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| Real Picture Post Card (RPPC), circa 1910. |
Last year at this time, all in-person conferences and conventions had been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There were some online presentations, but for the first half of the year, there was little German-Russian-specific webinar content available. It got better in September with the ASHGR Edmonton Chapter’s hit 3-day conference. This taught the groups that always thrived on in-person conferences this important lesson: if you build it, they will come.
This year, nearly all of the big Germans from Russia and Eastern European conferences that normally occur in the U.S. in the summer have decided to hold virtual conferences. Only one is doing a “hybrid” model of hosting the majority of the conference on-site and in-person while offering a number of presentations virtually for those who cannot or do not want to travel or have close contact yet. It’s good to see everyone accepted a new normal. And it’s good to see no one is going dark this year.
Below is a quick round up of what’s going on, when, and who’s hosting/presenting. The costs vary and are included in the registration link. Compare what’s being offered with what you’re researching to get the most for your money. For those groups who haven’t announced their line up yet, keep checking their website for updates and early-bird or member discounts.
Here’s what’s been announced as of May 1, 2021, in the order of when the events occur.
| Dates: | July 13-15, 2021 |
| Host Organization: | American Historical Society of Germans from Russia (AHSGR) |
| Title: | “Connections: Keeping Our German Russian Heritage Alive” |
| Location: | Virtual |
| Presentation Schedule: | To be announced |
| Registration Open?: | Not yet |
| More information: | https://www.ahsgr.org/page/Conventions |
| Perks: | Everyone welcome. Discounts to members. AHSGR is the largest Germans from Russia genealogy and historical society in the U.S. |
• • •
| Dates: | July 17-24, 2021 |
| Host Organization: | International German Genealogy Partnership |
| Title: | 2021 International German Genealogy Conference |
| Location: | Virtual |
| Presentation Schedule: | view schedule |
| Registration Open?: | register here |
| More information: | https://iggpartner.org/ |
| Perks: | Everyone is welcome. Lots of different packages at different price points. This is an international conference, and some presentations will be in the German language. |
• • •
| Dates: | July 21-24, 2021 |
| Host Organization: | Germans from Russia Heritage Society (GRHS) |
| Title: | “Embracing the Future” |
| Location: | Ramkota Hotel, Bismarck, North Dakota, USA |
| Presentation Schedule: | view schedule |
| Registration Open?: | register here (mail in registration only) |
| More information: | https://grhs.org |
| Perks: | Everyone is welcome. Discounts to members. Free admission to those 18 years old and younger. This convention is the only one offered on site, but there will be some presentations offered virtually for two days. This is the 50th anniversary convention of GRHS (postponed from last year).
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• • •
| Dates: | August 11-13, 2021 |
| Host Organization: | Foundation for East European Family History Studies (FEEFHS) |
| Title: | FEEFHS Conference 2021 |
| Location: | Virtual |
| Presentation Schedule: | view schedule |
| Registration Open?: | register here |
| More information: | https://feefhs.org/ |
| Perks: | Everyone is welcome. Free admission to full-time university or college students with a valid student-ID. Early bird discount. |
• • •
| Dates: | September 18-19, 2021 |
| Host Organization: | Society for German Genealogy in Eastern Europe (SGGEE) |
| Title: | “Finding Our Stories” |
| Location: | Virtual |
| Presentation Schedule: | To be announced |
| Registration Open?: | Not yet |
| More information: | https://sggee.org/convention/convention_news.html |
| Perks: | To be announced |
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