Addressing a problem in Moroccan historical scholarship, this paper examines the dialectical relationship between witness (especially historical and political actors) and academic historian; between testimony and history. The paper arose in a context in which greater resources are available for Moroccan historical research, and where a greater openness about past events is possible. The proliferation of sources led to misunderstanding and conflict between historians and witnesses over which has the greater right to write the history of the period. This article sets down some early demarcations and suggests dividing lines between the two kinds of writing.