Vol. 2 (2026)
Oral Data Use and Re-use

«Die waren beide in Wien geboren». I luoghi nelle interviste narrative dell’Austrian Heritage Archive

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  • Isabella Ferron
Isabella Ferron
Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Italy
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/oar-3487

Published 2026-05-12

Keywords

  • narrative interview,
  • places,
  • positioning,
  • identity

How to Cite

Ferron, I. (2026). «Die waren beide in Wien geboren». I luoghi nelle interviste narrative dell’Austrian Heritage Archive. Oral Archives Journal, 2, 41–55. https://doi.org/10.36253/oar-3487

Copyright (c) 2026 Isabella Ferron

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

This article investigates the role of place in narrative interviews from the Austrian Heritage Archive (AHA) through a close reading of two exemplary accounts by Austrian Jewish citizens who fled National Socialism. Drawing on a systematic analysis of spatial and temporal references, deictic expressions, position and motion verbs, epistemic markers, and instances of code-switching, the study elucidates the role of both private and public places, paying particular attention to childhood locations in Vienna, – as anchors for memory, narrative organisation, and discursive positioning. The findings demonstrate how spatial references enable speakers to integrate individual, familial, and historical experiences, performing agency and negotiating identity within the framework of autobiographical narrative.

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