In celebration of Archives Week 2016, Center and partner
staff collected and recorded stories about the collections and services at the
Center and its partners. If you have ever wondered why archives matter and how
archives can change lives, just have a listen.
In this recording, Center for Jewish History librarian J.D.
Arden talks with genealogy researcher Jessica Dubin about how she used the
Center’s genealogy resources to look into a family mystery and discover Jewish
heritage and new relatives.
Dubin’s grandfather ran away from his family and never spoke
about his past. “Because of the mystery, it was always like, oh, yeah, maybe we
have some really cool past,” said Dubin, “And to find out that you kind of do,
is really—I never thought that that would be the way it is.” What’s more—Dubin
took Russian and Jewish studies classes and went to Russia as an exchange
student out of interest. After doing research on her family history, she
realized that these interests actually align with her family’s history. “I was
tapping into my heritage and culture without even knowing it was my heritage
and culture. That doesn’t happen every day.”
More about the Center for Jewish History’s Ackman & Ziff
Family Genealogy Institute can be found at http://genealogy.cjh.org.