Searching for Helene’s Journey

Searching for Helene’s Journey

presented by: Dr. Janette Silverman
Organized by: arizona jewish historical society

Sunday, February 22nd, 1:00 pm | Online — ZOOM

Helene Sender was born in Konken, Germany. Her family knew that she fled to France in 1940 and reached the United States in 1941, traveling through Lisbon. But much of her journey remained a mystery. How did she escape Nazi Europe? What records documented her path, and where were they preserved?

Join us to discover how to reconstruct such histories by tracing migration routes, locating dispersed records, and interpreting incomplete or conflicting sources. Using Helene’s story as a case study, participants will learn where to find documentation, how to evaluate evidence across borders, and how to fill gaps between family memory and historical record.

Dr. Janette Silverman is a professional genealogist, heading a team of researchers specializing in Eastern European and Jewish research at AncestryProGenealogists® the division of Ancestry® that does private client research. Her research on behalf of clients takes her all over the U.S. and Europe. Janette holds a Doctorate in Jewish Studies from Spertus Institute. Her dissertation, “In Living Memory” explored her family’s journey from Europe to the U.S. from the 1880s to the 1920s, contextualizing their experiences.

Janette speaks at conferences all over the world virtually and in person. She has published articles in The Association of Professional Genealogists Quarterly, The Tennessee Historical Quarterly, Avotaynu, and Galitzianer. She wrote “Genealogy at a Glance: Finding Eastern European Jewish Ancestors” as part of the Genealogy at a Glance series. Her book Stories They Never Told Me was published in August 2024 and is available in paperback and as an eBook. She travels extensively in Eastern Europe doing archival research and accompanying clients on visits to their ancestral villages.