My Magazine Subscriptions

IMG_20150628_010724As a Jew living in Antwerp, Belgium, and with an interest in Genealogy, I have some specific interests which are reflected somehow in my choice of magazine subscriptions.

In this article I’d like to discuss the magazines I’m subscribed to (or was at some point). Most are related to genealogy, both Jewish and non Jewish, and/or culture and/or Antwerp and/or Belgium, etc. I know that the list is (still) small, but it is a start:

Title Description Main Topics My Comments Website
Avotaynu The world’s largest circulation magazine devoted to Jewish genealogy each year publishes more than 300 pages of useful, interesting information that can help you in your research. Now in its thirteeth year, an index to the first 24 volumes is available to all the major articles.Published quarterly, our contributing editors from 15 countries throughout the world regularly gather important information that appears in our issues. Our publishers, Gary Mokotoff and Sallyann Amdur Sack, are on a first name basis with officials at institutions containing genealogical data throughout the world. Some institutions are YIVO Institute, American Jewish Archives, American Jewish Historical Society, U.S. National Archives, U.S. Library of Congress, U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, Leo Baeck Institute, U.S. Holocaust Museum, Yad Vashem and Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People. International Jewish Genealogy This is a likable quarterly with articles by and for the subscribers of which most are (amateur and some professional) genealogists. The articles do not just discuss genealogy, but also indirect topics (which are usually related to genealogy in some ways).Apart from Avotaynu, you may which to subscribe to Jewish genealogy related magazines which discuss topics limited to a specific region http://avotaynu.com/journal.htm

and

www.avotaynuonline.com

Shemot - The Journal of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain Shemot is the journal of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain. It is published three times a year and is sent free to members. We publish original articles, submitted by members or commissioned, on a variety of topics likely to be of interest to our readers. We particularly welcome personal experiences that include sources and research methodology, explanations of technological developments and innovations, articles highlighting archival material and the work carried out by volunteers to preserve our heritage, biographical or historical accounts, and practical research tips.
We also publish book reviews and letters
British Jewish Genealogy, (some) International Jewish Genealogy Looks nice. It’s specifically meant for the genealogists with an interest in Jewish British family history. Some articles pertain to the general (mainly Jewish) public. www.jgsgb.org.uk/shemot
Computergenealogie Das Magazin COMPUTERGENEALOGIE ist ein Projekt des Vereins für Computergenealogie. Die Hefte erscheinen vierteljährlich (Bezug: s.u.). Genealogy, Germany Genealogy, IT for Genealogy This is a quarterly by the ‘Verein für Computergenealogie e.V.’. It is written in German by a dedicated team of fellow subscribers and members of this magazine.This magazine has a uniqueness in the way that it does discuss genealogy related articles which have anything to do with Computers and Genealogy, mainly German genealogy. Usually they discuss in each magazine computer software, etc. They also discuss results of conducted surveys as to which software program is the best for working on family histories etc.Their website have many tools, databases, etc which you should really make sure to check out. Its advantages etc is simply too much to discuss in this short article.Every two years they also issue another magazine, “Familienforschung” Ahnenforschung leicht gemacht – Computergenealogie für jedermann” incl. DVD, which in fact is a collection of subjects which were discussed in the quarterly edition of Computergenealogie.I highly recommend this magazine!Subscribe via: https://db.genealogy.net/vereine/antrag.php?verein=CompGen http://wiki-de.genealogy.net/Computergenealogie/Aktuelles_Heft

See also:

http://wiki-de.genealogy.net/Computergenealogie

and

http://compgen.de

 Vlaamse Stam Vlaamse Stam is voor familiekundigen, genealogen en heraldici een onmisbare bron van informatie. Het bevat onder meer:

  • Artikels omtrent familiegeschiedenis: het verhaal van een familie of van het onderzoek naar een voorouder.
  • Artikels in verband met familiekundige bronnen (bronontsluitingen, transcripties van archiefstukken,…): wat kunt u vinden in welke bronnen en waar bevinden deze bronnen zich?
  • Nieuwsberichten omtrent familiekunde, genealogie, heraldiek, de erfgoedsector, de archiefsector,…
  • Genealogische informatie: stambomen, kwartierstaten, voorouderreeksen,…
  • Publicaties van wapenschilden die erkend werden door het Heraldisch College

Het tijdschrift Vlaamse Stam bevat jaarlijks ongeveer 600 bladzijden en kent een oplage van 4500 exemplaren. Leden van Familiekunde Vlaanderen ontvangen Vlaamse Stam automatisch in de brievenbus.

