“There was a house here. There were two houses there.” Oral history as a source for the reconstruction of displaced Lemko/Rusyn villages on the example of Biała Woda

Using the example of the abandoned Rusyn village of Biała Woda, an attempt was made to involve oral history in the process of space reconstruction, while demonstrating the close connections of memory and place. Through the analysis of an interview with a former resident of the village and comparison with historical sources and press articles, the history of key locations for the pre-displacement village layout, such as the school, mill and lime kiln, was recreated. Thus, the potential of using oral history in protecting the heritage of repressed national and ethnic minorities is presented.