@lzg I am pretty interested in my great grandparents. Half of them lived in Jerusalem, half in New York and New Jersey. I've visited most of their homes, have photos, records (some in Turkish with Arabic script). I've also done DNA tests.
I think we live in a time where if you're going to invest your identity into your heritage, you have a lot of options for getting general info and details. I think you have to work to stay ignorant.