The Oral History Programme

The Oral History Programme, which has been implemented by the "Grodzka Gate – NN Theatre" Centre since 1998, consists in registering, preparing and publishing oral accounts regarding Lublin and the Lublin Region in times between the interwar period and the present day. Collected memories - ranging from entire biographies to minor details and impressions - form the picture of city’s and region’s past, preserving it for the generations to come. Memories of over 1600 people are currently kept in the archive of the Oral History Workshop. There are over 3 500 hours of interviews recorded digitally (in audio and video formats). Most of them were recorded in Polish, yet one finds also accounts recorded in English, French, Italian, Ukrainian, Yiddish, Hebrew and chachłacki dialect.

Principal subjects covered in the interviews are: everyday life, educational system, multiculturalism, World War II, The Holocaust, Polish-Jewish relations during World War II, political opposition and independent publishing movement in the PRL (People’s Republic of Poland), important events in the contemporary history of Lublin and the Lublin region, cultural life, folk culture of the Lublin region.

Accounts (in text, audio and video formats) are accessible online. In the Centre’s Multimedia Library (www.biblioteka.teatrnn.pl), available are nearly 6 thousand thematic fragments of accounts concerning Lublin and over 50 other places in the region. Accessible via the Library are also iconographic materials of various sorts, obtained from the witnesses of history (photographs, documents, mind maps) and unpublished memories. It is worth emphasizing, that since January 2012, information about all of the recordings collected in the Centre is available online. Every oral account is described according to the Dublin Core standard. Oral accounts constitute an integral component of Centre’s educational portal (www.leksykon.teatrnn.pl), where, together with texts, iconographic materials and radio reports, they contribute to the story of specific places, people and events. What is more, the collected accounts are an inspiration and a reference for press and radio reports, documentary films, books and scientific papers. They are also used in  artistic and educational projects.

Our collection contains memories of prominent people from the world of culture and science, as well as accounts of the pre-1989 political opposition activists. Mention may be made, among others, of: prof. Władysław Bartoszewski, prof. Tadeusz Baszyński, Ewa Benesz, Seweryn Blumsztajn, Włodzimierz Borowski, Bogdan Borusewicz, prof. Tadeusz Chrzanowski, Edward Hartwig, Julia Hartwig, Michał Hochman, prof. Aleksander Jackowski, prof. Jerzy Jedlicki, prof. Jerzy Kłoczowski, Janusz Krupski, Leszek Mądzik, Tadeusz Mysłowski, Sława Przybylska, abp. Bolesław Pylak, fr. Ludwik Wiśniewski, prof. Jacek Woźniakowski.

>>> see the collection of Oral History Programme

We share our knowledge and experience by organizing trainings, workshops and presentations as part of the Oral History School.

We invite institutions, schools and individuals to cooperate with us. Let us create together an online archive of memory of Lublin and Lublin region citizens.

Translation: Jarosław Kobyłko

Contact: Wioletta Wejman - Programme Coordinator
e-mail: [email protected]
phone: + 48 81 53 258 67