Archives and Oral History

WBG Archives

The Archives protects the institutional memory of the World Bank Group and provides public access to records of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA)

Oral History

The interviews recorded by the World Bank Group Archives’ Oral History Program present a powerful picture of the World Bank Group from its post-Bretton Woods beginnings to the present day. Its history, its evolution, and its staff are all vividly portrayed in these transcripts.  The program, which began in 1961, was restarted in 1981, and has continued from 1990 to the present day, in four distinct phases.  These Bank oral history interviews are supplemented by interviews conducted for three separate projects: a history of Bank President George Woods; the 50th anniversary history of the Bank; and a history of the Staff Association.