interviews in Auckland Libraries
In the early 1990s a group formed to start interviewing Holocaust survivors
who had come to New Zealand. The aim of the interviewing spread to include
others in the community such as ex servicemen and women and people who
had been active in the community for many years.
As the group was collecting these interviews, they became aware that there
were interviews in various places in the community which had never been
assembled and catalogued. The late Shirley Ross had interviewed a number of
people and Freda Narev and Claire Bruell oversaw the collection of many
more. These have now been brought together under the heading of
“Community Identities” and interviewing has continued and is ongoing.
The number of histories currently total approximately 60, dating as far back as the 1980s.
These interviews have been donated for deposit to Auckland Libraries Heritage
Collections to add to the Jewish community interviews already held there.
They are discoverable via Kura Heritage Collections Online, and access to
listening to the collections can be made through an online enquiry or via email
libraryresearch@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
The interviews needed work to be formatted and described in order to be
accessioned by the library. The Curator Oral History, Sue Berman has advised
us that the work has been completed and has sent a link to the listings in their
catalogue. Each interview is listed, along with a 1 minute segment of their
interview where available.
There will be many familiar names listed and we suggest that you explore the
link and take a trip down Memory Lane. The collection will go quite some way
to documenting the history of our community.
Auckland Jewish Oral History Collection: https://tinyurl.com/mvzfz22c
Claire Bruell
Judy Gluckman
Claudia Arieli
