The Benjamin Luft collection of 9-11 oral histories consists of video interviews of individuals impacted by the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center disaster, and interviewees’ photographs and manuscript materials documenting their experiences at the site. The collection primarily contains 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 between April 2010 and September 2020.

Dr. Benjamin J. Luft is the Edmund D. Pellegrino Professor of Medicine at the Stony Brook University and an internationally recognized expert in the treatment of Lyme disease and AIDS-related conditions. In 2001, Dr. Luft, a native New Yorker, responded to 9/11. While visiting the disaster site he observed that the exposure to debris and traumatic work would have medical impacts on first responders. Inspired to help, he created what became the Stony Brook WTC Wellness Program for the 9/11 responder community and its associated clinics. The oral history project was conducted in association with Stony Brook University, the clinics, and the Wellness Program.

The initial launch of this online digital collection contains 42 excerpted interviews created by Dr. Luft for educational purposes. The full interviews and the rest of the collection are available onsite in the Folklife Reading Room.

The contents of the interviews concern experiencing and processing traumatic events. At times interviewees share detailed and vivid recollections of their experiences. Viewer discretion is advised.

Some interviewees elected to restrict their full names or use pseudonyms. In those cases their preferred information is presented in the digital collection.

See Rights and Access for more information about use and reuse of the records. Contact the Folklife Reading Room for assistance using this collection or other reference needs.