A Guide to Transcribing and Editing
Oral History Interviews
Table of Contents
Section I:
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Oral History
Collection
Section II:
Creating and Editing Transcripts
Section III:
Style Guidelines
APPENDIX:
Example (Interview with Ernest Dutcher)
Section I:
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Oral History Collection
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s oral history collection gives the researcher
a unique glimpse into the history and impact of the Holocaust. Audio and video interviews
allow one to engage in the survivors’ experiences before, during, and after the war, including
the challenges of rebuilding a life after the Holocaust.
Since 1989, the Museum’s Oral History Branch has collected and produced over 14,000
interviews, making it one of the largest Holocaust-related oral histories collections in the world.
Interviewees include Holocaust survivors, resistance fighters, rescuers, witnesses, collaborators,
perpetrators, liberators, postwar prosecutors, relief workers, and survivors’ descendents. Among
the interviews with survivors are testimonies from Jews, Roma, Polish Gentiles, Jehovah’s
Witnesses, homosexuals, and political prisoners.
Section II:
Creating and Editing Transcripts
The USHMM provides NCRF with audio and video file duplicates of its master recordings.
Interviews are conducted by volunteers and by Museum staff. Please make every effort to
transcribe them as-is, and note any problems that arise.
A.
Formatting the Transcript
The transcript should consist of two parts, a two-page cover sheet and the body of the
document. The cover sheet will be page 1 and will contain the essential identifying
information. Page 2 will contain the USHMM standard disclaimer text. When
formatting the transcript, please use one-inch margins and double-space the text. Do
not use ALL CAPS.
1.
Cover Sheet
On page 1 of the cover sheet, write:
 United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
 Interview with (interviewee’s name)
 Interview Date (if known)
 Interview RG number (provided; see item B below)
On page 2 of the cover sheet, paste:
“PREFACE
The interview is part of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's collection of oral
testimonies. Rights to the interview are held by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
The reader should bear in mind that this is a verbatim transcript of spoken, rather than
written prose. This transcript has been neither checked for spelling nor verified for accuracy, and
therefore, it is possible that there are errors. As a result, nothing should be quoted or used from
this transcript without first checking it against the taped interview.”
2.
Body

Start by writing the interviewee’s name and the date of the interview (per
the example at the end of this document)

Identify the speakers only as “Question” and “Answer” at the outset. Use
“Q” and “A” thereafter.
Example:
Question: Okay. Good morning. This is a United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
interview with Mr. Ernest Dutcher, Jr., on February 19, 2013, in Encino, California. Good
morning Mr. Dutcher, and thank you for agreeing to speak with us today.
Answer: Good morning, and you’re very welcome. [technical comments]
Q: Mr. Dutcher, from what I understand, you were a liberator with U.S. forces of
concentration camps in Germany, and were a member of the military. So I’m going to ask a
lot of questions that leads up to those events in Dachau because we’d like to know a little bit
about your life and your military service prior to the liberation of the concentration camps,
and your role in helping survivors survive. So, I’ll start at the beginning.
A: Mm-hm.

B.

Do NOT include line numbers in the transcript or borders around the text.

Do NOT include headers or footers.

Do NOT include time indicators.
Formatting the file


C.
Please include page numbers.
Save the transcript file under the “RG” number provided on the audio or video
file name (for ex: RG-50.030.0050)
Save file in Microsoft Word.
Interview Web links

Section III:
Audio and video files may be accessed directly for download to your
computer from NCRF
Style Guidelines
To ensure the accuracy of the transcript, please keep the following suggestions in mind:

Create a verbatim transcript, but omit such expressions as "um" or "ah."
Include expressions such as "uhu" or "aha" when used to mean "yes" in
response to specific questions.

Do not revise the narrator's words to force them into standard written prose.
Leave untouched any sentence fragments, run-on sentences, and incorrect
grammar. Commas and dashes may be used to reflect pauses in the spoken
words.
To ensure the consistency of the transcripts, listed below are style guidelines:


Abbreviations:
In general, spell out words in full. Abbreviations, however, should be used
for these common titles: Mr., Ms., Dr. Spell out names of currency (dollars,
cents, pounds), percent, and number, (e.g., number 14, not #14). Spell out the
words “and,” “okay,” “etcetera.”
Abrupt sentence shifts or quick thought changes:
Use two dashes (--).
Example: A: Will he--can he--open the door?

Garbled or inaudible portions of the tape:
If one word is inaudible, indicate the gap with a ___ . When multiple words
are inaudible, insert ___+ .

Interruptions:
Put in brackets explanations about why the interview was interrupted or why
the tape recorder was turned off; i.e., [Interview interrupted by a telephone
call.].

Motions or gestures:
Only include when a motion or gesture is in place of spoken words or affects
the content of the interview. Use brackets.
Example: A: {Coughs}--Excuse me.

Numbers:
Spell out one through nine, and use numerals for 10 and above. Likewise,
spell out first through ninth, and use numerals for 10th and above; i.e., First
Division, 182nd Airborne.

Spelling:
Spell all words accurately to the best of your ability. Check the spelling of
all proper nouns and place names to ensure they are correct. Leave out
accents. If you do not know the word, spell the word phonetically as best you
can. Indicate that it is a phonetic spelling by typing (ph) after the word.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_villages_and_towns_depopulated_of_Je
ws_during_the_Holocaust

Uncertainty about a word or phrase:
Place a question mark before and after a word or phrase to indicate any
uncertainty about it; e.g., (?destroyed?).
APPENDIX
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Interview with Ernest Dutcher
February 19, 2013
RG-50.030*0687
PREFACE
The interview is part of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's collection of oral
testimonies. Rights to the interview are held by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
The reader should bear in mind that this is a verbatim transcript of spoken, rather than
written prose. This transcript has been neither checked for spelling nor verified for accuracy, and
therefore, it is possible that there are errors. As a result, nothing should be quoted or used from this
transcript without first checking it against the taped interview.
ERNEST DUTCHER
February 19, 2013
Question: Okay. Good morning. This is a United States Holocaust Memorial
Museum interview with Mr. Ernest Dutcher, Jr., on February 19, 2013, in Encino,
California. Good morning Mr. Dutcher, and thank you for agreeing to speak with
us today.
Answer: Good morning, and you’re very welcome. [technical comments]
Q: Mr. Dutcher, from what I understand, you were a liberator with U.S. forces of
concentration camps in Germany, and were a member of the military. So I’m
going to ask a lot of questions that leads up to those events in Dachau because
we’d like to know a little bit about your life and your military service prior to the
liberation of the concentration camps, and your role in helping survivors survive.
So, I’ll start at the beginning.
A: Mm-hm.
Q: Please tell us when you were born, where you were born and a little bit about
your family.
A: I was born in May 16th of 1920, and I was born in a s-small town in northern
Wisconsin called Antigo, and I lived with my parents on the farm. Our
background initially was all farming until about I reached the age of
approximately 16.