Each partner institution chose a specific moment in contemporary history. In the context of these historical events, contemporary witnesses were interviewed about their personal experiences.
Perspective of ethnic minorities
In Austria we asked for the perspective of Carinthian Slovenes on historical events. The ethnic minority in the south of Austria was persecuted under National Socialism and fought for their rights for decades after the war.
March 1968 in Poland
In Poland, the communist regime used the 1968 student protests as a pretext for anti-Semitic repression. Ten thousand Polish Jews lost their jobs and were expelled from Poland. The interviewees talk about their flight and their new beginnings in foreign countries.
Decolonisation: From Belgian Congo to Brussels
Two women who spent their very different childhoods in the former Belgian colony in the Congo and had to flee to Brussels in 1960 talk about their lives in both worlds in the Belgian interviews.
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EU and History
Along the chronicle of the development of the European Union, contemporary witnesses tell their individual life stories. Complex and abstract history meets personal stories.
European internal migration
In Sweden, the interviews focus on the right to work in another Member State and to be treated equally to nationals. People from Greece who live and work in Sweden talk about their experiences.
Changing Regimes in the Konavle Region
The Croatian interviews deal with the effects of changing governance in the Konavle region during the 1940s. Neighbours grew up a few metres apart in different school systems with different historical narratives.
Flight and expulsion
In Germany, we conducted interviews with members of German minorities had to leave the countries formerly occupied by Nazis after 1945. We also interviewed people who had to flee Afghanistan in recent years and Bosnia during the Balkan War.
The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.