In this panoramic survey of the contribution of oral sources to the international debate concerning historiography, the A. dwells upon the faculty individual recollections possess to disrupt the traditional public narratives, thus adding to the progress of historical reflection. Her investigation deals in particular with the research about the impact of total war on civilians: the Shoah, nazi massacres, bombardments, violence in general, the bloody conflicts subsequent to peace treaties and the settling of new borderlines.
Keywords: Individual memory, public narratives, oral history about war violence, second world war, second postwar period, traumatic memories