I'm not sure if this is proper subreddit, so apologies if I am in the wrong place. However, I would like to know if anyone knows of any archives or collections of oral history of the Chinese Civil War?
My grandfather fought on the Nationalist side, and then ultimately fled to Taiwan after the war (eventually settling in the U.S.). Over the years, I've been interested in what my grandparents went through, but they have been reluctant to talk about it. Recently that has changed, likely as a side effect of their advanced age.
I'm curious if there are any historians of the Chinese Civil War in the U.S. who collect personal accounts of participants. If so, I would be interested in speaking to them.
Thanks!
There are some collected oral histories of the Chinese Civil War I can find in archives, but they're all from the other side. :/ However it does seem like a moderately popular thing to be writing about these days, so there is some interest! The good news is you don't have to be anyone in particular to conduct oral histories, they're not that difficult, so if you'd like to record your grandpa's story, I'd encourage you to do so. This guide from the Library of Congress Veteran's History Project may be of some use. Normally I point people to donate oral histories there but they only collect stories from the US side. You might give them an email anyway though, they could hopefully redirect you more precisely than I can!