JGSGB-Announce Mailing List: Program Sun Mon ##, 2009: SUBJECT

[JGSGB Announcements List (jgsgb-announce]

This is the notice of our next program. For more details, visit our website at www.jgsgb.org. A flyer in Adobe PDF format is available from our website at flyer.jgsgb.org. We encourage you to print it out and post copies in places where you think it would attract attendees, such as synagogues, community centers, supermarkets, etc.

Note that this program takes place at the Needham public library. There is no charge for attendance, so please bring guests.

Who Do You Think You
Are: Zoë Wanamaker

A BBC Film

Sunday, February 7, 2010
1:30 PM
Needham Public Library

This film is from the BBC family history documentary series that follows celebrities as they trace their roots.

Zoë Wanamaker was born in New York, but when she was three her father, American actor Sam Wanamaker, fled to the UK to escape the anti-communist McCarthy witch-hunts. Hoping to better understand her father's decision, Zoë heads to Washington DC where she visits the FBI headquarters. Here, under the Freedom of Information Act, Zoë gains access to her father's FBI file, an extraordinary document that reveals the level of scrutiny Sam was under and the very real risk of imprisonment he faced.

Wanting to explore the roots of her father's left-wing politics, Zoë next looks into the life of her father's father Maurice Wanamaker, an émigré Russian Jew. Zoë is moved to discover that, soon after his arrival in Chicago, Maurice suffered a series of personal tragedies and hardships that almost destroyed his American dream.

Finally, Zoë travels to Nikolaev in Ukraine where she discovers the original form of her unusual surname and the reason why her family left for America.

Upcoming Programs

    Sunday, February 21 (Temple Emanuel)
        Problem Solving with Experts: A Research Session

    Sunday, March 14 (Temple Emanuel)
        Ron Arons, "Mapping Madness: Historical Maps"
        Jay Sage, "Plotting Your Family History Using Google Earth"