Reclaiming Agency Through Conversation: Life Narrative Interviews of German-speaking Jews in Israel

During the 1990s and 2000s, various authors published collections of oral interviews with Israeli Jews who had been born in German-speaking countries, known as Yekkes. The use of oral testimonies for systematic historical research presents several methodological challenges. However, the Yekke interviews provide a captivating glimpse into a world that no longer exists. This paper explores whether and how historians can use such collections in their work. These oral history interviews, I argue, offer a rare perspective on how Yekkes negotiate their belonging and loyalty between Germany and Israel, between Germanness and Israeliness.