Jewish Genealogical Society of Toronto
The Saddest Stories in the World –
Yizkor Books and How to Use Them in Genealogy
Speaker: Steven Brock

Doors open at 7:30 pm

Jewish history is filled with terrifying stories of oppression, persecution and mistreatment. Over the centuries, Jews have been subjected to libel, discrimination, pogroms, expulsions, and, in the worst cases, mass murder. In order to remember bygone communities and individuals, Jews have always kept records of these tragedies in Memorial or Yizkor books. Following the Holocaust, hundreds of Yizkor books were written and published to memorialize the thousands of European Jewish communities destroyed by the Nazis.

Join Steven Brock as he recounts the origins of Yizkor books, where to find and how to understand them, and how to use them to research your ancestral homes and the lost members of your family tree.

Steven Brock has been researching his family roots in Poland and Russia for over 20 years and has traced his ancestors back to the late 1700s. He was a member of the Montreal JGS until he moved with his family to Oakville in 1999. He has been a member of the Hamilton Jewish Genealogical Society since its inception in 2004, where he serves as Treasurer. In addition to his own research, he has been involved in several projects including the Jewish Records Indexing - Poland, The Canadian Naturalization Database Indexing, and the JewishGen Online Worldwide Burial Registry.

Members: Free Guests: $5
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