetic database of Holocaust survivors, their children and grandchildren in an attempt to match displaced relatives, provide Shoah orphans with information about their biological families and eventually, when the database has reached sufficient size, assist European governments with the identification of Holocaust-era remains that continue to surface."
--Research Groups: A new webpage has been created that lists where all the material with Hungarian content may be found within the Museum website.
 

LINKS:
--Augusta, Georgia Graveside Project: searchable database.
 

POSTCARDS FROM HOME:
--Belarus: Brest-Litovsk.
--Hungary: Balassagyarmat.
--Lithuania: Vilnius.
--Sweden: Stockholm.
--Ukraine: Czernowitz.
 

THE SYNAGOGUES OF EUROPE: PAST AND PRESENT:
--This Museum exhibition has been expanded to include both pre-war and post-war synagogue photos from Europe, i.e. irrespective of the date the photo was taken (or the postcard produced and sold.) The Museum welcomes your own European synagogue photos. Please include town and country in which the synagogue is located, as well as (if known) the name of the synagogue, the address, the date the photograph was taken, and any information about the synagogue you think might be of interest to others. Postcards of synagogues are also welcome. There are currently synagogue photographs representing 16 countries in Europe and more than 110 cities and towns.

TOWN INDEXES:
--Photograph of 1938 Lodz, Poland has been added to the Lodz town index page.

TOWNSITES:
--New ShtetLinks pages have been created for:
--Belarus: Kamenka, Kolonja Izaaka, Krasnoye and Minsk.
--Poland: Koden.
--Romania: Hirlau
--Also another site, this time about Jewish Grodno, Belarus.


WORLD HOLOCAUST MEMORIALS:
--Holocaust Memorials of Europe:
  --Germany: Dresden.
  --Latvia: Daugavpils and Vishki.
  --Lithuania: Jurbarkas, Kelme and Sakiai.
  --Poland: Zawiercie.
  --Ukraine: Dubno, Lviv and Ternivka.

--More World Holocaust Memorials: a page featuring photographs of other memorials around the world. Now in the U.S.: San, Francisco, CA; Manchester, NH; New Orleans, LA; Williamsport, PA.
 

THE YIDDISH WORLD:
--Chapters 32 to 35 in the only biography written about Yiddish acting great Maurice Schwartz. The book is called "Once a Kingdom," and is presented exclusively to visitors to the Museum of Family History. The biography is presented in a serialized form in a four-chapter monthly sequence; the final chapters will be presented in January 2009.

--Yung Vilne ("Young Vilnius"): Full identifications have been made and displayed on the Yung Vilne page.
It is hoped to have examples of the works of the Yung Vilne members, as well as short biographies of each, in the future.
 

OCT 2008

Please use the 2008 Updates archives link above to read about any late September additions to the Museum.
The Museum and its founder were honored by the IAJGS (International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies) in Aug 2008 with the award for "Outstanding Contribution to Jewish Genealogy via the Internet, Print or Electronic Product." You can see the plaque inscription on the Museum News page.

CEMETERY PROJECT:
--Online searchable databases: Mt. Lebanon Cemetery in Glendale, New York, holding more than 88,000 burials, has now put online their own searchable database. It can be found at www.mountlebanoncemetery.com .
--A unique surnames list has been created for the two Smotrich, Ukraine cemetery plots located in the metro New York area.
 

EDUCATION AND RESEARCH CENTER:
--Genetics: This is a new feature of the ERC. Here you can read about some of the latest projects and technology that have to do with genetics, e.g. testing, whether it be for genetic diseases (especially those that affect the Jewish population), or trying to use DNA to create a database that can be used to help match up families that may have been separated during the time of the Holocaust. There also may be others who may be somehow related to each other, but have no idea that they are. They may be linked through the use of "genetic markers."
The first entry within this section of the Museum talks about The DNA Shoah Project, which is currently underway at the University of Arizona, "aiming to reunite families torn apart by the Holocaust. The DNA Shoah Project is a non-profit, humanitarian effort, working to build a global genetic database of Holocaust survivors, their children and grandchildren in an attempt to match displaced relatives, provide Shoah orphans with information about their biological families and eventually, when the database has reached sufficient size, assist European governments with the identification of Holocaust-era remains that continue to surface."
--Research Groups: A new webpage has been created that lists where all the material with Hungarian content may be found within the Museum website.
 

GREAT ARTISTS SERIES:
--Richard Tucker: The fifth artist honored in this series is Richard Tucker, whom many of us know was not only one of America's finest tenors, but a chazzan (cantor) as well. Read about his personal and professional life, and how Tucker was a great supporter of Israel. Please enjoy your time visiting this exhibition and be sure to listen to the sound recordings from Turandot (Nessun dorma), I, Pagliacci (Vesti la giubba), and Tosca (Recondita armonia/E lucevan le stelle.)

HOW WE WORKED:
--Poland, Ozarow: "Hersh-El'ye the Mason" and "The Sekwestrator."

POSTCARDS FROM HOME:
--Czech Republic: Karlovy Vary.
--Hungary: Balassagyarmat.
--Slovakia: Zvolen.
 

SYNAGOGUES OF EUROPE: PAST AND PRESENT:
--Poland: Andrychów, Barczewo, Bełchatów, Biała, Wlodawa and Wyszkow.
--Romania: Oradea.
 

TOWNSITES:
--Belarus: Domachevo.
--Latvia: Daugavpils (Dvinsk).
--Poland: Tarnow and Zawady.
--Ukraine: Poroshkovo and Pogrebishche.
 

THE YIDDISH WORLD:
--Chapters 36 to 39 in the only biography written about Yiddish acting great Maurice Schwartz. The book is called "Once a Kingdom," and is presented exclusively to visitors to the Museum of Family History. The biography is presented in a serialized form in a four-chapter monthly sequence; the final chapters will be presented in December 2008.
 

WALK IN MY SHOES: COLLECTED MEMORIES OF THE HOLOCAUST:
--Istvan Katona from Kartal, Hungary.
 

WORLD HOLOCAUST MEMORIALS:
--Canada: Vancouver (New Westminster): Schara Tzedeck memorial.
--Maryland: Baltimore.
--New York: More names have been translated for the Kielce Holocaust memorial at New Montefiore Cemetery in Pinelawn, New York.
--Poland: Izbica.