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“Oral history” w studiach nad biografiami zbiorowymi na przykładzie dziejów Melanii Zniszczyńskiej

100%

Jackowska K.

Przegląd Wschodnioeuropejski

2010

vol. 1

63-77

Since its beginnings, oral history has raised many controversies. Its opponents voiced the opinion that spoken sources are subjective, unreliable and unrepresentative. Supporters believed, however, that the spoken word is a credible source of information on historical facts. Views were altered in the mid 1980s: enthusiasts were of opinion that the technique is not to be used to document facts and events instead of the way in which these events are remembered by respondents. It seems that the technique could prove especially useful in the studies of collective biographies, in the broad meaning of the term. This theory could be verified by comparing data gathered with this method with factual materials. Can oral descriptions reliably supplement traditional sources of information, or become the basic source of information when others are unavailable? Research on the topic was based on empirical materials – the family heirlooms of Melania Herman from the Zniszczyński family: mother of Czesław Herman, a renowned lawyer from Olsztyn, musician and traveler. These ones were chosen because of their completeness, chronological continuity, and as they are representative of a particular social group. Melania’s daughter-in-law, Halina Herman contributed a photograph of Melania as well as other documents concerning the Herman, Snarski and Zniszczyński families, to the Museum of Warmia and Masuria. The Hermans repatriated to Olsztyn in 1945, sharing the fate of many relocated Poles. Their history mirrors the histories of the whole generation of Polish intelligentsia from Polish eastern frontier. It allows us to learn about the events which took place in the eastern regions of Poland and shows what influenced the lives of the current inhabitants of Warmia and Masuria region.