The Werkstatt der Erinnerung is the oral history archive of the Research Centre for Contemporary History in Hamburg (FZH). Since 1990, life history interviews have been collected here, touching on numerous aspects of contemporary German and Hamburg history from the beginning of the Weimar Republic to the present. In the early years after the founding of the Workshop of Remembrance, interviews were conducted primarily with Hamburg victims of Nazi persecution. As a recording archive of oral history projects of the Research Center for Contemporary History as well as external research contexts, the holdings of the Workshop of Remembrance have expanded considerably in thematic terms.

The interviews are predominantly audio recordings and some videos, most of which are also available in written form. In addition, photographs, autobiographical notes and other personal documents from the possession or estate of the interviewees are archived. The collection currently includes more than 2000 interviews.

The interviews are predominantly requested by students and university staff from various disciplines, both nationally and internationally, and so far have had to be consulted on site. Great interest is also shown in the interviews by people from the educational and remembrance-cultural field, but also by people interested in family history, art or journalism.

In 2014, the Workshop of Memory co-initiated the Oral History Network and has since conceived the annual conferences, with which it aims to stimulate and ensure the exchange of content and methods on oral history in academia and memory institutions.

The Werkstatt der Erinnerung at the Research Center for Contemporary History in Hamburg contributes its experience, networks and collection holdings to the project.

Team:

• Dr. Linde Apel
• Dr. Andrea Althaus

Contact:

Research Center for Contemporary History in Hamburg (FZH)
Werkstatt der Erinnerung
Beim Schlump 83
20144 Hamburg