The first twenty-five years of life in post-socialist Europe have seen vast political, economic, and cultural changes, as societies that lived under communist rule struggle with the traumas of the past and the challenges of the future. In this context, oral history has acquired a unique role in understanding the politics of memory and the practice of history.

Drawing on research conducted in Belarus, Germany, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine, Reclaiming the Personal introduces theory and practice in this vital and distinctive area to a global audience. Focusing on issues such as repressed memories of the Second World War, the economic challenges of late socialism, and the experience of the early post-socialist transition, the essays underscore the political implications of oral history research in post-socialist Europe and highlight how oral history research in the region differs from that being conducted elsewhere.

Natalia Khanenko-Friesen is an associate professor of cultural anthropology and the head of the Department of Religion and Culture at St. Thomas More College, University of Saskatchewan.

Natalia Khanenko-Friesen's profile page

Gelinada Grinchenko is a professor in the Department of Ukrainian Studies at V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University and the head of the Ukrainian Oral History Association.

Gelinada Grinchenko's profile page

"The publishing of such an edited volume is definitely timely. The research cases pull back the curtain from the life stories of those people who were unseen, marginalized, and underestimated during the communist era."

<em>Anthropology of East Europe Review</em>

"The varying level of analytical sophistication makes it easy to imagine using Reclaiming the Personal in a variety of graduate and undergraduate contexts and disciplines. For more advanced scholars, the anthology provides useful glimpses of rarely acknowledged tensions within post-Soviet societies…"

Oral History Review

‘The volume is an excellent collection of how different researchers address bias in oral history research… It is an excellent source of qualitative data on "less talked-about" experiences of socialism, and an interesting exposition of case study addressing narrator bias in oral history research.’

Oral History Forum vol 37:2017

"I recommend this volume to anyone working in the region and interested in oral history and ethnography, and more generally to those interested in historical narratives and unfinished stories."

Canadian Slavonic Papers

‘The individual analyses of diverse oral testimonies make a compelling case for the value of individual accounts of the critical moments in 20th century history. These personal perspectives bring to light narratives under-represented in official histories.’

Slavic Review Summer 2017