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The Weekly News Nosh – January 26, 2025

Jan 26, 2025 | Nosh

News About Jewish Genealogy, Jewish History, and Jewish Culture

Editor: Phil Goldfarb, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA

  1. International Holocaust Remembrance Day January 27, 2025. The United Nations has designated January 27, 2025, as the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi German concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. Over one million people were murdered in this vast complex alone, most of them Jews. It is a time to remember the 6 million Jewish victims of the Holocaust and the millions of other victims of Nazi persecution. This year’s theme is Holocaust Remembrance for Dignity and Human Rights. The ceremony begins at 11:00AM EST at UN It will be livestreamed on UN WebTV (https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k11/k11q739xt7), and YouTubeHolocaust Memorial Ceremony 2025| United Nations)
  2. Top tips for searching the largest European archive website like a professional. The Russian State Historical Archive is the holder of about 6.5 million records from the Russian Empire and has an easy-to-use search engine to view detailed record descriptions. These records cover the countries of the former USSR and Poland, which once was part of the Russian Empire. This is an important database for anyone who had ancestors living in these areas. Go to: Top tips for searching the largest European archive website like a professional – Find Lost Russian & Ukrainian Family
  3. Have You Looked Into the Jewish Genealogy SIG on Facebook? Arthur Sissman works diligently on this site and has quite a number of genealogy material, news, and tidbits on it with information designed to help you make breakthroughs in your family history research that you might want to check out. In my opinion, it is well worth joining: Jewish Genealogy SIG (JGSIG) | Facebook
  4. How To Create Locality Guides for Genealogy Research. A locality guide is a comprehensive overview that contains information for researching a specific locale. Whether your focus is on a single county, state, or even a foreign country, a locality guide provides essential background information and directs you to the best resources for finding your ancestors. It is essentially a roadmap for your genealogical journey in a particular place. Read more from Legacy Tree: How To Create Locality Guides for Genealogy Research – Legacy Tree
  5. Have You Heard Of GRAMPS (Genealogical Research and Analysis Management Programming System? Research, organize and share your family tree with Gramps. Gramps is a free software project and community. Gramps is a genealogy program that is both intuitive for hobbyists and feature-complete for professional genealogists. It is a community project, created, developed and governed by genealogists. To read more, go to: Gramps – Free Genealogy Software
  6. Genealogy Mistakes that Everyone Makes (and How to Avoid Them). There are some common genealogy mistakes that researchers make. I was going to say that “beginners make,” but honestly, we all make these mistakes. So here are the most common mistakes in genealogy… and how you can avoid them: Genealogy Mistakes that Everyone Makes (and How to Avoid Them) | Amy Johnson Crow
  7. Jews in the Civil Rights Movement. Nowhere did Jews identify themselves more forth­rightly with the liberal avant-garde than in the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. For Jews living in the South, the issue of racial integration posed unsettling questions. They constituted barely one percent of the region’s total population. Among their white neighbors, they had long been accepted as “honorary white Protestants.” Read more from My Jewish Learning: Jews in the Civil Rights Movement | My Jewish Learning
  8. Nearly half of Americans can’t name a single Nazi death camp, new study finds. The survey discovered a decline in Holocaust education among young people in the nation’s most directly affected by the atrocities. A groundbreaking eight-country study on Holocaust knowledge has revealed alarming gaps in awareness, particularly among young adults. Read more from the Jewish Chronicle: Nearly half of Americans can’t name a single Nazi death camp, new study finds – The Jewish Chronicle
  9. Remaining synagogue in Auschwitz readies for 80th anniversary of liberation. The museum and shul will be open for tours and prayer from Jan. 24-26. Before World War II and the Holocaust, Oświęcim was home to a vibrant Jewish community comprising more than 50% of the city’s population, with more than 30 synagogues. Today, the Auschwitz Jewish Center stands as the sole surviving shul from that time, serving as a museum and educational hub dedicated to combating hatred and bigotry. Read the story from JNS: Remaining synagogue in Auschwitz readies for 80th anniversary of liberation – JNS.org
  10. The Jews of Kaifeng: China’s Only Native Jewish Community. Tolerance and assimilation led to the near-disappearance of a Chinese Jewish community over 1,000 years old. Most scholars believe that Jews first arrived during the Song Dynasty (960-1127 C.E.), from India or Persia (present day Iran), stops on the Silk Road. At its peak, the Kaifeng Jewish community had around 5,000 members. Read the story from My Jewish Learning: The Jews of Kaifeng: China’s Only Native Jewish Community | My Jewish Learning
  11. For Finland’s tiny Jewish community, a complicated history of fighting for the czar and the Nazis. Jews arrived here in the 19th century to serve in the Russian army — today, a little more than 1,000 remain. Beginning in the 1850’s, Jews, who now constitute a tiny percentage of the country’s 5.5 million citizens, were conscripted into the czar’s army and served in the garrisons established in 11 towns in Finland. They were allowed to settle in Finland when they completed their military service. Read the story from The Forward: How Finland’s Jews wound up fighting for the czar and the Nazis – The Forward
