On behalf of the 29th IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy, we
are extremely pleased to announce that the distinguished French priest,
author, and humanitarian, Father Patrick Desbois, will be the keynote
speaker at the opening session in Philadelphia, Sunday, August 2, 2009. His
speech will be, "The Holocaust by Bullets: A Priest's Journey to Uncover the
Truth Behind the Murder of 1.5 million Jews," which is also the title of his
book.

The grandson of a deportee to the Nazi Rawa Ruska forced-labor Camp in
Ukraine, Father Desbois is best known for his work in searching for and
uncovering mass graves in Ukraine and for his book, "The Holocaust by
Bullets."

"My book is an act of prevention of future acts of genocide," Desbois said.
Winner of the B'nai B'rith International Award for Outstanding Contribution
to Relations with the Jewish People, Father Desbois is secretary to the
French Conference of Bishops for Relations with Judaism, advisor to the
Cardinal-Archbishop of Leon and advisor to the Vatican on the Jewish
Religion. Father Desbois is the president of Yahad in Unum
(www.yahadinunum.org), whose mission is to increase knowledge and
cooperation between Catholic and Jews.

Commenting on Father Desbois, Conference Co-Chair David Mink said, "We are
extremely pleased to have Father Desbois speak at our conference. He has
performed selfless acts of kindness for the many people of Jewish heritage
who trace their ancestry to Eastern Europe and have not been able to record
the death of loved ones on their family tree."

The Conference in Philadelphia, August 2-7, 2009, will include programs
featuring archivists, researchers and genealogists >from around the world.
For more information, visit www.Philly2009.org.

Registration for the Conference and the Hotel are now open.

Information about programs will be coming in March.

Hope to see you all in Philadelphia this summer.

Anne Feder Lee
David Mink
Conference Co-Chairs