StarDestroyer.Net BBS

A little background. My stepmother is the child of what used to be called 'new Australians'; post-war immigrants displaced from Europe. Her mother, who died last week, was Belorussian, and had been sent to Germany in the 30s to be married off as part of a long-term business arrangement which didn't quite pan out(on the marriage end, certainly). Her father, now 97, is a Pole and had been in the army. He was actually drummed out just before everything got really interesting in September 1939, and then went into the the resistance, got captured, wound up in a labour camp near Dusseldorf, and saw the war out there. His recollections are so amazing that I've become interested into committing them to posterity, but clearly I need to try and corroborate them. I have little experience into personal historical research, and I'm not sure where to begin.

With this in mind, I appeal to the board for suggestions in building a framework on which to hang the narrative, and to anyone that might be able to point me in the direction of polish military records and related items that might yield further leads, if not solid information.

Get his words first as a priority. While you can and all that.

I agree. Get as much as you can, while you can.

When you've got a sufficient amount, you can then pick the best way to relate the tale.

I've already got a bunch of notes, and I'm going to get a recorder so I have sessions to listen to. This isn't the problem, though I am aware that there is a definite time limit on that front. The problem is where to begin looking for confirmation of his stories, or at least supporting evidence. It's not merely to ensure that these stories will survive him, though that is of paramount importance. It's also because as far as he knows there is no public record of what he did(or tried to do) for his country, which in these times of self-reflection(remember, his wife of seven decades has just passed away) are coming up as a regret for him. I have a hope, however vain, that I can do something to alleviate this.

I would not worry about supporting evidence at this time. He's old, his memory will contain errors and stuff he made up over the decades. Just pick his brain for everything he can remember. Even a full-on made up story will contain tidbits of truth and insight into the time in which he lived. Just get everything on tape and paper as quickly as you can. You'll have all the time you need to fact-check and organize it once he's gone...don't waste time with it now.

If you want this to be worth anything for historians, keep a clear structure to talk about things and keep any other evidence he brings up. Eyewitness accounts are worth little because they contain so many erorrs, so better to do some things structured. For example, maybe start with one session talking about just one period, for example the period before he was in the army. Childhood and similar stuff. Then next session start with if he remembered anything else about that.

A tape recorder is a must - or you must be a great transcript writer.

Try and provide him with some sort of visual aids and cues to help him remember stuff. And it's best for you to have a talk with him before you begin the formal interview.

This will help to improve his recollection and at the same time ensure that the recording will go smoothly.

Visual aids are not a good idea unless he tells you first. Too suggestive otherwise. In general, you want to avoid giving any suggestions other than a broad structure or a specific question.

You're not wrong about specifying periods. In the casual discussions that we're had until now, he'll be talking about the war one minute and then suddenly it's 1960 in rural Victoria.

I'll keep you guys posted on developments.

One thing, and I'm sure you're already doing this, is to not push too hard. No need to stress him out over the fine details and risk that cutting off memories he might have otherwise shared with you.