by Veronika Schallhart and Thiemo Kronlechner [University of Vienna]
Preparing for interviews and working together with experts and university students
Moving from biography to personal experiences requires thoughtful planning. In the last part (see also part 1 and part 2) of the workshop at the Archive of the University of Vienna, we focused on preparing for one of the most sensitive elements of the MemoriaLink: getting in touch with descendants or people close to the persons who were expelled. To enable the workshop participants to build a bridge between the past and the present and bring history to life for them, we planned to arrange interviews. We contacted the potential interview candidates in advance and asked for their consent. The reactions to our requests were surprisingly positive. Each group of four to five pupils of our participating school students was assigned a table in the Archive’s reading room or ceremonial hall. In the following lesson, the pupils designed a poster showing the most important stages in the life of the respective expelled person. After a period of intensive and dedicated work, the groups presented ‘their’ individuals who were expelled from the University. This gave all workshop participants an overview of the dramatic impact that National Socialism had on people, especially on those with Jewish roots. Even though eight of the ten individuals survived the Nazi era, all their families lost family members to the Holocaust. The presentations provided an opportunity to ask questions and give feedback. Afterwards, there was still time to refine the biographies and discuss organisational matters relating to the interview and video.
Buddies to assist with interviews
The school students participating in this project will be supported by three prospective history teachers who are studying at the University of Vienna. These three buddies will be available to help the school students prepare and conduct the interviews. Production of videos The final goal of the pilot project is to produce video portraits of the ten selected persons who were expelled from the University. The videos will feature relevant locations and documents as well as excerpts from the video interviews. The specifications for the video are 3 to 5 minutes in length, landscape format and a uniform outro. Beyond that, the students are free to design the video portraits as they wish. Presentation on 19 November, Gymnasium am Augarten The videos will be presented in the school’s ceremonial hall. This will allow students who are not involved in the project to attend the presentation.