Introduction and project scope
The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta's Research Department has initiated a project to preserve the memories of holocaust survivors on the economics of daily survival. In collaboration with Kennesaw State University's Museum of History and Holocaust Education and the William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum, we are recording the personal narratives regarding the economies of daily life in these very desperate environments—prior to the war, during the war, in ghettos and camps, as well as the post-liberation period. Our first priority is to record the memories of firsthand witnesses, but we also welcome secondhand accounts.
For this project, our definition of economy is very broad. In essence, it describes the way people obtained the goods and services they needed for survival. Experience is likely to vary among individuals, and it can include, but is not limited to, ration system, bartering, black market activity, smuggling, forced labor and trade inside or outside the ghettos and camps.
With these interviews, we intend to record this little-documented aspect of history, preserving these memories for future research and education.
Use
After we record and transcribe the interviews, we intend to make them accessible to researchers as well as to the public for educational purposes. The digital files and transcripts will be archived at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and the William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum. Other uses of the interviews that are under discussion include publications, exhibitions, and online educational materials.
For more information or questions, please contact:
Sandra Kollen Ghizoni
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
1000 Peachtree St NE
Atlanta, GA 30309
404-498-8778
sandra.ghizoni@atl.frb.org
Michael Bryan
University of South Carolina
Darla Moore School of Business
mike.bryan@moore.sc.edu
Note: This project has been approved by and is carried out under the oversight of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at Kennesaw State University. For more information about the IRB, please visit kennesaw.edu/irb/.