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From: "Sally Rolls Pavia" <>
Subject: [Genealogy Bits and Pieces] JewishGen Merges with the Museum of Jewish Heritage
Date: Thu, 9 Jan 2003 09:59:13 -0700

JewishGen Merges with the Museum of Jewish Heritage
The following is a joint announcement from JewishGen and the Museum of
Jewish Heritage:

(New York, NY) - Effective January 1, 2003, JewishGen, a world renowned
Jewish Genealogy website, will become a division of the Museum of Jewish
Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust in New York City. The Boards
of the Museum and JewishGen approved the plan in December.

An Internet pioneer, JewishGen was founded in 1987 by Susan E. King and has
grown from a bulletin board with only 150 users to a major grass roots
effort, bringing together hundreds of thousands of individuals worldwide in
a virtual community centered on discovering Jewish ancestral roots and
history. On JewishGen, researchers share genealogical information,
techniques, and case studies. With a growing database of more than seven
million records, including some material from previous centuries, the
website is a forum for the exchange of information about Jewish life and
family history and has enabled thousands of families to connect and
re-connect in a way never before possible.

"For many Jews, knowledge of their family history perished in the Holocaust;
JewishGen fills in the missing pieces of the puzzle," said Dr. David G.
Marwell, Museum Director. "Our Museum allows visitors to identify with the
themes of 20th century Jewish history and has helped our public to identify
with Holocaust survivors and opened new doors of understanding. With
JewishGen, we will be able to take our message worldwide."

"Genealogy research is much more than just searching for names, dates, and
places," said Susan King, founder of JewishGen. "It is vitally important
that researchers also understand the details of Jewish heritage and history;
the Museum provides context for the lives being researched. That's what
makes this relationship so exciting. Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living
Memorial to the Holocaust will also allow us to professionalize what has
been an all-volunteer effort."

Ms. King, who will report to Dr. Marwell, will be the Managing Director of
JewishGen and will remain in Houston, where JewishGen is based.
Among JewishGen's features are the Family Tree of the Jewish People,
containing data on more than two million people; the Yizkor Book Project, an
ongoing effort to translate memorial books which contain previously
inaccessible information on the fate of Jewish communities and their
inhabitants affected by the Holocaust; and the Holocaust Global Registry, a
central database of and for Holocaust survivors and their families. The
Holocaust Global Registry is already responsible for re-connecting several
families after more than 60 years of separation.

The Museum is located on the waterfront of Lower Manhattan in Battery Park
City. The Museum's core exhibition is organized around three themes: Jewish
Life a Century Ago, The War Against the Jews, and Jewish Renewal. With more
than 2,000 photographs, 800 artifacts, and 24 original documentary films on
display, the Museum uses personal stories and artifacts to present 20th
century Jewish history and the Holocaust in a context of universal truths
that speak to people of all ages and backgrounds. The Museum is in the
middle of an 82,000-square-foot construction project that will contain a
theater, classrooms, and special exhibition space, among other facilities.
The East Wing, set to open in fall 2003, will enhance the Museum's mission
of remembrance and education.



Sally Rolls Pavia
Sun City, AZ

List Owner:
"Without genealogy, the study of history is lifeless."
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