Oosthaven 31, Virnly’s home has housed the Israelite Old Men and Women’s Home for several years at the time this photo was taken (1904). Photo: SAHM
19 October 1954 – Interviewer Dr. J.G.W.F. Bik, chairman of the Oudheidkundige Kring Die Goude, had managed to seize a so-called wire-recorder, a then very modern invention and early predecessor of the advanced tape recorder. The device was capable of ‘recording the spoken word on a kind of thick steel wire, after which the sound could later be played back. ‘The wire-recorder was used at Geert Bouwmeester’s De Goudse Insurance Company for dictating letters. But Dr. Bik was able to borrow the device for an evening, allowing the three very elderly Gouda residents to speak their highly personal childhood memories ‘live’ into the microphone. These conversations were later typed out on paper’. And so it is still possible to read what Messrs. S.H. van der Kraats, B.H. van der Werve and D.L. Dijkxhoom confided to the public and the wire-recorder in conversation with Bik. B.H. van der Werve, born on West Haven, was the oldest interviewee at 91. He had been a bailiff by profession and also a commissioner of the Werkinrichting tot Wering der Bedelarij for thirty years. S.H. (Sybrand) van der Kraats, father of the later editor-in-chief of the Goudsche Courant, Siep van der Kraats, was custodian of the library. Nothing further is mentioned about Dijkxhoorn (87 years).
In recent years, many testimonials from Bruges residents on specific subjects have been collected. They told their story and selections from the interviews could be listened to via audio or video via the website www.verhalenbankbrugge.be and www.brugseverhalen.be. However, technical problems forced us to take both websites offline. All interviews are kept in the Bruges City Archives and can be consulted there. Please contact Stadsarchiefbrugge.be for more information.
You can download the full list of interviewees here.
Brussels narrated and unveiled (2002-2003)
Brussels at work (2003-2004)
The great and small history of the cobblestone (2003-2004)
The Flemish Memory of Brussels (2011-2012)
As a community archive, the AMVB wants to keep its finger on the pulse of what touched and moves Dutch-speaking Brussels residents. This is why the AMVB is enthusiastically collecting personal testimonies from Vic Anciaux, Jacky Duyck, Clara Haesaert, Louis Van Geyt, among others…. Using the oral history methodology, Dutch-speaking Brussels residents are being interviewed about the North Quarter, butchers’ shops, amateur theatre, rederijkerij and Dutch-speaking socio-cultural club life.
The results of the initiatives Brussels told and unlocked (2002-2003), Brussels at work (2003-2004), The large and small history of the cobblestone (2003-2004) and The Flemish Memory of Brussels (2011-2012) – in total more than 70 interviews – can be listened to via the digital reading room. You can also view the disclosure sheet and photo of the interviewee there.
Publications
De-grote-en-kleine-geschiedenis-van-de-kassei
ARDUIN 12 – MONDELINGE GESCHIEDENIS
Article
Number of interviews: unknown
Available on YouTube: 11
Recording human memory as a source for historical research and history about certain events, times and circumstances. The stories are recorded, archived and used for publications and/or audiovisual presentations. More than 20 subjects have been fully worked out by now, for which many people were interviewed.
YouTube channel Vroeger en Nu – Driebergen
Rijckheyt, centre for regional history in Heerlen
Number of interviews: 4
Number of videos: 21
Interviewer: Luc Wolters, History Present
Camera: Roger van der Poel, Media Profile Landgraaf
Dated: December 2007 – Januari 2008
In the municipality of Simpelveld, an attempt was made in the past to bring oral history to life, together with the local history society and Rijckheyt. The aim of the project was to use oral tradition to record memories of events and circumstances from the past, using images and sound. Four people were interviewed. This resulted in a large amount of unique film material. In the surroundings of Simpelveld Mrs. A. Hamers-Dautzenberg from the Huls and Mr. Sjeng Schrijvers (also known as Agricola) from Bosschenhuizen were interviewed. In Bocholtz we talked to Mr. Guus Herbergs and Mrs. Tilla Schleck-Lommen.
It was not only extremely fascinating to listen to the content of the interviews, but also the way in which the participants told their stories. This way not only the stories are preserved but also the pronunciation of the own “dialect” and the differences in this case between Bocholtz and Simpelveld. Important to preserve for the future because the original pronunciations become more and more polluted.
* Source: De Bongerd, year 20 no 2 2008
The interviewers of De Stem van Leiden have spoken to dozens of older Leiden people about life in the past in the key city.
The oral history project, which started in 2015, is rock solid and is still ongoing.
A clear manual has been made for interviewers and two information leaflets to hand out, both for people who want to tell about the past and for people who are interested in interviewing.
An overview of all the stories resulting from the interviews by the committee De Stem van Leiden, which is part of the Historische Vereniging Oud Leiden and works together with Erfgoed Leiden en Omstreken and the Opleiding Geschiedenis of Leiden University.
De geschiedenis verteld – De Stem van Leiden
In Hou t was Groningers – the title says it all – tell about their lives in the past. This resulted in interesting, recognisable and sometimes moving stories, which were broadcast by RTV Noord. These television reports generally lasted about seven minutes and were supported by suitable visual material from the collection of GAVA and the Groninger Archives, which can be viewed via filmbankgroningen.
The complete and unedited interviews with these Groningers last on average over an hour. The stories are also extensively summarised and presented in fragments, in Dutch. The interviews are usually in the Groningen language. This is the language in which the interviewees can best express themselves and feel comfortable with. The setting in which the interviewees tell their stories is also designed for this: their own living rooms, sitting in easy chairs. These unedited interviews can be viewed here by searching for the name of the interviewee.
The stories in Hou t was are eyewitness reports and do not necessarily reflect historical reality. They are people’s personal memories, but that does not make them any less valuable. Their lives have conformed to them.
Story Bank:
verhalenbank
House of the history of Nijmegen:
HUIS VAN DE NIJMEEGSE GESCHIEDENIS.NL
Number of interviews: 46
The Story Bank is a platform for people and organisations involved in oral history in and about Nijmegen. The aim is to collect and preserve stories about the city’s past to make historical research possible now and in the future.
46 transcriptions of interviews with inhabitants of Nijmegen about various events and periods of time that have been collected through the story bank are stored in the Regional Archives of Nijmegen, under number 1601.
On the initiative of the City Archives of Breda, Breda residents talk about living, working and life in Breda then and now. Guest interviewers record these spoken stories on film.
We regularly add new interviews to the Oral History Project. These interviews can be seen at Breda Vertelt.
Historian Kees Wouters interviewed eyewitnesses of important events in Breda’s recent history. The films he has recorded since 2009 (about the years before, during and immediately after the Second World War) contain many personal experiences that further colour the image of historical reality.
The collection of Kees Wouters comprises 116 videos of between 4 and 10 minutes.
All videos from Breda’s Oral History project can be viewed via Youtube.
