this article looks at the recording of witnesses in sound and image, as well as the effects of this recording and of the media in general on the people interviewed. the author discusses his experience with statements from survivors of the second world war in germany and analyzes various questions, such as ethics in the use of these interviews in films, and relations between science, pedagogy and journalism. the author comments on the reinterpretation of statements by later generations and draws on four examples from his own family to show how the judgment of old characters during history is complex and variable.
