Scope and Content
Collection of 328 video interviews and supporting photographs, videos, and manuscripts. Also included are Dr. Luft's related published materials. The interviews, which are in Series 1, are primarily first-person narratives told by World Trade Center site disaster workers: police officers, firefighters, construction workers, demolition specialists, ironworkers, veterinarians, paramedics, and other volunteers at the site. The interviews were conducted by Dr. Luft and his associates. Some individuals' full names have been redacted - please see Access and Restrictions note for more information. The recordings vary in length, but generally run from thirty minutes to 2 hours. The supporting images, videos, and manuscripts were given to Dr. Luft by interviewees. These supporting records, which are primarily visual materials, document events immediately following the attack on the World Trade Center through the cleanup of the site. Dr. Luft's published materials in Series 2 include the feature-length documentary he produced, 9/11: An American Requiem, recordings of his seminar 9/11: The Anatomy of a Health Care Disaster, a digital copy of his book of interview excerpts, and four themed teaching aid videos.
Interviews number 188, 228, and 271 and their accompanying documentation were destroyed by Dr. Luft at the request of the interviewees. These deletions occurred prior to the American Folklife Center's acquisition of the collection.