What forms of memory are needed today in societies that become home to immigrants? The oral history project sees the memories of people who have migrated to Germany as an integral part of German post-war history and preserves them from oblivion and denial. A digital memory site has collected 42 documentary film interviews with people who arrived in Germany (West or East) during the last 70 years. They speak of roots and of exile, of what immigration means – testifying to a multi-layered, thrilling narrative of this country’s history. The digital archive makes these stories permanently available to the public and places them at the disposal of political education and migration research. An installation featuring the interviews, hosted by the Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW), marked their publication on 30 September 2021. Political education projects have been initiated in workshops with school students and teachers; several days of conference devoted to specific issues raised by the Archive brought together theoreticians and activists to discuss the need for a pluralistic understanding of society.
Curated by Carolin Emcke and Manuela Bojadžijev
Under the patronage of Germany’s President Frank-Walter Steinmeier
The political education materials for use with the Archive of Refuge were produced in close partnership between the Cultural Education team at HKW and mediale pfade with funding from the Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung.
Archive of Refuge is a Haus der Kulturen der Welt project.
The online archive and the production of the filmed interviews were funded by the Federal Cultural Foundation.
Text and more information on hkw.de