Michael Tobias, who created a database containing six million names dating back almost 250 years to help Jews across the world trace their ancestry was recently awarded the Order of the British Empire.
He has also helped reunite survivors of the Holocaust, as well as securing compensation for them and their families.
According to an article in the Barrhead News, “Other beneficiaries of his work include Poirot actor David Suchet, television presenter Jerry Springer and broadcaster Esther Rantzen.
“(Mr. Tobias) investigated their Jewish ancestry as a consultant to both the American and British versions of hit TV series Who Do You Think You Are?”
One of his biggest achievements is the International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims, which he helped found in 2001.
It forced German insurance companies to pay $300 million in compensation to those who died in concentration camps.
Mr. Tobias has a BSc Honours in Mathematics and Physics and qualified as a Fellow of the Faculty of Actuaries. In 2012, he completed a Masters Degree in Genealogical, Palaeographic and Heraldic Studies at Strathclyde University. He is a co-founder of Jewish Records Indexing – Poland and former vice-president, Programming of JewishGen, Inc.
Mr. Tobias’ work and achievements are exceptional and worth reading about in the Barrhead News article, Michael Tobias: Queen honours East Renfrewshire man with OBE for services to Jewish community.
