Interviewing

Testimonies could be used to initiate work on interviews or to explore an area of interest in more detail. Take one testimony and look at the kind of questions that it raises and the kind of questions you would like to ask about:

• The time
• The cinema
• The person's own experience
• What does it make you think about your own experiences?

Example

"They put a slide up on the screen during an air raid, 'Those wishing to leave may do so but the programme will continue.' They usually stayed and if it was still raging, the usherettes, rather than go home at half past ten at night, we used to just go down into the intake room - that's where all the light switches and knobs and things are - and we used to put palliases on the floor and just lay there until it was all over. They were given the choice of leaving or staying but the majority decided they were just as safe as walking the streets. Big pieces of shrapnel used to fall and you could get injured with shrapnel."

Possible questions

• What did it feel like to be inside the cinema when an air raid was going on outside?
• What happened if all the usherettes were downstairs?
• Did other people stay in their seats?
• If the air raid carried on, would the films play all night?
• Wouldn't your family be worried if you stayed out all night?
• What's shrapnel and why was it so dangerous?
• How often were there air raids?
• What did people do if they were not in a cinema?
• What happened when the air raid was over?

Establishing these kinds of questions could be used as a basis for interviewing other people about their experiences. If you are not making direct links with an older peole's group, there may perhaps be family members, staff in the school or other members of the community who would be prepared to come into school and be interviewed.