International Tracing Service - Feb 28 Speaker Change

Due to a back injury, this month’s speaker, Irwin Gordon, regrettably had to cancel. Graciously, Tom Sadauskas has agreed to give his presentation on International Tracing Service.

 

The International Tracing Service - The Closed Archive That's Been Finally Opened After MoreThan 60 Years

 

Date:

Thursday, February 28, 2013 at 7:30 PM (EST)

 

Location:

Kilmer Middle School

8100 Wolftrap Road

Vienna, VA 22182

 

Event Description

The International Tracing Service (ITS) was created in the closing days of WW II and collected more than 50 million German and Allied records containing information on over 17.5 million persons.  These persons included Holocaust victims and survivors, forced laborers, and more than 8 million displaced persons (DPs).  For more than 60 years, the ITS archives were closed to outside researchers and only accessible to ITS staff members.  Not until late 2007, because of outside pressure by numerous groups, was the decision made to open these records to outside researchers.  The first organized group of outside researchers to access these records was in May 2008.  The presenter was part of this first group.  He will explain how best to access these records, as well as what records are NOT in the ITS archives.

 

Tom Sadauskas

Tom has been conducting genealogy research since 2000, with a special focus on Eastern Europe.   All four of his grandparents and his father were born in Lithuania.  He has made several trips to Lithuania and Germany to do genealogy research and has been successful in reestablishing contact with relatives in Lithuania as well as making contact with newly uncovered ones.  Tom was privileged to be a member of the first group of genealogist to visit  the International Tracing Service (ITS) in Bad Arolsen, Germany in May 2008 following the opening of the ITS archives to public access.    He is a 2009 graduate of the National Institute on Genealogical Research (NIGR).  Tom has made numerous presentations at various genealogy conferences including those organized by the Polish Genealogy Society of Connecticut & the Northeast Inc. (PGSCTNE), the Washington D.C. Family History Center and the Baltimore Family History Center.  He is also a frequent contributor to the monthly Polish genealogy ezine Gen Dobry!