In recent years, historical witnessing has emerged as a category of "museum object." Audiovisual recordings of interviews with individuals remembering events of historical importance are now integral to the collections and research activities of museums. They have also become important components in narrative and exhibition design strategies. With a focus on Holocaust museums, this study scrutinizes for the first time the new global phenomenon of the "musealization" of the witness to histo...

1893: Scotland Yard verdenkt de Nederlandse Hendrik de Jong ervan de nog steeds gezochte Jack the Ripper te zijn. Hoe weet hij vrouwen in Amsterdam, Gent, Londen en Boston aan zich te binden? En wie zijn deze vrouwen – die hij al dan niet laat verdwijnen? De Jong blijft ongrijpbaar tot in de rechtszaal. Het publiek smult van de berichtgeving in de pers en probeert een glimp van hem op te vangen. Maar alleen zijn slachtoffers weten wie de man met de indringende, bijna witte ogen werkelijk i...

Museums and biographies both tell the stories of lives. This innovative collection examines for the first time biography - of individuals, objects and institutions - in relationship to the museum, casting new light on the many facets of museum history and theory, from the lives of prominent curators, to the context of museums of biography and autobiography. Separate sections cover individual biography and museum history, problematising individual biographies, institutional biographies, obj...