UNCOMFORTABLE ANCESTORS – CHALLENGING COMMEMORATION

This FWF-ESPRIT funded Post-doctoral project will be carried out at the Phonogrammarchiv of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. From a social anthropological perspective, this project examines the Central Asian sound collection of the Viennese Phonogrammarchiv, wherein soldiers from the former Soviet Central Asia had their voices recorded during World War II. The protocols, mainly written by a linguist Stephan Wurm, along with photographs and the recordings themselveswhich include legends, fairy tales, songs, and interviews in the native languagessuggest their collaboration with the Nazi regime. In Central Asia itself, this sensitive collection is still largely unknown. Accordingly, it is highly likely that most descendants of those recorded are unaware of the existence of their ancestors voices preserved in the Phonogrammarchiv in Vienna. The project undertakes an ethnographic examination of these recordings, employing restitution in the sense of sharing as an ethnographic method. By initiating the restitution or better said (re)circulation of the recordings to descendants of the recorded individuals in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, the project aims to reconnect sensitive materials with the cultural environments of their source communities. In this sense, (re)circulation is not the end of a process but potentially a starting point for the reintroduction of these historical materials. This project approaches the reaction towards these alleged uncomfortable ancestors be it in the realm of a family or in a wider local framework. Moreover providing the recordings to the source communities offers an opportunity to engage with different historiographies and contemporary perceptions of WWII on a local level, which have been little studied in the peripheral areas of the former Soviet Union. The recordings, protocols, and photographs open the floor for the investigation into the under-studied commemorative practices of the second and third generations of relatives in Central Asia regarding collaborationism during WWII. The aim of the project is to explore the ethical challenges of (re)circulating this sensitive collection and its impact/resonance in Central Asia, to gain a deeper and broader understanding of local commemorative practices. Engaging with different facets of memory will contribute to the expansion of memory studies in social anthropology and to the regional studies of Central Asia. Furthermore, the project seeks to develop responsible and collaborative ways of publishing and (re)circulating the recordings, prioritizing the protection of the descendants of those recorded. Finally, by making the long-unheard voices heard, it intends to enable multiple modes of listening far beyond the script for which these recordings were originally produced.