Peer-reviewed articles Oral history of our time Challenges and visualization

The article explores how the ongoing Russian–Ukrainian war is transforming the discussion around the oral history method under the conditions of an active war and analyzes the potential of the graphic novel as a new form of publishing oral history sources. The focus is on the theoretical, methodological, and practical dimensions of oral history, as well as on the question of which forms of public representation become relevant in the situation of an ongoing event. Drawing on the project “Graphic Narratives about the War” (archival interviews from the 1990s and new recordings from 2022–2024, created in cooperation with the NeuengammeConcentration Camp Memorial), the article demonstrates how the combination of interviews and original graphic art influences the construction, interpretation, and affective perception of narratives. The theoretical section of the article outlines key conceptualizations of oral history as theory, method, and practice, distinguishes between “documentation” and “oral history” within the context of the “unfinished past,” and argues for the ethical foundations for choosing the graphic format. The empirical section describes the working process — from selecting and transcribing interviews to script adaptation, collaboration with artists, and decisions regarding content, form, format, and dissemination of the publication. The study contributes to current discussions on oral history in times of crisis, and public humanities, proposing the graphic narrative as a safe and meaningful tool for representing oral testimonies in the context of an ongoing war.

Published in the printed edition of Baltic Worlds BW 2025:4, pages 56-69
Published on balticworlds.com on December 18, 2025

abstract

The article explores how the ongoing Russian–Ukrainian war is transforming the discussion around the oral history method under the conditions of an active war and analyzes the potential of the graphic novel as a new form of publishing oral history sources. The focus is on the theoretical, methodological, and practical dimensions of oral history, as well as on the question of which forms of public representation become relevant in the situation of an ongoing event. Drawing on the project “Graphic Narratives about the War” (archival interviews from the 1990s and new recordings from 2022–2024, created in cooperation with the NeuengammeConcentration Camp Memorial), the article demonstrates how the combination of interviews and original graphic art influences the construction, interpretation, and affective perception of narratives. The theoretical section of the article outlines key conceptualizations of oral history as theory, method, and practice, distinguishes between “documentation” and “oral history” within the context of the “unfinished past,” and argues for the ethical foundations for choosing the graphic format. The empirical section describes the working process — from selecting and transcribing interviews to script adaptation, collaboration with artists, and decisions regarding content, form, format, and dissemination of the publication. The study contributes to current discussions on oral history in times of crisis, and public humanities, proposing the graphic narrative as a safe and meaningful tool for representing oral testimonies in the context of an ongoing war.

KEYWORDS: Oral history, interview, narrative, war, graphics, ethics, research, challenges, Ukraine, Kharkiv, historians, scientists.

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Svitlana Telukha