Remembering the Space Age. - Black Vault Radio Network (BVRN)

OperatION paperCLIp IN hUNtSVILLe, aLaBaMa
evaluate certain events from today’s perspective, one can learn which narratives
of the past have dominated and which have been marginalized and, with closer
analysis, the societal discourses that infuence the telling of the stories over time
can be discerned.
there are many reasons for scholars to use oral histories in their research.
Sometimes it is a way to humanize the subject matter and give it a sense of
reality. In other cases, oral histories may be the only source available, thereby
functioning as evidence in lieu of, or as a supplement to, written documents.
I use oral history in a diferent manner. I am interested in the storytelling of
oral history, (i.e., the struggle over memory). What parts of the past do people
fnd important or signifcant to their lives, and how does that interact with
the way they talk about events in the past and the present? how are these
stories afected by the individual’s position in relationship to dominant groups
in society? What do discrepancies and errors tell us about “the work of desire
and pain over time?” 4
Because those on the margins of society are often afected very diferently
by changes at the center, listening to their stories allows us to question the logic
and dynamics of dominant narratives. as pointed out earlier, knowing who
is speaking from the margin or from the center is not always as clear for this
project because it is determined by what grouping we focus on as the center.
For example, while the German rocket engineers and their families were a
minority group with unique histories and cultural backgrounds in huntsville,
their perceived “otherness” was based primarily on positive distinctions. Despite
national and international scrutiny, they do not seem to have lost their status
as a powerful minority that has adjusted to and blended in easily with the
white Christian majority of huntsville—making them part of “the center” in
huntsville. as members of a minority group, their positions were very diferent
from those of other minority groups (e.g., members of the african american
community). however, the idealization of the German rocket team by many
huntsvillians contrasts with national and international perceptions. So, while
the German minority is part of the huntsville majority, in regard to the German
rocket engineers, huntsville’s majority perspective refects that of a minority
within the nation and internationally. 5 this distinction is particularly important
for this project because the main issue I grapple with is how narrations of the
past refect changing power structures (who is marginalized in reference to
whom), sometimes reinforcing old structures, and sometimes creating new and
unexpected alliances.
4. alessandro portelli, The Order Has Been Carried Out: History, Memory and Meaning of a Nazi
Massacre in Rome, 1st palgrave Macmillan ed. (New York, NY: palgrave Macmillan, 2003), p. 16.
5. the question of national and international perspectives needs clarifcation because it depends
largely on defnitions of who speaks for the national or international community. this is a
weakness of this paper that will be addressed in detail in my larger work.
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