EXPERIENCE OF ORAL HISTORY RESEARCH IN GERMAN HISTORICAL SCIENCE

The article undertakes an analytical review of the scientific school of oral history in Germany. The author considers the place and role of oral history in German historiography, analyzes the work of German scientists dealing with the problems of using oral history methods in humanitarian research, highlights the methods, main directions and developments in oral history research in this country. It is emphasizes that German oral history is characterized not so much by the collection and publication of oral sources, but by the interpretation of oral evidence, and not by their mechanical collection. The scientific novelty of the materials presented in the article lies in the identification of the specifics and functionality of the German scientific school of oral history in the context of panEuropean history.