Translated from the original in Hungarian, available here.
The recording of the workshop are available on Youtube, link in the article
A Genuine Opportunity for Dialogue at the Genealogy Workshop
An international professional program focusing on family history research and collective memory was hosted by the Hungarian National Archives on 16–17 June within the framework of the Erasmus+ programme. Among the stories presented was that of a forgotten, walled-up luggage storage room. Speakers from Spain, Austria, Slovakia, Germany, Slovenia, and Greece participated in the European genealogy event.
International Experiences
One of the most memorable presentations of the first day was given by Yannis Stoyannidis, professor at the University of West Attica, who recounted the story of an unexpected discovery. During the renovation of Athens’ Sotiria Hospital in the COVID-19 period, the demolition of an old wall revealed more than eighty suitcases belonging to tuberculosis patients who had died between the 1940s and the 1960s.
After the restoration of the personal belongings—letters, photographs, religious keepsakes, theatre and cinema tickets, and drawings—the lives and stories of the former owners gradually came to light.
Film director Marianna Economou created a documentary entitled Unclaimed based on the recovered material. During the search for surviving relatives, many people encountered previously untold family stories for the first time. Some learned that a father had not abandoned the family, as they had believed, but had died in the sanatorium. Others discovered, through old letters, the social stigma associated with their relatives’ illness.
The story of the sanatorium suitcases was just one example demonstrating that family history research is far more than reconstructing family trees. Irene Villar, presenting the collections of the Noble Archive of Toledo, emphasized that family records hold exceptional value not only for genealogy but also for art history, social history, and cultural heritage studies.
The Spanish institution seeks to make documents preserved in privately held noble family archives freely accessible.
Thomas Aigner, Secretary General of ICARUS in Austria, presented the Matricula initiative, which now has a history of fifteen years. Martin Motovsky, a representative of the South Slovak Genealogical Association, spoke about a genealogical database of Slovaks from the Southern Great Plain. With the help of more than fifty volunteers, over one million records from parish registers in Békés County have been processed.
Thomas Hengst, one of FamilySearch’s Central European customer relations managers, highlighted that Hungarian researchers are among the most active users and contributors to family trees worldwide. He also stressed that the true power of family history always lies in the human stories that can be uncovered.
Hungarian Results
On the second day of the Erasmus+ programme, the Hungarian National Archives and the Hungarian Association of Family History Researchers presented their latest genealogical achievements to the international experts. During the guests’ multi-day visit, thematic and bilateral consultations, archive tours, document presentations, and museum and cultural programmes were also organized.
For the Hungarian National Archives, it is especially important that sources preserved beyond Hungary’s borders, which are essential for researching Hungarian family history, become better known and more accessible.
Professional cooperation within the Erasmus+ programme provides opportunities not only for staff members to learn first-hand about good practices and digital solutions from other countries, but also to obtain direct information about parish registers and other historical sources relating to Hungarian family history that are preserved in partner institutions.
Through personal relationships and regular professional dialogue, such cooperation can foster long-term partnerships that support cross-border research and provide researchers, students, and family history enthusiasts with access to increasingly comprehensive sources.
Photos: Zsuzsanna Lantos, Máté Varga (Hungarian National Archives).