The Memory of the Twentieth Century Project was launched in the autumn of 2010. The project became embedded as one of its own by the Legenda Cultural Association in the beginning of 2011. The Memory of the Twentieth Century (from now on: HSZE), a virtual collection of life-story interviews, became available online at www.hsze.hu in February 2012, after several months of a trial version.

HSZE is an oral history website, with the following goals: wider publicity, easier access, precise and multi-purpose annexes, as well as bilingualism (Hungarian – English).

The results of HSZE so far:

Interviews:

The site was originally launched with two sample interviews (those of Vladimír Vujovits and Péter Galicza).

Our first goals was to make the site available, develop the system of uploading information, so as so enable us to search and apply for funds for the further development and maintenance of the site.

Two interviews online – despite their considerable size and annexes – is not that much as can be called a collection yet, so in the summer of 2012 a third interview was uploaded (that of Frigyes Lamberger).

We are currently preparing the fourth and fifth interviews for publication (those of János Nemes and Péter Grawátsch).

Website:

The website was launched in a very economical fashion, which meant a gradual, step-by-step approach in practice.

After the initial launch in February the admin part of the website was finalized in April, enabling any editors to upload files, as well as edit those interviews that already have been published. Until this point only the root administrator could upload files, which slowed things down considerably.

During the summer the Index sections accompanying the interviews were redesigned. Unfortunately this can only be seen as the Lamberger-interview, but the older versions are temporarily still available for the others.

During the autumn we have changed the system for uploading photographs as annexes of the interviews. The first version did not allow for the scripts to be found by search engines – now they can, which can lead to an increase in the number of visitors to the website.

At the same time we have finished uploading all photographs accompanying the interviews.

Further goals:

In 2013 HSZE would like to enlarge the collection with as many interviews as possible. There are six more interviews waiting to be uploaded, apart from the two already mentioned. We are also working on preparing further interviews.

In 2013, HSZE wishes to launch another collection, entitles Digital Archives of the Memory of the Twentieth Century. This collection is going to publish documents from private collections, and make them available for everyone on the website. The first such collection contains documents from the Foundation Supporting the Poor - Szegényeket Támogató Alap (SZETA), and was collected by sociologist Gabriella Lengyel between 1979 and 1984.

2012. 4^th December

János Molnár