Migration has become a key social issues. Although there can be no doubt that today’s Austria is a migration society, this obvious fact is still debated and highly controversal in the political arena. But what does this mean with regard to the content and representation of the history of the Second Austrian Republic? Migrants bring along different experiences, historical memories and personal stories which have not become part of the conventional conception of history – on the contrary: they are rather suppressed. Moreover, the history of migration itself is still hardly visible in the public.

In the framework of the project the history of migrants and labor migration to the city of Hall in Tyrol and its region from the 1960’s onwards was researched and made visible through a public exhibition. Three different local schools cooperated with regional museums and the city archives in Hall in Tyrol under the direction of the Institute for Contemporary History at the University of Innsbruck. Based on student’s research an exhibition was realized. Students of the participating schools were integrated into the whole research and design process. With their experiences and everyday life knowledge they are considereded as experts for the topic.

Future additions and changes through follow-up school projects will be possible. Simultaneously, the project fostered sustainable and long-term cooperations between the different partner institutions. A close cooperation between local schools and regional museums represents a valuable benefit and can open new perspectives and opportunities for future students.

This project has been completed.