Recording Romani Voices, Documenting Romani Lives
Central European University
Quellenstrasse 51, 1100 Wien
Testimonies, oral histories, and ethnographic interviews are central sources for the writing of Romani history, in particular the documentation and memorialization of the Romani genocide, and a resource for pedagogical work to combat ongoing persecution against Roma in Europe. They also play a major role in Romani political debates. Nonetheless, Romani testimonies remain somewhat hidden from scholarship, and underappreciated for their unique ability to provide insight into the experiences of Roma survivors of genocide, as well as provide a rich picture of the past. At the same time, the origins and motivations behind the collection of testimony are varied, and not without controversy. Some earlier collections, for example, focus primarily on Romani folktales, songs, and stories, and could be viewed as catering to the desire for exotic outsiders rather than documenting lived experiences or reflect on the power relations that make these interviews possible. Other Romani testimonies stem from police efforts to surveil Romani populations. Despite their problematic origins, these sources remain essential for the (re)construction of Roma history and identity. Often the troubling histories of these archives also reveal long-standing mechanisms of exclusion and highlight methodological challenges peculiar to the collection of ego documents from continuously marginalized communities.
This workshop opens a discussion of these complex and important sources by putting a spotlight on the Romani testimonies held in major archives. It puts an emphasis on testimonies documenting the Romani genocide during the Second World War, including those held at the Fortunoff Video Archives. The workshop seeks to situate them in the larger context of Holocaust and Romani history and the efforts of scholars to tackle the epistemological and ethical challenges of oral history collecting. It also invites the participation of scholars in other fields dealing with testimonies whose approaches might inform discussions of Romani testimonies.
