My sister texted me from the theatre while watching Sarah’s Key.

“You really think we’re Jewish?” she asked.

“Both of our parents had Jewish ancestry which their ancestors kept a secret.” I texted back.

“I can see why,” she answered. “It was awful!”

Yes, it was awful but today there is no reason to hide Jewish ancestry. If you have genealogical knowledge that will be of value to fleshing out your family tree, there is no better time than the present to record it. No one should ever have to deny their ethnicity.

Suellen Ocean is the author of Secret Genealogy a how-to for finding Jewish ancestry available at Amazon.