Love Remembered. In which Ways Can Oral History Contribute to the Historiography of Emotions and of Homosexualities?

The author first discusses possibilities and problems within oral history research on changing emotional patterns and practices. The biographical narratives of gays and lesbians allow to explore these issues as the gradual emancipation of homosexuals after 1970 altered the socio-cultural context of same-sex emotionalities. The article, then, interprets three life stories. Mrs. Fischer's narrative shows how the patterns of falling in love shifted from suddenness to step-by-step. Mr. Meyer's account is coined by the split between sexual and emotional intimacy. In this respect it differs clearly from younger Mr. Albrecht's story. These changing emotionalities are finally explained by the widening of the spaces within which same-sex feelings could be practised, displayed and performed.