JOHN LEE CANDELARIA

Share Your Story: Performing and Remembering the Second World War

Are you a Filipino war reenactor who brings the past to life through your performances? I am conducting research at Hiroshima University on how reenactors create, shape, and transmit memories of the Second World War, and I want to hear your perspective.

This study explores how Filipino reenactors actively produce war memory through their practice. When you step into the role of a soldier, whether Filipino, American, or Japanese, you are doing important memory work that goes beyond simply recreating the past. I am interested in understanding how you decide which moments and experiences from the war deserve to be remembered, how embodying different sides of the conflict shapes your understanding of history, and how your practice relates to official narratives, family stories, and collective memory in the Philippines today.

What Participation Involves:

You will take part in an online interview lasting between 60 and 120 minutes at a time convenient for you. We can use Zoom, Google Meet, or whatever platform works best for you. Our conversation will cover your experiences as a reenactor, including how you got started, which aspects of the war you choose to portray and why, how performing different roles has influenced your historical understanding, and what you think reenactment contributes to how Filipinos remember the war.

The interview will be audio-recorded so I can accurately capture our conversation. Your participation is completely voluntary, and you can skip any questions or end the interview at any time. All information you share will remain confidential, and your identity will be protected in any publications resulting from this research.

Who Can Participate:

Filipino reenactors aged 18 and above who portray any aspect of the Second World War in the Philippines.

About the Researcher:

I am John Lee Candelaria, an assistant professor at Hiroshima University. I am a Filipino historian and memory/heritage studies scholar interested in events of mass human suffering such as war and disasters and how they are remembered in the present.

This study has been approved by the Hiroshima University IRB (Number: HR-LPES-002566).

Interested? Please fill out this form and I will be in contact: SIGN UP HERE

If you have any questions, you can reach me at: leecandelaria@hiroshima-u.ac.jp