- This event has passed.
Greet Voorhoof – One Dream, Millions of Stories: In the Footsteps of Emigrants Searching for a New Life. The Red Star Line Museum, Antwerp, Belgium
and
Spotlight Talk – The Jewish Migration Project of Northeastern University
September 14, 2025 @ 12:30 pm - 3:30 pm EDT
at Beech Street Center (Hybrid Meeting–in person and on Zoom)
These programs will be recorded and available on the member’s page.
Today’s programs and discussions are focused on The Emigrant Experience from Europe.
Please bring something you have from your original immigrant ancestors–an object, a document, a photo, or even just a memory to share. We’ll have a display table for items. If appropriate, bring a very short written description of the item, including names, date, origin, and anything else relevant.
12:30 to 1:30:
Join us for a free light lunch with an open discussion about the items members brought. Please register for the free in-person luncheon HERE by September 10th. We need a count.
If you can’t come in person, join Zoom at 12:30 to listen in on the discussion about heirlooms.
1:30 Live from Antwerp, Belgium:
Two million passengers crossed from Antwerp to North America on Red Star Line steamships. Their stories, that of the shipping company that transported them, and that of the city and port from which they departed, are the focus of the museum’s main exhibition. Through photos, documents, and individual stories, this presentation will bring to life what emigrants experienced as they traveled to Antwerp, qualified for boarding, waited for their departure, and endured the passage itself. If your ancestor departed from any other Western European ports via other shipping lines, their experiences would have been similar.
Speaker Bio:
Historian Greet Voorhoof is the collection manager of the Red Star Line Museum (Antwerp, Belgium). She is responsible for the museum‘s collection and digitization policy of the historical and contemporary biographical migration collection. Greet holds a master‘s degree in history and has professional experience in museums and heritage organizations.
A handout is available in the member portal.
After a short break, starting approximately 2:45 – Spotlight Talk:
The Jewish Migration Project of Northeastern University
Find out how JGSGB members can participate in an exciting endeavor of Northeastern University’s Jewish Studies Program. The Jewish Migration Project is a way for people around the world to share their family histories, prized objects, and fascinating documents. It offers a crowd-sourced public digital archive, cataloging and mapping privately held documents and objects related to Jews’ experiences and routes of migration. The goal is to grow a valuable public and scholarly resource that will, over time, yield historical and sociological insights.
More information: www.jewishmigration.org
Presenter Bios:
Liza Sheehy and Rachel Grupp are undergraduate students at Northeastern University, studying History, Culture, Law, and Public Policy. They are co-leading research and design for the Jewish Migration Project, under the direction of Prof. Simon Rabinovitch.
Simon Rabinovitch is the Stotsky Associate Professor of Jewish Historical and Cultural Studies at Northeastern University.