South 4th Street looking from Monroe to Fitzwater Sts. circa 1930
If you would like to share (un-copyrighted) images from your research, please forward them to webmaster@jgsgp.org. We will “rotate” through our collected images.
This is the new website of the Jewish Genealogical and Archival Society of Greater Philadelphia (JGASGP). We used to be the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Philadelphia (JGSGP) before we combined with the Philadelphia Jewish Archives Center (PJAC). We invite you to enjoy our new site. There is content for paid-up members only. If you are a member, please register for access. If not a member, please join.
Our recent awards
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WELCOME! PLEASE JOIN US FOR OUR NEXT MEETING
Meetings are for paid-up members only. They will receive the Zoom link before the meeting. This special meeting will be open to the public. The Zoom link will be available HERE before the presentation.
Date: Sunday, October 31, 2021
Time: 1:00 PM check in, chat, and schmooze (Optional). Official program starts promptly at 1:30
Guest Speaker: Rachael Cerrotti, Award-winning Author, Photographer, and Podcaster
All are invited to attend. There is no charge for this special event.
Rachael Cerrotti is an award-winning author, photographer, educator and audio producer as well as the inaugural Storyteller in Residence for USC Shoah Foundation. For over a decade, she has been retracing her grandmother’s Holocaust survival story and documenting the echoes of WWII. In the fall of 2019, she released her critically-acclaimed podcast, titled We Share The Same Sky, about this story. The podcast is now being taught in classrooms worldwide. Rachael’s memoir, also titled ‘We Share The Same Sky’ is her first book. It received a starred review from Publisher’s Weekly and listed as one of the “Best Books of August” by Apple Books. Learn more at: www.rachaelcerrotti.com & www.sharethesamesky.com.
Topic: We Share the Same Sky
Rachael’s podcast and book documents her decade-long journey to retrace her grandmother’s Holocaust survival story. She explores the pursuit of memory and how the retelling of family stories becomes the history itself.
In 2009, Rachael, a college student pursuing a career in photojournalism, asked her grandmother, Hana, if she could record her story. Hana talked and Rachael wrote. Upon Hana’s passing in 2010, Rachael discovered an incredible archive of her life. There were letters, diaries, preserved albums, and hundreds of photographs dating back to the 1920s. Rachael digitized and organized it all, plucking it from the past and placing it into her present. Then, she began retracing her grandmother’s story, following her through Central Europe, Scandinavia, and across the United States. She tracked down the descendants of those who helped save her grandmother’s life during the war. We Share the Same Sky weaves together the stories of these two young women—Hana as a refugee who remains one step ahead of the Nazis at every turn, and Rachael, whose insatiable curiosity to touch the past guides her into the lives of countless strangers, bringing her love and tragic loss.
FYI
The Philadelphia Jewish Archives Center (PJAC) was formed through the efforts of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia many years ago. Its’ mission was to collect, preserve, facilitate research and share the story of the Jewish communities of the Greater Philadelphia area. In 2009 the holdings of PJAC were transferred to the Special Records Collection at Temple University Libraries. With the support of many philanthropic individuals, an archivist position was endowed by PJAC. With our new name (Jewish Genealogical and Archival Society of Greater Philadelphia) and mission we will continue the great work of PJAC.
We encourage you to support the archives with donations and archival material. Donations may be made to the Philadelphia Jewish Archives Collection Endowment at: Temple University Libraries
PO Box 71340
Philadelphia, PA 19176-9761
Donations can also be made through the library website: https://library.temple.edu/policies/10
Those interested in offering a donation of books or archival material to the Philadelphia Jewish Archives Collection should send a description of those materials to:
Margery Sly, Director of Special Collections Research Center
Email: msly@temple.edu
What’s New On Our Site!
October 2020
Goldstein’s Landsmanshaftn Cemetery data has been added to the Resources > Cemetery Data page. Landsmanshaftn organizations provided, among other things, burial societies.
August 2020 Meeting
Judy Baston: “Finding your Litvak Family” A handout is available by accessing the menu item, Archives>Meeting Summaries and Handouts.
Cemetery Records for Har Nebo Cemetery, Philadelphia, PA. You can find these under the Menu item “Resources”, then click on “Cemetery Data”
Miriam Weiner, our December meeting lecturer, was the subject of a recent article that appeared in the Jewish Exponent; “Genealogy Rock Star Discusses Digging Up Jewish Roots”. The article can be found under menu item “Archives”, then click on “Newspaper Articles”.
January 2020 Meeting
For Frederic Blum’s Handout, “How to locate Holocaust Survivors Through Genealogy”, please go to the menu item, “Archives”, then click on “Meeting Summaries and Handouts”
November 2019 Meeting
A handout from Deborah Long’s Lecture can be found on our website under menu item, “Archives”, then click on “Meeting Summaries and Handouts”
October 2019 Meeting
A handout from Jordan Auslander’s Lecture can be found on our website under menu item “Archives”, then click “Meeting Summaries and Handouts”
September 2019 Meeting
Sarina Roffe’s Lecture Handout can be found on our website under menu item “Archives”, then click “Meeting Summaries and Handouts”
Rabbi Shalom Bronstein’s reflections of Congregation Beth Am Israel during the 1940’s to the 1960’s can be found under the menu item “Resources”.The synagogue was originally located in SW Philadelphia. In 1973, the congregation moved to Penn Valley.
W. Todd Knowles’ Power Point Presentation on “Making the Most of FamilySearch for Jewish Research” can be found by going to the menu item “Archives” and clicking the “Meeting Summaries and Handouts” button.
Check out “An Ongoing History of Beth Emeth-B,nai Yitzhok Congegation” by Al Feldman. The synagogue was located in NE Philadelphia. You can find this document under the menu item “Resources”
Other Information
“A Service to the Jewish Community Award” was given to JGSGP on May 2, 2019 by the B’nai Brith Educators Unit Charter 5290.
For information on the JGSGP (JGASGP) Library at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania (HSP) look under the menu item, “Resources”. To go directly to the our library collection at the HSP, click here.