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Oral History Collections at the Hoover Institution Library & Archives

Featured Collections

Chicago boys and Latin American market reformers collection

Sound recordings and transcripts of interviews, and associated material, relating to free market policies in Chile and elsewhere in Latin America, and to the influence of economists associated with the University of Chicago in instituting them. Interviews conducted by Tobias Switzer and William E. Ratliff. Those interviewed include Rolf Lüders Schwarzenberg, Sergio de Castro, Martín Costabal Llona, Alvaro Donoso, Ernesto Fontaine, Gonzalo Vial Correa, Miguel Schweitzer, Roberto Kelly, Domingo Cavallo and Hernán Cubillos Sallato.

Photo: Chicago boys and Latin American market reformers collection, Box 1, Folder 1, Hoover Institution Library & Archives, copyright Stanford University. 

Curry (Jane Leftwich) collection

Sound recordings and transcripts of interviews, clippings and other printed matter, conference materials, and miscellany, relating to Radio Free Europe broadcasting to Poland, the media in Eastern Europe, and political conditions in Poland, Ukraine and Georgia. Sound use copies of sound recordings available.

Photo: Jane Leftwich Curry collection, Annotations Interviews, Hoover Institution Library & Archives, copyright Stanford University. 

Herbert Hoover Oral History Program interviews

Originals in possession of : Herbert Hoover Presidential Library. Interviews with political leaders, businessmen, military officers, journalists, writers, physicians, secretaries, aides, friends, and associates of Herbert Hoover, relating to their recollections of Hoover in various capacities, including relief work director, president of the United States, and chairman of the Hoover Commissions. Interviews sponsored by the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace.

Photo: Herbert Hoover Oral History Program interviews, Box 5, Fred Clark, Hoover Institution Library & Archives, copyright Stanford University. 

Santos M. (Herard von) interviews

Digital sound recordings and transcripts of interviews of former Salvadoran military officers and guerrillas relating to guerrilla warfare and counterinsurgency operations in El Salvador in the 1970s and 1980s.

Photo: Herard von Santos, Box 1, Transcripts, Hoover Institution Library & Archives, copyright Stanford University. 

Hoover Institution and the Gorbachev Foundation (Moscow) collection

Sound recordings and transcripts of interviews of Soviet and American officials, relating to Soviet foreign policy during the presidency of Mikhail Gorbachev. Project sponsored by the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace and the Mezhdunarodnyĭ fond sotsial'no-ėkonomikcheskikh i politologicheskikh issledovaniĭ.

Photo: Hoover Institution and the Gorbachev Foundation (Moscow) collection, Box 2, Folder 1, Hoover Institution Library & Archives, copyright Stanford University. 

Introduction to the Collections

The Hoover Institution Library & Archives collects and conducts oral histories that further its mission to preserve and make available materials about political, social, and economic change in the modern world. These interviews enhance the archival record with personal reflections, anecdotes, and insights. Topics range from civilian internment in the Philippines during World War II to US and Soviet relations under Mikhail Gorbachev.

The Hoover Institution Library & Archives also works with Hoover fellows, the Stanford Historical Society, the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and others to conduct oral histories documenting the history of the Hoover Institution.

Note: This guide is a starting point for research at the Hoover Library & Archives. It is not comprehensive, and you may find other material relevant to the topic. For a guide on how to search our collections yourself, you can click here. 

Materials available online

  Yamanaka (Hayato) interview summaries

              1931-2016

Summaries of interviews of Japanese American residents of Hawaii relating to the Japanese American community in Hawaii. Includes photographs of interviewees. Digital copies of select records also available at https://digitalcollections.hoover.org. 

  Japanese diaspora oral history project records

              2017

Digital interview recordings of Japanese Americans relating to immigration to the United States from Japan, internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, and the post-war Japanese American community. Interviews conducted by Kaoru Ueda. Includes images of diaries, newsletters, and other textual material.

  Latvian Oral History Project interviews

              1995-2016

Sound recordings of interviews of Latvian political leaders, governmental officials, and others relating to political, social, and economic conditions in Latvia. Includes transcripts of questions and some related printed matter. Project sponsored by the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace. Interviews conducted by David Jacobs. Digital copies also available.