The web documentary invites you to explore a family history between farewell and a new beginning.
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At the end of the Second World War, millions of people fled from the eastern areas of the German Reich and headed west to escape the advancing Red Army. In the process, many lost their lives – on a sinking ship, in an air raid or by freezing to death. People were driven by fear – knowing that the Red Army would seek revenge for the atrocities committed in the East by and in the name of the Germans. Among them was the Neumann/Czaputa family, who lived in Skotschau (Polish: Skoczów) in eastern Upper Silesia, and who, with heavy hearts, gave up their secure middle-class life and fled in late January 1945. Hundreds of letters from the period between 1944 and 1957 bear witness to the dramatic circumstances around the family’s departure, their attempt to make a new start in West Germany, and their thoughts and feelings along the way. Immerse yourself in a family history between a final farewell and new beginning that is emblematic of the history of the Germans in the 20th century.
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English translation: William Connor
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