On October 6, 2025, Selma Leydesdorff passed away. She was a prominent historian and professor emeritus of Oral History and Culture at the University of Amsterdam, internationally recognized as a pioneer in the field of oral history. Leydesdorff’s scientific field of work was the systematic collection and recording of individual experiences through a series of oral interviews and the development of methodologies for and theorizing about this form of historical research.
She specialized in bringing to light invisible, repressed or (consciously) undescribed parts of history and trauma. Her work is considered groundbreaking internationally. Selma Leydesdorff played a key role in the development of oral history in the Netherlands and internationally, with numerous publications, guest lectures, and editorial work. Among other things, she was co-founder and editor of the International Yearbook of Oral History and Life Stories for many years.
In the 1970s she was involved in the feminist action group Dolle Mina and Wij Vrouwen Eisen. She contributed to Dutch public opinion through articles in Dutch newspapers and magazines. She travelled to Bosnia many times to record the stories of survivors of the genocide in Srebrenica and to draw attention to gender-based violence against women which resulted in the book De leegte achter ons laten – een geschiedenis van de vrouwen van Srebrenica (2008; Surviving the Bosnian Genocide – The Women of Srebrenica Speak).
Selma Leydesdorff served as a co-founder of the Netherlands Research School of Women’s Studies in the 1990s (now the Netherlands Research School of Gender Studies NOG). She was a member of the Board since its inception and acted as Chair from 1999 to 2004. In this context, Selma Leydesdorff taught courses and seminars on oral history and introduced a whole generation of young scholars to the work of international scholars in this field.
The NOG-community remembers her contributions to the field of oral and women’s history with gratitude and respect.
