A journey to reclaim scattered memories

BAVARIA, Germany — The organizing committee of the China International Oral History Exhibition has launched its first mission to retrieve memories in Germany, seeking to recover family and national histories scattered beyond China's borders while introducing Chinese oral history projects to German audiences.

At the invitation of the German-Chinese Association for Economy, Education and Culture, the committee spent six days in Bavaria in early October, organizing exhibitions and talks in Munich and Landshut.

Posters and short films from several oral history projects, including "Classic TV Drama Memories" and "Searching for the Wandering Soul of Loyalty", were presented to German visitors and members of the local Chinese community.

A dedicated display featured projects showcased on the exhibition's platform, including the documentaries The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru, The Six and Finding Iris Chang, alongside family, industry and art histories compiled by independent scholars.

The projects covered a wide range of subjects, from the Daqing oilfield battle and China’s industry to the memories of the Mosuo people and the architecture of Zhenliu Apartments. They also explored the Nanjing Massacre and the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) in western Yunnan, highlighting the breadth of oral history research in China. Newer formats were also represented, including the Story FM podcast, an oral history project based in a teahouse stall in Fuzhou, East China's Fujian province, and a folk arts platform in Lingnan, South China.

Among the most significant outcomes of the visit were interviews that captured more than half a century of people-to-people ties between China and Germany.