ΑΞΙΟΠΟΙΗΣΗ ΠΡΟΦΟΡΙΚΩΝ ΜΑΡΤΥΡΙΩΝ ΣΤΗ ΔΙΔΑΣΚΑΛΙΑ ΤΗΣ ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑΣ: Η ΑΦΗΓΗΣΗ ΕΝΟΣ ΣΤΡΑΤΙΩΤΗ ΣΤΟ ΜΕΤΩΠΟ ΤΗΣ ΜΙΚΡΑΣ ΑΣΙΑΣ

Abstract

This paper explores the educational potential of integrating oral history into history teaching through the personal account of Dimitris Koffas, a Greek soldier who participated in the Asia Minor Campaign. His testimony, recorded in the early 1990s, provides a vivid account of life on the front lines during one of the most traumatic episodes in modern Greek history. The study draws on qualitative historical research and focuses on how such personal narratives can serve as authentic sources that humanize historical events, enrich students’ emotional engagement, and develop historical thinking. Through the analysis of Koffas’s narrative—covering his journey, battles, injury, and eventual repatriation—the study illustrates the value of "history from below." The testimony is examined not only as historical evidence but also as a pedagogical tool that can bridge official historical narratives with lived experience. This approach fosters empathy, critical thinking, and multiperspectivity in the classroom. The study ultimately argues for the broader inclusion of oral sources in history education to promote a more inclusive, reflective, and student-centered understanding of the past.