Washington, DC, “honey-pot” of world-class resources and repositories, will be the site of the 31st International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS) Conference on Jewish Genealogy on August 14–19, 2011. The Jewish Genealogy Society of Greater Washington (JGSGW) will host the conference which will be held at the Grand Hyatt Washington Hotel, centrally located at 1000 H Street NW in the capital city. The Hyatt has walking and subway access from inside the hotel to all the major destinations for genealogists, most notably the National Archives, the Library of Congress, and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.
What makes this locale so uniquely “capital” is that even though so much genealogical information now is readily available online from anywhere, even in this great age of technology, much remains that can be revealed and accessed only by dipping one’s own hand into the resource “pot” in person, onsite. [See “In Search of the Family Name Tarica,” this issue, for an example—Ed.] This maxim is uniformly true at the Washington, DC’s three major research sites: the National Archives, Library of Congress, and U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM).
Major Repositories of Interest
Salt Lake City has the Mormons’ records; Jerusalem has Yad Vashem; and New York has the Center for Jewish History—but Washington, DC, boasts the most major repositories with resources for the beginner, the casual family finder, and the veteran genealogist. The vast collections of maps, documents, journals, newspapers, yizkor (memorial) books, and censuses await personal perusal.
While all the challenges of these repositories may seem daunting to the uninitiated (i.e., where to go, how to get there, and what to look for), the conference planners have ensured that help will be at hand on site. Once the conference begins, staff from the National Archives, the Library of Congress, and the USHMM will make unique presentations in the hotel to help prepare attendees to navigate their facilities with maximum efficiency and success. For the convenience and timing of the many registrants expected to attend, JGSGW has arranged for the speakers—rather than the masses—to move in and out of the auditorium. Attendees can remain in place for as many of the orientations as they wish.
Other Worthwhile Sites
Washington abounds in treasures. The Grand Hyatt is six blocks from the White House, around the corner from the rich genealogical and historical resources held at the Martin Luther King Memorial Library, and only a few minutes from the restored “6th and I” Historical Synagogue and the Jewish Historical Society near Chinatown. Genealogists may know also that DC sits conveniently between Virginia and Maryland, an ideal location for those researchers with links to these areas. The Jewish Historical Society of Baltimore is a significant source of information for this city that was a major port of entry for Jewish immigrants, including those who came from Germany in the mid-19th century. Richmond, Virginia, a center of early Southern Jewish roots, also has a Jewish historical society. Both cities are easily accessible from DC, and each historical society plans to have representatives on hand at the conference to advise conference attendees.
Conference Programs and Resources
As a complement to Washington’s unparalleled official resources outside the hotel, much may be gleaned inside. On Sunday, the conference will host workshops for beginners, Special Interest Groups (SIGs), and Birds of a Feather (BOF) to showcase specific genealogical focuses for potential networking.
A resource room with a minimum of 30 computers—both PCs and Macs—will be available for use throughout the conference with links to all the popular websites and many databases, some relatively unknown. In an adjacent room, translators will be present to assist in translating letters, photograph captions, and other treasures that attendees are encouraged to bring with them. Throughout each day attendees will be tempted by four to six simultaneous lectures and films of genealogical and ancestral origins interest. Speakers and topics will be announced by April 2011, in plenty of time to effectively develop a conference strategy.
On Monday afternoon, an informal research fair will offer opportunities to visit with knowledgeable representatives from the area’s other repositories besides the three major ones already mentioned. There, one may browse and view samples from some of the major and smaller archives, museums, and governmental agencies, including Virginia and Maryland sources. Throughout the entire week, until Thursday at 5 p.m., a vendors’ showcase will display and sell unique and helpful guides, histories, books and other items of genealogical interest. The newest and latest research aids will all be on view.
The conference calendar and syllabus will be downloadable in advance from the web, as well as provided at conference registration so that questions for the presenters can be anticipated. JGSGW wants everyone to know what to expect. Each day’s program will start at 8 a.m. Breakfast with the Experts sessions (7:30–9:15 a.m.) will include breakfast. Lecture and workshop sessions will be offered throughout the day, and Birds of a Feather (BOF) groups will be encouraged to schedule dinner meetings from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Luncheon sessions are anticipated for Jewish genealogy’s Special Interest Groups (SIGs), including: Austria/Czech, Belarus, Bohemia/Moravia, Germany, Gesher Galicia, Hungary, Latvia, Romania, Sephardic, Southern Africa, United Kingdom, Ukraine, Litvak, JRI-Poland, and the new Trans-Carpathian group. The Conference SIG Coordinator will moderate the schedule.*
Thursday evening’s gala will not be a banquet in the conventional sense. Instead, it will be designed to enable and encourage people to interact and network with each other as much as possible. The room will be set with tables of varying sizes on a first come, sit wherever you like with whomever you like policy. There will be no advance reservations. As part of the design to move and mix, guests will help themselves from a variety of international food stations. Assistance in the selection of food will be provided by volunteers for anyone who needs it.
Grand Hyatt Hotel Facilities
With more than 40,000 feet of conference space and 888 guest rooms at the Grand Hyatt Washington, conference attendees will enjoy the convenience and comfort they expect to make this a memorable event. All conference activities will occur on the three floors directly below the lobby level, accessible by escalators, elevators, and stairs. All food events will be held on the middle level, and all conference meals will be prepared in the hotel’s kosher kitchen under rabbinical supervision. Classrooms, the resource room, and the translators lounge will be located together at one end of the middle floor. Lecture halls and a spacious vendors’ showcase will be located on the floor immediately below, along with a cyber cafe and Internet availability “hot spots.” Abundant signs will clearly label and point to conference areas.
The team from JGSGW is uniquely qualified to bring together the excellent resources of the capital city in a well-planned event. The upcoming event will be the sixth conference hosted by JGSGW. Beginning with their first conference in 1982, JGSGW has established the highest standards for this international conference.
Fewer than a handful of cities throughout the world can match the research potential in DC—not to mention its beauty, history, and cultural richness. JGSGW expects more than 1,200 genealogists to attend the conference and to enhance their family histories by taking advantage of the many opportunities offered here. At the same time, they will enrich their own lives by networking and sharing information and experiences with others like themselves who care about family roots.
Come to the conference. Stay for the research. A capital idea!
Note
*SIGs are organized groups of researchers who share a common interest in geographic regions or specific topics such as rabbinical genealogies, Yiddish theater, or DNA. BOFs usually are smaller, more informal groups of people focusing on a common shetl or town.
Faith Nachman Klein and her late husband, Jack, were two of the original members of JGSGW in 1980, and both served as president of the group. Faith has pursued her pre-Civil War ancestral roots in Baltimore and Washington, DC, and has made a productive ancestral trip to Germany for paternal information. She plans a trip to Ukraine next summer to give hopefully equal time to her mother’s ancestral origins. Klein lives in suburban Washington, DC.