  12. The concert where Paul Robeson was warned not to sing in Yiddish. When Soviet government leaders invited the singer to give a concert, he did something they didn’t expect. The year was 1949. A year before, the well-known Russian-Jewish actor and chairman of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee, Solomon Mikhoels, was murdered by Stalin in a staged car accident, and many prominent Jewish cultural figures were arrested. Stalin had begun his virulent antisemitic campaign that culminated in the Night of the Murdered Poets in 1952 and the so-called “Doctors’ Plot”  in 1953. Read the full story from The Forward: The concert where Paul Robeson was warned not to sing in Yiddish – The Forward
  13. Auschwitz commandant’s home from Zone of Interest reclaimed for anti-extremism project. SS commandant’s home used in Oscar-winning film will be transformed into anti-hate hub. The house was bought by the Counter Extremism Project, a New York-based charity that has sought to combat extremism since 2014, which is set to open the Auschwitz Research Centre of Hate, Extremism and Radicalization (ARCHER) inside the former family home. Read more from the Jewish Chronicle: Auschwitz commandant’s home from Zone of Interest reclaimed for anti-extremism project – The Jewish Chronicle
  14. The Liberation of Auschwitz, 80 Years Ago. The Allied soldiers who liberated Auschwitz on January 27, 1945 discovered an unprecedented factory of death. Regarding what he expected when entering the gates of Auschwitz, Ivan Martynushkin, a soldier from the 60th Army of the First Ukrainian Front, one of the first Allied soldiers to reach Auschwitz on January 27, 1945, said, “We knew nothing.” Read the story from Aish: The Liberation of Auschwitz, 80 Years Ago | Aish
  15. 500 items uncovered at Auschwitz ahead of 80th anniversary. The woman who turned over the cache, which contains a prisoner’s uniform and a ragdoll, said her father had collected it right after liberation and before the former death camp was declared a museum. He often went there immediately after liberation to help with cleaning. He stored all the items in an attic. Read the story from JNS: 500 items uncovered at Auschwitz ahead of 80th anniversary – JNS.org
  16. From WWII Amsterdam, a deeply disturbing story of Dutch complicity with the Nazis. Willy Lindwer’s Holocaust documentary ‘Lost City’ unearths a gruesome chapter in Dutch history. Under the Nazis, 3/4 of Holland’s Jewish population was murdered. The willing cooperation of the Dutch administrative authorities with their German overlords is a shameful episode, which by war’s end resulted in the death of 102,000 Dutch Jews. Read more from The Forward: ‘Lost City’ — a deeply disturbing story of Dutch WWII complicity – The Forward
  17. The Moroccan King Who Saved the Jews. How King Mohammed V took a courageous moral stance to protect 250,000 Jewish citizens during World War II. In 1940, Morocco was home to around 250,000 Jews, representing 10% of the country’s population, the largest Jewish community in the Arab world at the time. Read the story from Aish: The Moroccan King Who Saved the Jews | Aish
  18. The first-ever full-scale replica of Anne Frank’s secret annex opens in NYC. Unlike the original in Amsterdam, “Anne Frank: The Exhibition” contains relics of the teenaged diarist’s life. The display is part of the first-ever full-scale replica of Frank’s annex — one that aims to introduce new audiences to the most famous victim of the Holocaust. Read more from JTA: The first-ever full-scale replica of Anne Frank’s secret annex opens in NYC – New York Jewish Week
  19. 12 Holocaust survivors share their stories on a Times Square billboard. A project of the Jewish Community Council of Greater Coney Island, the billboard aims to draw attention to the experiences and stories of New York’s dwindling population of survivors. Read more from NY Jewish Week: 12 Holocaust survivors share their stories on a Times Square billboard – New York Jewish Week
  20. Gratz Announces New Ph.D. Program. Gratz College in Melrose Park, Pennsylvania announced that it will begin courses in the spring for a doctoral program focused on training experts in rabbinic, educational, nonprofit and public policy positions in the Jewish community. The school says that this program is the first of its kind. Read about the program from the Jewish Exponent: Gratz Announces New Ph.D. Program – Jewish Exponent
  21. Guildford, England marks 750th anniversary of Jewish community expulsion. The 13th century decision commemorated seven centuries later with interfaith ceremony to build bridges. On January 16, 1275, Queen Eleanor of Provence ordered the expulsion of the Jewish community from Guildford, part of a broader pattern of anti-Jewish policies that culminated in the 1290 Edict of Expulsion by King Edward I. Read more from Jewish News UK: Guildford marks 750th anniversary of Jewish community expulsion – Jewish News
  22. Rabbi’s letter fetches $700,000 at auction. The 18th-century manuscript by the Or HaChaim offers a rare glimpse into Moroccan Jewish history. Read the story from JNS: Rabbi’s letter fetches $700,000 at auction – JNS.org
  23. Guide to Jewish Food Terms. Commonly used words and phrases for “noshers” and “fressers.” Whether you’re stepping into a Jewish deli for the first time, shopping at a kosher supermarket or going to a friend’s house for a traditional Shabbat dinner, here are some useful words to know. From My Jewish Learning: Guide to Jewish Food Terms | My Jewish Learning
  24. The Matzah Queen of New York. Long before American women could be found in corporate boardrooms, Regina Margareten led a major US company and transformed kosher food. Read her story from Aish: The Matzah Queen of New York | Aish

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About The Weekly News Nosh

The Weekly News Nosh contains news about Jewish Genealogy, Jewish History and Jewish Culture. The Nosh is published on Sundays and distributed by the L’Dor V’Dor Foundation on its website and social media platforms. “A Family Without The Understanding Of Their Past History, Foundation And Ethnicity Is Like A Tree Without Roots.” Subscribe to receive future announcements.