Flemish Genealogy This is also one of my favorites. Their quarterly magazine has very good, and well-researched articles with many footnotes. Topics are very diverse, there is an online index on their website, see: www.familiekunde-vlaanderen.be/tijdschrift www.familiekunde-vlaanderen.be/tijdschrift
Antwerpsche Tydinghen Stadsgidsen gaan steeds op zoek naar andere bronnen, informatie en wetenswaardigheden om hun opdrachten bij de tijd te houden. Daarom werd er drieëndertig jaar geleden binnen de Koninklijke Gidsenvereniging van Antwerpen een tijdschrift opgestart. Driemaandelijks geeft de “Antwerpsche Tydinghen” uitgebreide informatie over allerhande onderwerpen welke met onze stad te maken hebben. Vele collega’s stadsgidsen werken hier aan mee en delen hun kennis, ook specialisten ter zake helpen ons hierbij door artikels of uitgebreide informatie door te spelen. Men vindt hierin ook achtergrondinfo bij komende tentoonstellingen. Een greep uit de laatste jaargangen : Recente archeologische activiteiten; een collage van Paul van Ostaijen ontdekt; Sint-Rochus in Sint-Jacob; Rubens en architectuur, De molens in Antwerpen, De Augustinuscyclus in AMUZ, de Bank, stadsbeeld en monument op de Leien enzovoort. Culture and History of Antwerp This publication has articles which discuss the City of Antwerp and its history. It’s mainly meant for active City guides of Antwerp. Also other interested people, who are not city guides, may be interested in subscribing to this magazine.The articles are written by fellow subscribers. If personally think that if you have an interest in the history of Antwerp, good books would be a better source. Sometimes the articles in this magazine are written in a specific way in order to add a funny undertone. I think that that technique works very well, and even is a requirement for any successful city guide, but that technique is, in my opinion, less suited for articles in a magazine. But the journal has another purpose as well, which is to allow the City Guides to keep in touch between themselves and update the whole group with news etc. Another advantage to subscribe to this magazine is that sometimes they offer you a discount to new books they, or others, have written. I bought already a book which was written by a few City Guides about Antwerp. When you’d make use of every discount they offer, you’ll gain often by getting almost the whole subscription fee for the magazine back. www.kgva.be/node/9
Historiant HistoriANT is een jaarboek dat wordt uitgegeven door het Genootschap voor Antwerpse Geschiedenis. De bedoeling van HistoriANT is om wetenschappelijke, maar vlot leesbare artikels over de rijke geschiedenis van de stad Antwerpen en haar omgeving te bundelen. Via het Jaarboek wil het Genootschap de Antwerpse geschiedenis in al haar facetten kenbaar maken aan een zo ruim mogelijk publiek en zowel historici als niet-historici laten kennismaken met de rijke geschiedenis van de Scheldestad. Het Genootschap biedt historici, archeologen, kunst- en literatuurhistorici, musicologen, volkskundigen, enz. in Antwerpen en daarbuiten via HistoriANT een forum aan om hun wetenschappelijke bevindingen betreffende de Antwerpse geschiedenis te publiceren.[…] History of Antwerp This is not really a magazine, but rather an edited book with different articles by its contributors. Most articles usually discuss the same subject, which in each yearbook is different. The articles all have footnotes and are well-sourced. If you are looking for a scientific, and easy to read collection of articles about topics related to Antwerp, you may be looking for the right thing. www.gvag.be/publicaties/historiant
Posted in Genealogy Related Articles, History and Culture Related Articles | 1 Comment

Cheat Sheet: Getting the Alien Files from the Archives of Antwerp (and the districts of Antwerp)

In the article I’d like to post a very quick and short cheat sheet on how to get the alien files from the Archives of Antwerp.

Check the end of this article in order to understand more about the districts which together make Antwerp.

Getting the alien files from the Archives of Antwerp:

For the district ‘Antwerpen’:

For the other districts:

Check www.gershon-lehrer.be/blog/2012/11/getting-copies-of-alien-files for more information etc.

The Districts of Antwerp:
You need to understand that the city of Antwerp is composed of 9 districts. Most of these districts were in the past independent municipalities. These districts, which are now part of the City of Antwerp, do have some limited independent administrative functions.

Here is a map of Antwerp with its 9 districts:

District

  1. Antwerpen (district)
  2. Berchem
  3. Berendrecht-Zandvliet-Lillo
  4. Borgerhout
  5. Deurne
  6. Ekeren
  7. Hoboken
  8. Merksem
  9. Wilrijk
AntwerpenDistricten

Source: By LennartBolks at nl.wikipedia Later versions were uploaded by Westermarck at nl.wikipedia. [Public domain], from Wikimedia Commons

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About a certificate for land in Pre-State Israel

When my father in-law and his sisters recently cleared their mother´s home in Amsterdam after she has passed away, they came across a paper which seemed to look like a certificate with text in Dutch for land in, what was then, Palestine.

The front of the certificate has mostly typed text whilst the back has handwritten notes and a drawing.

The front of the certificate:
image001.png

And the back:
image002.png

Now follows the Continue reading

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No ordinary clerks

Recently I went through the alien file from my great-grandfather Gerschon Lehrer, whom I am named after, which I found in the Belgian state archives.

