Project Seeks U.S. Veterans in Austria during World World II

By Karin Peschka

Hello, my name is Karin Peschka. I live in Vienna, Austria and work as a project manager for ORF Network, the web company of the Austrian broadcasting company ORF.

My current project is very thrilling. It concerns the remembrance of the end of WWII 60 years ago.

For this reason we are trying to establish contact with US veterans, based in Austria in in April/May 1945. They will be interviewed by Austrian students.

History told by contemporary witnesses

“Narrated History” This project will be a narrated history from four allies UK, USA, France and countries of the former Soviet Union, presented at www.ORF.at and developed with pupils of four different Austrian schools. Each school “adopts” one of the four allies in this complex project.

Being a very ambitious history project, the challenge will be to work with foreign countries, to search for interview partners, and complete a focused questionnaire and journalistic work within the medium of the internet.

Austrian “American” Students interview US Veterans

I was very happy, when the American International School (AIS) in Vienna agreed to “adopt” the US-american part of the project. The students of the AIS will interview the veterans either through phone calls or e-mails.

After this, they will translate and adapt the interviews for the internet. So we will not only gain good first-hand interviews for the ORF Network project, the project would also help the students to understand history through the dialogue with the veterans. In addition they will get a well founded introduction in journalistic work, supported in all matters by ORF Network and backed by the US-embassy in Vienna.

Launch in April

The interviews will be published online at the ORF Network – together with essays of the students about their reflections of the end of the World War II and their field reports. The launch and presentation will take place in the middle of April 2005.

Unfortunately we can’t offer an English-version of the Website. A summary of all interviews could be arranged in English and sent to the participating veterans.

So, what do you think of our project? Would you like to participate?

If so, please write an e-mail (karin.peschka@orf.at) or send a fax (+43.1.502 77-21303) with your name, address, phone-number or e-mail address. I will transmit your contact to the students, who will get in touch with you soon.

Thank you for bringing an American perspective to our schools and broadcasting company in Vienna.