Author Archives: admin

A Schnapspfeifle

I bought on my recent trip to the Black Forest in a souvenir shop of Titisee a  Schnapspfeifle. (I try in general to explore tourist shops in places I visit where I can buy cups as a souvenir with the emblem … Continue reading

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An introduction to the Belgian Statearchives and its immigration files

The Public Safety Organization: In 1840 the Belgian state, which was founded in 1830, entrusted the Public Safety (in Dutch: Openbare Veiligheid, in French: Sûreté Publique, in German:Öffentlichen Sicherheit) which was an autonomous board under the Minister of Justice, to … Continue reading

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Expressions on 9 Av: “A Gitten Chorben”, “Morir havemos”, etc.

It is today 9 Av (Tisha beAv) during which the Jews are still mourning after a few millennia about the destruction of the two Jewish temples. I saw someone yesterday wishing others “A Gitten Chorben”. I was at first quite … Continue reading

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A Swedish Family

I came a while ago across an interesting article in the Belgian newspaper “De Standaard“. They run each day during the holiday season a series   of short articles ( “Elders is het beter”, literally translated “elsewhere it is better”) in … Continue reading

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Koud en levensgevaarlijk

Wodka + IJsblokjes = slecht voor de nieren! Rum + IJsblokjes = slecht voor de lever! Gin + IJsblokjes = slecht voor de hersenen! Whisky + IJsblokjes = slecht voor het hart! Cointreau + IJsblokjes = slecht voor het darmstelsel … Continue reading

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Transferring money to Polish banks with SWIFT/BIC/IBAN

Please note that I am not a banker, nor am I an economist. Therefore I would be glad if you could correct me in case you find a mistake. I humbly thank you in advance. From time to time I … Continue reading

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Photos about prewar Jewish Life in Eastern-Europe

I received recently via e-mail a slideshow with amazing photos about pre-war Jewish life in Eastern Europe. Enjoy it here: [gview file=”http://www.gershon-lehrer.be/downloads/slideshows/Jewish_Life_In_Poland%20(VIKY%20).pptx” save=1]I am not sure who created the slideshow, but the properties of the file mention a Landau Mickey … Continue reading

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Bruce Adler singing Hootsatsa

I came across a video clip on YouTube with a piece from Bruce Adler singing Hootsatsa. It is a nostalgic piece with a mix of Yiddish humor, songs, etc. The New york Times published the following obituary about him on … Continue reading

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Continue wegenwerken in district Antwerpen (leuk maar storend)

Ik heb onlangs een mail gestuurd naar de stad van Antwerpen om mijn beklag te doen omtrent de werken die simultaan op verschillende plaatsen worden uitgevoerd en omtrent de vrij slechte bewewijzering. Hieronder mijn e-mail van 19 mei 2011 en … Continue reading

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HebrewBooks.org

One of the greatest projects for genealogists on the Internet and which are managed by different organizations, are websites with complete digitized books. One of these projects which can be interesting for Jewish family researchers, is http://hebrewbooks.org. Their mission as … Continue reading

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