Event Title
Oral Histories and the US Holocaust Memorial Museum: Opportunities and Limitations
Submission Type
Event
Abstract
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) has collected and produced oral history interviews since the 1980s, well before it opened its doors to the public in 1993. After twenty years of documenting the stories of survivors, rescuers, and liberators, the USHMM created an ambitious eyewitness interview project, by conducting interviews with bystanders (so-called “witnesses”) as voices corroborating historical events. During the last several years, the USHMM has redefined its witness documentation projects by focusing on and exploring the witnesses’ identities.
I will share an overview of our international oral history program focusing on witnesses and I will discuss the opportunities and limitations present in documenting memory through these projects.
Biographies
Oral Histories and the US Holocaust Memorial Museum: Opportunities and Limitations
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) has collected and produced oral history interviews since the 1980s, well before it opened its doors to the public in 1993. After twenty years of documenting the stories of survivors, rescuers, and liberators, the USHMM created an ambitious eyewitness interview project, by conducting interviews with bystanders (so-called “witnesses”) as voices corroborating historical events. During the last several years, the USHMM has redefined its witness documentation projects by focusing on and exploring the witnesses’ identities.
I will share an overview of our international oral history program focusing on witnesses and I will discuss the opportunities and limitations present in documenting memory through these projects.
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