The German-American Reisch family in British Bengal

Abstract: This presentation introduces a private digital humanities project dedicated to reconstructing the historical footprints of the German-American Reisch family in British Bengal. Operating at the intersection of migration history, colonial microhistory, and modern technology, the project explores the lived experiences of a diaspora family within the socio-political landscape of British colonial rule. Due to archival gaps and the scarcity of surviving visual records from the era, this project tentatively utilizes generative AI to visually reconstruct historical settings, events, and everyday life in Bengal. By doing so, the presentation addresses both the narrative of the Reisch family and the methodological, ethical, and practical implications of using AI-generated imagery as a tool for historical storytelling and public history.