Setting the Course

Five people who were horribly mistreated and abused as children and teens living in residential care facilities in West Germany between 1949 - 1975 tell their stories. The five recall their everyday experiences in the orphanages, the psychological and physical violence, the punishments, and the possibilities for filing complaint. The film sensitively retraces their brutal and deeply moving accounts and reveals how educational harshness and coldness affect people for the rest of their lives. The documentary was produced to accompany the touring exhibition about residential homes for children in Baden-Württemberg between 1949 and 1975.

Keywords

  • Label: docfilm42
  • Made in Germany
  • Topic: Oral History
  • Childhood
  • conflict
  • history
  • politics

Actors

  • Edgar Potengowski

Director

  • Markus Ziegler

Documentary


31min


16

DE

Germany
2018
During the cold war, West Germany hid its institutionalized human rights abuse in residential care facilities.

During the cold war, West Germany hid its institutionalized human rights abuse in residential care facilities.


Five people who were horribly mistreated and abused as children and teens living in residential care facilities in West Germany between 1949 - 1975 tell their stories.


The five recall their everyday experiences in the orphanages, the psychological and physical violence, the punishments, and the possibilities for filing complaint. The film sensitively retraces their brutal and deeply moving accounts and reveals how educational harshness and coldness affect people for the rest of their lives.


The documentary was produced to accompany the touring exhibition about residential homes for children in Baden-Württemberg between 1949 and 1975.

Cast & Crew