2013 Jewish Music Festival

It seems to be a festive time of year!  The San Francisco Bay area's 28th Jewish Music Festival is on the horizon, from March 2-12, 2013.  Concerts will be in Berkeley and San Francisco and are accessible by BART.  There is a convergence of interest this year with Jewish genealogy because the festival is focusing on Jewish music from Poland, from which most American Jews have ancestors.

The opening night of the festival will be on Saturday, March 2.  The program will begin at 7:00 p.m. with a slide show and talk by Ruth Ellen Gruber, the author of Virtually Jewish:  Reinventing Jewish Culture in Europe.  The concert, following at 8:00 p.m., will be from Shofar (Polish-Jewish jazz) and Polesye (joint Polish-Israeli Yiddish CD project).

One of the highlights of this year's festival will be a performance on Thursday, March 7, by Theodore Bikel (known worldwide for portraying Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof) with Yiddish singer Shura Lipovsky and Bosnian accordion player Merima Ključo.  There will also be a world premiere on Saturday, March 9, in commemoration of the 70th anniversarity of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising>.

A brochure about the festival is available online. General and ticket information are at the Jewish Music Festival site.  The festival offers discounts to seniors, students, and groups of ten or more.  For more information about the group discount contact Outreach Coordinator Lauren Weiss at (510) 848-0237 x118.

Wordless Wednesday

Latest Updates to Wikipedia Newspaper Page

These latest additions to the Wikipedia portal page for online newspaper archives have been posted:

• India: portal to newspapers and journals (mostly free) relevant to Indian research
• Israel: two new newspapers on the National Library of Israel site
• Russia: Tikva, an Odessa Jewish newspaper; the Starosti archive, an interesting collection of transcribed articles from 1901–1913 from multiple papers; and Old Gazette, another site with transcribed articles, from at least 1926–2010
• Massachusetts: The Jewish Advocate archive now goes to 1905
• Missouri: The American Jewess, published 1895–1899
• USA Multistate: Newspapers.com, the new site from Ancestry.com, including a link to the list of newspapers on the site (which is unfortunately alphabetized by name of newspaper and not sortable any other way, and each entry has a huge graphic, making the page far too long)

What interesting articles have you found in your newspaper research?

2013 Days of Remembrance

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum leads the Days of Remembrance, the annual U.S. national commemoration of the Holocaust.  The theme for this year's week of observance, which will be April 7-14, is "Never Again:  Heeding the Warning Signs."  This theme focuses on the events of 1938 and the response, or lack of response, to them.  Many countries and individuals did not react to the warning signs of what became the Holocaust, yet a few chose to act.

In 2013 the museum is also celebrating the 20th anniversary of its opening.  In honor of the anniversary, the museum invites everyone to join in remembering Holocaust victims by organizing or participating in a Days of Remembrance event.  The museum has a national map on its Web site showing events that are planned.  You can search for an event or add one to the map.

If you want to organize a remembrance event, you can request a free CD/DVD Planning Guide and Resources for Annual Holocaust Commemorations from the museum.   Fill out the request form as soon as possible, because the museum has a limited number of the guides.

While Jews were the primary focus of the Nazis, other groups, including homosexuals, Gypsies, Catholics, and political dissidents, were also targeted.  It is important to remember the events of the Holocaust so that they will never happen to any group again.

Dr. Andy Anderson to Speak at California Genealogical Society

The California Genealogical Society is celebrating its 115th anniversary this year with a special luncheon event.  Dr. Andy Anderson, an executive vice president and the chief historian for Wells Fargo Bank, will make a presentation on "The Healing Power of Genealogy."  He heads a division at Wells Fargo that researches family history for some of their clients, as described in a 2007 Wall Street Journal article.  He also wrote "How to Find Your Family History & Cultural Roots: An Online Guide", a nice little reference that is available online for free as a PDF.  I have met Dr. Anderson, but I have never heard him speak before, and this certainly sounds like an interesting topic.  I used my research skills to close a rift between my father and his youngest sister, so I know from personal experience that genealogy can heal.

The anniversary event will take place on Saturday, February 9, 2013, from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.  It will be held in Oakland's Preservation Park, a lovely area of the city not far from my home.  A ticket includes free parking, a social hour, used book sale, luncheon buffet, and Dr. Anderson's talk.  More details and registration information are available here.  Tell me if you're coming also!

