Local memory on war, German occupation and postwar years. An oral history project in the Donbass

Abstract

This article presents the findings of a small oral history project carried out during the years 2001-2010 in the Eastern Ukrainian Donbass region. We learn from the interviews that loyalties were rather fragile and changed quite frequently during the war. The sharp lines of definition and categorisation which historians have created in dealing with the past do not fit wartime reality. Many people collaborated at one time and participated in Soviet resistance or fought in the Red Army at another. There were no clear lines between collaboration and resistance, but rather moral grey zones. Experiences of the occupation were diverse, and besides, experiences of terror and violence also included cultural and working experiences as well as various personal relationships with the German enemy. Therefore the authors argue for much more integrated research approaches trying to combine the wide range of different wartime experiences.