> COH > Interview collections

One of the main goals of the Oral History Center (Centrum orální historie, COH) has always been to establish an office which would be comparable to international oral history centers from both the technical and material perspective. We are happy to say that over the years we are getting closer to achieving this goal and to reaching an international standard in cataloguing and archiving material. At present, COH has at its disposal equipment that enables the audio recording (digital recorders using Mini Disc® technology, a digital data logger, and a digital video camera) and digital computer processing of the recordings and their preservation on modern data media (DVDs and CD-ROMs). COH archives recordings acquired through its own projects and also keeps the recordings of some projects conducted by colleagues. In recognition of the projects it has developed, COH has been accredited at the Office for Personal Data Protection of the Czech Republic. The Center also intends to gather information about the collections of interviews that were carried out and archived at other Czech institutions (universities, galleries, archives).

In accordance with standard research principles, the interview collections are accessible to researchers based upon prior agreement with COH employees and after filling out a research form (badatelský list). Although the collections are being inventoried and archived at the moment, the material will be made available to researchers by agreement. The list of interview collections and details about the holdings and relevant inventory information are shown below. If you are interested in studying any of the collections mentioned below, please contact one of our COH employees:

Petra Schindler  schindler@usd.cas.cz
Pavel Mücke  mucke@usd.cas.cz
Hana Pelikánová  pelikanova@usd.cas.cz

If you would like to use quotes from material archived at COH for your own academic research or for your thesis, please cite (in italics) the name of the institution where it is archived (in this case the Institute for Contemporary History, ÚSD), the name of the department where it is archived (i.e. COH), then the name of the collection (i.e. “Interviews” or “Rozhovory”), the name and the surname of the narrator, the name and the surname of the interviewer and finally the date on which the interview took place.

For example:

ÚSD, COH, collection Interviews. Interview with Miroslav Štěpán conducted by Miroslav Vaněk, 29/07/2003.

ÚSD, COH, collection Interviews. Interview with Petr Placák conducted by Petra Trypesová, 18/09/2003.

Interview collections:

An Investigation in the Czech Society of the „Normalization“ Era: Biographic Narrations of Workers and Intelligentsia

The research project as submitted aims was to realize interviews with members of the “less-visible“ strata groups of the Czech population during the so-called „normalization“ era by means of oral history method. Principal attention was drawn to development and changes in opinion and attitude of the working class as well as the intelligentsia towards the normalization regime. Narrators from the worker professions were selected among those working in small as well in large enterprises, in various field of industry. Members of intelligentsia, i.e. university graduates were recruited among teachers, physicians, scientists, artists, justice apparatus, or former management.During the project were finally recorded (in Czech) 113 inverviews – 61 with „working-class“ members a 51 with „inteligentsia-class“ members.

Detailed list /archiv DI_10.2.09.xls/

Catholic samizdat in Czechoslovakia during the 1980s

8 interviews with narrators from catholic circles – recorded by Marta Edith Holečková (2005-2007), in Czech

Detailed list /Katolicky samizdat.xsl/
 

Political Elites and Dissidents during the Period of So-called Normalization - Historical Interviews – A collection of 120 life stories from ex-communist officials and representatives of anti-regime dissent in Czechoslovakia. The interviews are preserved mainly on mini-discs; transcripts of all interviews are available. The collection has a total of c. 400 h audio recording and almost 6000 pages of transcription.
Detailed list /Archiv-PED.xls/

Students in the Period of the Fall of Communism - Life Stories – A collection of 100 interviews with participants (then-university students) in the November 1989 events in Czechoslovakia. It includes interviews with narrators from all of the regions in Czechoslovakia with a university in 1989. The recordings are preserved on audio tapes (both mini-cassette and standard) and CD-ROMs, and were conducted in Czech. Detailed list /Archiv-STUDENTI.xls/

Czech Exiles and Emigrés – A collection of interviews (currently numbering 29) from an ongoing project with Czech citizens who emigrated especially after 1948 and 1968 and, in the course of the 1990s, decided to come back to Czechoslovakia/the Czech Republic. The interviews are preserved on CD-ROMs and were conducted in English.

The People of Charter 77 – A collection of 36 interviews with Charter 77 representatives conducted during 1994 – 1996 for the project “The Community and Personalities of Charter 77“. Květa Jechová, Ilona Christl, Zuzana Sloupová and Eva Stehlíková took part in the project. Only transcripts of the interviews are available.
Detailed list /Archiv-CHARTA.xls/

The Prison Facilities at Vojna and Bytíz in the Memories of Political Prisoners – A collection of 7 interviews with political prisoners from the 1950s, conducted in 2004 by Jana Melicharová for her Master's thesis (Faculty of Education at Charles University).

The Lennon Wall in Prague. Informal Youth Gatherings at Kampa 1980-1989 –
A collection of 5 interviews conducted during 2002 – 2004 by Filip Pospíšil (Faculty of Humanities at Charles University).

The memories of MG Ing Rudolf Pernický, a participant in the parachute operation Tungsten – The collection consists of 3 interviews conducted at the end of 2003 by Marie Matúšů (Faculty of Arts at Charles University).

The memories of General Colonel Jaroslav Klemeš, a participant in the parachute operation Platinum-Pewter – The collection consists of 2 interviews conducted by Marie Matúšů in 2005. Only audio recordings are available.

The 1989 November Events in Plzeň – A collection of 8 interviews with active participants (students, actors and independent activists) in the November 1989 events in Plzeň. The interviews are recorded on standard audiotapes and were conducted in Czech.

Ten Days in Prague (Deset pražských dnů) – Interviews with 12 activists representing various political orientations about the course of events in November 1989. The collection consists of 14 standard audiotapes (20 hours of recording) in the Czech language.

The Round Table Negotiations – CF (Civic Forum) and CCP (Czechoslovak Communist Party) meetings from 26 November to 15 December 1989. Authentic recordings from the meetings of the Civic Forum and Public Against Violence delegations with the representatives of state power in November and December 1989. It consists of 17 standard audio tape recordings (27 hours). In Czech and Slovak.