The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Archives Project  ( 2003 - 2006 )

Materials produced and collected around the South African TRC constitute a rich resource for social memory, both in South Africa and internationally. Launched in 2003, this joint archival initiative by SAHA and Historical Papers at the University of the Witwatersrand, funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies, aimed at identifying, preserving and promoting public access to the TRC archive.

In the broadest sense of the word "archive", the TRC archive includes not only records generated by the TRC, but also the ever-shifting stories about the TRC carried by a myriad people. It comprises internal records used by the TRC as well as external documentation of the TRC process by a wide range of individuals and organisations, within and outside of South Africa. In this sense, the TRC archive is immeasurable.

Between 2003 and 2006, this project produced the following outputs:

• A Guide To Archival Sources Relating To The South African Truth And Reconciliation Commission identifying where in South Africa various TRC collections are located, and describing these collections;
• A Select Bibliography To The South African Truth And Reconciliation Commission identifying key published articles, books and book chapters, theses, online and audiovisual resources about the TRC, from conception to aftermath;
• The addition of new archival materials relating to the TRC to both SAHA collections and Historical Papers archives;
• The TRC Oral History Project (A2985), featuring interviews with 63 individuals who worked for the Commission in various capacities and in different locales;
• The TRACES OF TRUTH website, featuring digitised copies of key archival materials relating to the TRC housed at SAHA and Historical Papers. These materials are organised into five broad categories - background, human rights violations, amnesty, reparations, and aftermath, with accompanying narrative, in an attempt to contextualise, compare and contrast these archival fragments.