Ralph Bloch is a retired academic of Swiss origin. He has been active in genealogy since 2001.

Ralph’s research interests include: Jewish history in Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Frankfurt a.M.

He is responsible for the Jewish Genealogy in Bavarian Swabia project and website http://jgbs.org . and is a founding member and webmaster of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Hamiltonhttp://jgsh.org.

Ralph has researched the history and genealogy of the Jews of Stühlingen from 1580 – 1743 and written his own genealogical database software containing over 6400 individuals.

Website: http://www.papaworx.com/

“The Wandering Borders of Europe” (Sun-102), 3:00-4:15 P.M.

Novice genealogists may easily get confused on finding an ancestor who was born in Poland, married in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and buried in the Ukraine, yet never left his native shtetl. This presentation presents an overview of the geography and history of Europe over the past 1000 years leading to such confusing situations, and equips participants with the knowledge and skills to to understand such apparent contradictions in their own ancestry.

Topics: Ashkenazic research, Beginning genealogists, Genealogy and Jewish history related to WWI, Immigration and migration over the ages

“Ele Toldot made easy” (Fri-103), 10:00-11:15 A.M.

Shlomo Ettlinger’s Ele Toldot is an essential resource for research into Ashkenazi ancestry of the late middle ages and early modern period. Yet, its German language and obscure structure renders it difficult to master for the average North American genealogist. This lecture provides insights into Ele Toldot‘s structure and offers algorithms to navigate the database and assemble relevant information using only a basic German dictionary or app. It also demonstrates how to track source documents that survived WWII.

Topics: Ashkenazic research, Jewish history and culture, Specific countries or geographic areas