Structure of the database
The database of testimonies contains several dozen entries, only some of which appear on the testimony abstract page. Other entries in the database allow for more detailed searches (see Advanced Search). Also, a full text search not only searches the testimony abstracts, but all the data in the database. For example, the database can be searched for a person’s name that does not appear in the abstract because that person did not play such an important role in the testimony. However, the database lists all the names that appear in the testimony and the user can find the person in the original text of the testimony.
When you click on the name of the witness whose testimony you are interested in, there is first a short introduction about the witness. In the case of certain witnesses who were prominent personalities, we provide more detailed information about their life and work. Unfortunately, there are few survivors for whom we do not know their year of birth or even their first name.
The core content of the database are detailed abstracts of Romani testimonies. The abstract is divided into three parts: before, during and after the war. Some of the testimonies do not describe the period before or after the war. The abstracts are supplemented by annotations (see Editorial Note to the Abstracts).
In the section Origin of Testimony there are notes by the editor of the testimony on the circumstances of the testimony and also the year it was taken.
