May 8 marks the 75th anniversary of VE Day — Victory in Europe and the Liberation of the Netherlands — and for that reason, the two Ancestry Extra sessions this week are focused on WWII.
And… the news from Ancestry Canada gets better.
From Monday, May 4 to Friday, May 8, Ancestry.ca will provide free access to all 10 million Canadian military records on the site.
Wait. It gets even better.
In addition, Ancestry says Canadians will be able to access for free all content on the online newspaper archive Newspapers.com, as well as all records on Fold3, a site that provides access to military records, stories and photos.
At this point, I don’t know how Ancestry plans to give access to Canadians or if its a worldwide offer. If I learn there’s a special way to access, instead of through the above links, I’ll let you know.
Update: The free access is available through customized links that I have posted on the Genealogy à la carte Facebook group.
Ancestry Extra sessions
As for the Ancestry Extra sessions, you can watch them live on Ancestry Canada’s Facebook page or watch the recordings afterward. Both sessions are free and no registration is required.
Tuesday, May 5, 10:00 a.m. Eastern time
Researching Your WWII Commonwealth Ancestors
Ancestry ProGenealogist Simon Pearce will share advice and guidance on how to tackle your WWII research, highlighting resources available to discover the stories of your ancestors that served in the Canadian military and across the Commonwealth. He’ll then conduct a live Q&A.
Thursday, May 7, Noon Eastern time
Finding the Unknowable
Jewish families often think that records of their Eastern European families prior to the Holocaust, or prior to their emigration from Eastern Europe were all destroyed during World War II. Although many records did not survive, many did, and can, with diligent searching be found. We’ll be discussing some research techniques and resources available digitally, and visiting ancestral towns to find out more about your family before they emigrated.
Speaker bio: Janette Silverman began her genealogical journey more than 35 years ago as a hobby with her father. What started as a hobby quickly became more as she immersed herself in Jewish history, both as a student and a teacher. Ms. Silverman serves as a Board member of the International Association of Jewish Genealogy Societies (IAJGS). She has been president of a Jewish Genealogy Society; was lead co-chair of the 2016 IAJGS conference and for over 6 years was the Coordinator of the JewishGen Ukraine SIG. She has worked with private clients since 2004.
Ooooh – Fold3 access! I have a couple of records I need from there. Thanks for the heads-up!!