Peter Lande was born in Germany but came to the United States as a child. He was employed by the Department of State for 32 years as a Foreign Service Officer, retiring in 1988 as Economic Minister in Cairo. He has worked as a volunteer at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum for the past 20 years. In this capacity he develops databases, many of which have appeared on Jewishgen and other web sites, responds to inquiries and speaks to various genealogical organizations. In 2001, the IAJGS awarded Lande the IAJGS Lifetime Achievement Award.

“Poles Apart – Unusual Polish Holocaust Sources of information” (Sun-111), 1:30-2:45 P.M.

Two obscure and underutilized websites give unusual access to Holocaust information relating to Polish Jews located both in the West Poland areas annexed by Germany and the East Polish areas annexed by Russia in 1939. The first of these, the Opole archive, holds an unique and otherwise unavailable collection of 1939-1942 death certificates. The second, Karta, which is far larger, includes several million names, including thousands of Jews deported to Central Asia. This collection includes  information both on their former residences, their families and their ultimate fates.

Topics: Holocaust research, Specific countries or geographic areas

“German Jews in the Holocaust: New Sources of Information” (Tues-103), 10:30-11:45 A.M.

Why is the pattern of Jewish responses (fate) in the Holocaust between 1933 and 1945 so markedly different than elsewhere in Europe. How can one use existing public and non-public sources of information to locate additional family information.

Topics: Holocaust research, German emigration 1933-1945