E. Randol Schoenberg is an expert in handling cases involving looted art and the recovery of property stolen by the Nazi authorities during the Holocaust. Among his most prominent cases is that of “Republic of Austria v. Altmann” which resulted in the successful return of five paintings by Gustav Klimt, including the “Woman in Gold,” to their rightful owner.
Schoenberg graduated from Princeton University with a degree in Mathematics and a certificate in European Cultural Studies. He serves on the board of JewishGen and administers the Austria-Czech SIG. Schoenberg is a volunteer Geni.com curator and founded the Jewish Genealogy Portal.
“What’s New in Austrian and Czech Jewish Genealogy” (Tues-131), 1:30-2:45 P.M.
Jewish genealogy researchers focusing on Austria-Hungary, particularly in the area of present-day Austria and the Czech republic, are blessed with some of the most accessible and complete records for any Jewish communities.
Learn the latest advances in the field and the status of existing and ongoing resource projects, including GenTeam.at, Badatelna.eu, OJM.at, JewishMuseum.cz and Holocaust.cz.
Attention will also be given to resources that may assist researchers with Hungarian, Slovakian and Galician genealogy.
Topics: Specific countries or geographic areas (Austria and Czech Republic)
“How To Improve Your Family Tree Using Collaborative Genealogy” (Weds-127), 4:30-5:45 P.M.
Genealogy is no longer a solitary pursuit. Learn how to break down brick walls and improve your family tree using the latest methods of collaborative genealogy.
This lecture will discuss and explain the benefits and methods of collaboration on various platforms, including Geni, MyHeritage and Ancestry.
Attention will be given to collaborative town projects using Geni and the JewishGen Family Finder, as well as dna projects on FamilyTreeDNA.
Use of social media, including Facebook groups, to solve genealogical problems will also be analyzed.
Topic: Technology in support of genealogical research
FILM: A Woman in Gold (Weds-166), 7:30-10:00 P.M.
USA: 2015 (109 mintes). The remarkable true story of one woman’s journey to reclaim her heritage and seek justice for what happened to her family. Sixty years after she fled Vienna during World War II, an elderly Jewish woman, Maria Altmann (Helen Mirren), starts her journey to retrieve family possessions seized by the Nazis, among them Klimt’s famous painting Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I. Together with her inexperienced but plucky young lawyer Randy Schoenberg (Ryan Reynolds), she embarks upon a major battle which takes them all the way to the heart of the Austrian establishment and the U.S. Supreme Court, and forces her to confront difficult truths about the past along the way. Directed by Simon Curtis.
Randy Schoenberg will be in attendance and provide commentary.
Topics: Specific countries or geographic areas (Austria and Czech Republic)
“Privacy and Genealogy: What Are The Rules?” (Thurs-130), 9:00-10:15 A.M.
Privacy remains a huge issue for many genealogists and their family members, and the legal landscape concerning records access is constantly changing. Personal genealogy websites, as well as online collaborative trees offer different levels of privacy protections.
The panelists will discuss the varied approaches to the question of privacy, focusing especially on ethical considerations. For example, how should a genealogist respond if someone says she does not want to be on your online tree? Should minors be allowed to use online genealogy platforms? Can the right to privacy ever be reconciled with online collaborative genealogy?
As genealogists increasingly utilize public, or semi-public online collaborative genealogy platforms, these questions are becoming more common.
{with Jan Meisels Allen]
Topics: Ethical considerations in genealogy, Repositories, Technology in support of genealogical research