Make your story a part of history!
What connects Elza, Renata, Georg, Giulia and Ingrid?
Where do people with backgrounds as diverse as theirs, who come from all over Europe, meet?
How do their voices, some from long ago and others from the recent past, reach us today?
Their rich and varied tales all come together at My House of European History: a unique collaborative project where History and the lives of European citizens coincide.
A virtual library of European stories
My House of European History (MyHEH) is a project of the Directorate General for Translation of the European Parliament, managed by the My House of European History Unit.
By collecting citizens’ stories in 24 languages and publishing these stories in text, audio and video format, MyHEH seeks to create a virtual library of testimonies from people all across the world.
The MyHEH platform already hosts more than 650 genuine stories, covering the period from the beginning of the 20th century up to the present day. These stories encompass family history, glimpses of daily life in different European countries, and memories connected to historical events. They include cross-border experiences of people travelling, studying, or working away from home. They also include current experiences, such as stories about the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic.
MyHEH focuses solely on people and their stories, and is not in any way a presentation or promotion of the activities of the European Parliament. The European Parliament acts as a facilitator, promoting communication between European citizens in the hope that this will foster a feeling of togetherness.
Beyond the written testimonies
A series of podcasts are produced from the written testimonies that are submitted to the MyHEH platform. The stories that are selected for audio adaptation often resonate strongly with historical milestones of the 20th century or explore the concept of European identity. These podcasts are made available in the 24 official EU languages and published on the MyHEH Platform and through other outlets.
Here are some examples of our podcasts:
Testimonies from Auschwitz
- They always called us by number, never by name: a survivor’s story. Elza Mavrič Kumar.
- 75th anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz Concentration Camp: The testimony of Liliana Segre. Liliana Segre.
Europe in Our Lives
- RadUni and Europhonica. Winner of the Charlemagne Youth Prize 2019.
- ‘Our school demos for Europe was a forerunner of Fridays for Future!’ Georg Helg.
- 70th Anniversary of the Schuman Declaration.
Europe in Family History
- Love, war and family: keeping my grandparents’ story alive. Renata Błażowska.
- We are all stars under the same sky. Andrea Quintavalle.
European Identity
- “What does it mean to be Dutch?” — A quest through history for one’s own identity. Ingrid de Hass.
- Five British Voices. Andrew, Alex, Anne, Amy & Alice.
MyHEH Learning Kits
Multilingual learning resources are an integral part of the MyHEH project. These resources are based on personal testimonies submitted to the MyHEH website, and are specifically designed for secondary school teachers across Europe. They can be adapted for various curricula and used as supplementary material for subjects such as foreign languages, history and civic education. The multilingual learning resources seek to inspire pupils to reflect on pivotal moments in European history and critically discuss their impact on contemporary life.
A collaborative project accessible to all
Since MyHEH was launched in 2017, a number of important memory institutions and media organisations in Europe have keenly supported its mission by creating and publishing historical narratives and rare archival material on the MyHEH website. These institutions and organisations include Ouest-France, Collège des Bernardins and ARTE in France, the Gazeta Wyborcza in Poland, and the Historical Archives of the European Parliament. Recently, the National Archives of Malta and the Tower Museum in Northern Ireland have also contributed to the MyHEH project.
My House of European History will continue to expand and reach an even larger audience. It aims to become even more collaborative and dynamic in its mission to shed light on moments of European history through providing a platform for people’s voices.
Start sharing your stories now! Create your account here.