Freed voices – former slaves tell their stories

25 Min., SWR2

How does it feel to be a slave? In original interviews, many former slaves communicate astounding insights into the daily life of slaves as well as the time after being freed, which was marked with fearing for one’s existence and poverty. These memories belong to the few first-hand accounts of the slavery period. The interviews were initiated mostly during the 40s through a government project and today are accessible on the website of the Library of Congress. They contradict – in a positive way – the American culture of remembrance, in which African Americans – who comprise 13 percent of the American population today, and without whom America’s industrialization would never have happened – have essentially played no role. Rare original recordings bring a little light to the shadowed and suppressed existence of the African American past.