Research on the Migration of Lithuanian Jews

Nathan Shapiro, a student at Hofstra University in New York, is writing an honors thesis about the migration of Lithuanian Jews during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  As part of his research, he wants to interview the descendants of Jews who emigrated from Lithuania during this time.  Ideally, he is looking to interview people who are one generation removed from the emigrant.  If you fit these criteria, or if you know someone who does, please contact Nathan at nathan.shapiro@me.com.  His research is not focused on any specific destination, so he is looking for interviewees from anywhere in the world!

Wordless Wednesday

Researcher Forum at National Archives at San Francisco, January 28, 2013

This sounds like such a great opportunity, but I can't go!  (Let's see, at 4:00 p.m. I should be arriving at the West Oakland BART station as I operate the train on my return trip to Dublin.  I think someone would notice if I weren't there.)  I would love to hear from anyone who does attend on how it goes.

The National Archives at San Francisco (which is really in San Bruno) will hold a public researcher forum with National Archives Research Services Executive Bill Mayer on Monday, January 28, from 4:00-5:30 p.m.  Mayer hopes to meet researchers and constituents of our local National Archives branch and to gather feedback.  He oversees fifteen facilities of the National Archives nationwide, but this is his first visit to the facility in San Bruno.  This is an opportunity to meet our representative on the National Archives management team and to share customer experiences (positive, negative, and to-be-improved-upon).  Read more about Mayer at http://www.archives.gov/press/press-releases/2012/nr12-117.html.

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National Archives at San Francisco
Researcher Forum with Bill Mayer
Monday, January 28, 2013
4:00-5:30 p.m.
Leo J. Ryan Memorial Federal Building
1000 Commodore Drive, San Bruno, CA 94066
(within walking distance of the San Bruno BART station)

Researcher forums are designed to gather feedback from researchers who visit National Archives facilities on a regular basis.  Mayer will answer questions and discuss issues related to the National Archives as a whole as well as the San Francisco archive specifically.

While the forum is open to the public, the National Archives staff need to know if you plan to attend this free event.  Please RSVP by e-mailing sanbruno.archives@nara.gov if you're going and type "Researcher Forum" in the subject line of the message.

Photo identification is required to enter the building.

2013 East Bay International Jewish Film Festival

I just received a brochure for this year's East Bay International Jewish Film Festival, its 18th year, which runs March 9-17.  Films for the festival will be shown at three locations:  CineArts, 2314 Monument Boulevard, Pleasant Hill; Orinda Theatre, 4 Orinda Square, Orinda; and Vine Cinema, 1722 First Street, Livermore.  Several of the films being screened are relevant to Jewish family history research.

Playing at CineArts, the primary theater for the festival:  Numbered (2012), 11:50 a.m. on March 10, is a documentary about the numbers that were tattooed on prisoners, both Jewish and non-Jewish, in Auschwitz.  The First Fagin (2012), 10:30 a.m. on March 11, portrays the life of British convict Ikey Solomon (possibly the inspiration for the villain in Charles Dicken's Oliver Twist), including his transportation to an Australian penal colony.  The Flat (2011), 3:00 p.m. on March 12, was shown in Oakland and Berkeley this past November.  It is the story of a man discovering unexpected secrets about his grandparents when he cleans out their apartment after the death of his grandmother.  Disobedience:  The Sousa Mendes Story (2008), 10:30 a.m. on March 13, is about the Portuguese Consul General in Bordeaux, France, during World War II who issued visas, against his government's wishes, that allowed Jews to flee the country.  The Fire Within (2008), 12:30 p.m. on March 14, relates the story of Moroccan Jewish men who went to Peru in the 19th century for economic opportunity and who married local women.  Some of their descendants immigrated to Israel, while others have stayed in Peru to maintain the community.  Süskind (2012), 7:30 p.m. on March 14, a drama "inspired by" actual events, is about a man who organizes the deportation of Jews from Amsterdam until he learns what happens when they reach their destinations, at which point he decides to become a double agent.

One film to be shown at Theatre I in Orinda is of interest:  Besa: The Promise (2012), 11:00 a.m. on March 15, is a documentary about the rescue of Jews in Nazi-occupied Albania by local Muslims.

Tickets are available for individuals films or as a pass for the complete festival.