Cultural historical e-paths in Paleo Kostarazi Greece. The digitalization of oral history testimonies.

The scope of the present paper is to present a digital enhanced framework for the educational and tourist utilization of oral testimonies. Focusing on the local history of the village Paleo Kostarazi Kastoria in Greece, during the period of the German occupation, we aim to develop an e-path connecting past and present. In particular, we present the design of a digital map serving as a tool for the narration of the incidents of April 13th 1944 when the German occupation authorities burned down the village in retaliation. Audio material from relevant oral history research is interlinked with photographic material focused on places of interest and enhanced by historical archives in the form of useful bibliography. The e-path created follows the thematic axes emerging from the data analysis of the research. 

The following themes occured from the thematic analysis by comparing the information and facts that each informant shared in the interview: Before the traumatic event, People's reactions in those critical days, The causes of the village's burning down, After the village's burning down, Events from the stay of the Germans in the village, What do people think about that event today. Within the educational context, oral history methodological approaches allow students to develop historical thinking strategies and engage them dynamically working with vivid memories. Moreover, they realize that they must approach oral testimonies with a critical and inquiring eye. The educational implementation of the particular digital tool is expected to offer benefits such as intergenerational communication and cohesion as different generations are involved and share their experiences, and strengthen community bonds as students gain experiences that help them understand what it is like to be someone else. Moreover, the proposed educational tasks aim to enhance historical thinking strategies and enable students to provide answers of content knowledge, such as "when", "who", "where" but also to proceed with careful justifications addressing "why". Thus, interpret and provide explanations on the recurring themes. In the context of creating cultural tourist routes, the digitalization of the oral testimonies in a coherent way is expected to provide quality information with added value signifying Paleo Kostarazi as a place of interest for visitors of the area and researchers interested in the period of the German occupation in Greece. Taking into consideration that nowadays Paleo Kostarazi is an uninhabited area, the digital map design serves both as a means to preserve and promote cultural identity and contributes to the enrichment of travel experience.