While analyzing the documents in the file, I came across some letters written between a (Belgian) senator and someone who was working for the Belgian sûreté (State Security). What struck me was that after having checked biographies of these officers (both from the sûreté and the senator), it seemed that they played and important role, if not back then in the 1930´s, then in the future.

Here under are these letters which I´d like to discuss.

The first one is a letter from 27 April 1934 by the officer of the sûreté, Mr. De Foy, who´s checking with senator Van Berckelaer whether in the opinion of the latter my great-grandfather should be entitled to get a permit of residence in Belgium. He´s checking whether my great-grandfather´s stay, who was then a merchant in the diamond business, would be beneficial to the Belgium:

In the next letter, from 11 may 1934, the senator expresses his opinion that Continue reading

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Israel and the bakery

A Jew walks into the bakery and orders a bagel. The man behind the counter
says: “A bagel? That’s 20 dollars.” “20 dollars?! Are you mad!?” “Well, its
1 dollar for the bagel, and 19 dollars for Israel.” “Fine. Money for Israel?
How can I say no?”

The next day the same guy comes in to the bakery, and orders a challah. The
man behind the counter says: “Challah? That’s 40 dollars.” “Are you
insane?!” “Sir, its 5 dollars for the challah and 35 dollars for Israel.”
The man shrugs his shoulders but he pays the money.*

The third day, he comes in and orders a cheesecake. “Cheesecake? 70
dollars.” “What?! This is absolutely crazy.” “Sir, 10 dollars for the
cheesecake, and 60 dollars for Israel.” At this point he had had enough.
“You are completely mad! This is absolutely absurd and unethical.”

“Sorry sir, I am just following the rules.” “I demand to speak to the owner
of the store!”

So the clerk goes to the door and calls out: “Hey Israel! Someone wants to
talk to you!”
(Source: Kehillat Shomre Hadas Antwerpen – From The Rabbi’s Desk, 5 December 2014)

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The Rabbi’s hat and the racetrack

A rabbi was walking down the street when, suddenly, a strong gust of wind blew his hat off his head. The rabbi ran after his hat but the wind was so strong it kept blowing his hat farther and farther away. He just couldn’t catch up with it.

A young gentile man, witnessing this event and being more fit than the rabbi, ran after the hat and caught it. The young gentile man handed the hat over to the rabbi. The rabbi was so pleased and grateful that he gave the man twenty dollars, put his hand on the man’s head and
blessed him. The young man was very excited about both the tip and the blessing.

The young gentile decided to take his new found wealth to the racetrack. He bet the entire $20 on the first race that he could.

After the races the young man returned home and recounted his very exciting day at the races to his father.

“I arrived at the fifth race,” said the young man.
“I looked at the racing program and saw a horse by the name of Top Hat was running. The odds on this horse were 100-to-1. It was the longest shot in the field.”

“After saving the rabbi’s hat, having received the rabbi’s blessing, gotten the $20, and seeing Top Hat in the fifth race, I thought this was a message from God. So, I bet the entire 20 dollars on Top Hat, and an amazing thing happened. The horse that was the longest shot and who did not have the slightest chance to even show, came in first by 5 lengths.”

“You must have made a fortune,” said the father.

“Well yes, $2000. But wait, it gets better,” replied the son.

“In the following race, a horse by the name of Stetson was running. The odds on the horse were 30 to 1. Stetson being some kind of hat and again thinking of the rabbi’s blessing and his hat, I decided to bet all my winnings on this horse.”

“What happened?” asked the excited father.

“Stetson came in like a rocket. Now I had $60,000!”

“Are you telling me you brought home all this money?”
asked his excited father.

“No,” said the son.

“I lost it all on the next race. There was a horse in this race named Chateau, which is French for hat. So I decided to bet all the money on Chateau, but the horse broke down and came in last.”

“Hat in French is “Chapeau” not “Chateau” you moron,” said the father. “You lost all of the money because of your ignorance. Tell me, what horse won the race?”

The son answered, “A long shot from Japan named Yarmalka.
I don’t get it…

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Reluctant to Attend the Synagogue

On the morning of Rosh Hashanah, Rivka went into the bedroom to wake her son and tell him it was time to get ready to go to shul, to which he replied in a dull voice,

‘I’m not going.’

‘Why not?’ Rivka demanded.

‘l’ll give you two good reasons Mother,’ he said. ‘One, they don’t like me, and two, I don’t like them.’

Rivaka replied in an exasperated voice, ‘I’ll give you two good reasons why you must go to the synagogue. ‘One, you’re 54 years old, and two, you’re the Rabbi.’

(Source: The European Synagogue Ohel Eliezer, www.theshul.eu – Weekly E-letter, Vol.VI No.49 – | Elul 24, 5773 / August 30, 2013)

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