The Workshop of Remembrance (Werkstatt der Erinnerung) is an oral history archive based at the Institute for Contemporary History in Hamburg. The archive mainly holds interviews with members of social, religious or ethnic groups in Hamburg that were persecuted by the Nazi regime.

However, we also have interviews related to the Weimar Republic and, increasingly, on more recent themes in the history of Hamburg, extending into the 1970s. Our collection currently contains over 1,000 interviews and continues to grow.

The archive is open to students, academic researchers, journalists, museum employees and any other individuals or groups who are engaged in historical research and are interested in using original statements by contemporary witnesses. We also welcome those who have conducted historical interviews and would like to make these available through our archive for research purposes.

As an oral history archive we believe in expanding our collection by accepting interviews from external oral history projects. We also offer advice and supervision for external projects, including assistance in questions of interview conduct, archiving and project development.

If you are interested in visiting the Werkstatt der Erinnerung, simply contact us by phone or e-mail to arrange an appointment.

Since most of our interviews are conducted and recorded in German, research in the archive requires a good knowledge of German. Nevertheless, we are always happy to receive and deal with enquiries in English.

Dr. Linde Apel
(Director)
Tel: 040 – 43 13 97 26
Email

Janine Schemmer
(Research Associate)
Tel.: 040 – 43 13 97 23
Email