In 1941, the sixteen year old Walerian Wróbel is sent to Germany as a forced laborer. Isolated, exploited and utterly alone, he develops a desperate homesickness and attempts to escape. What follows is a nightmarish mixture of NS judicial procedure and cruelty which was perfectly encapsulated in American Prosecutor Telford Taylor’s famous quote: „The dagger of the assassin was concealed behind the robe of the jurist.“
00:00 Introduction: A Cancerous Dream
05:50 Chapter I: A Trickster from Fałków
10:43 Chapter II: A Shadow over Poland
15:22 Chapter III: A Farm in Bremen
23:01 Chapter IV: A Police Investigation
27:33 Chapter V: A Circle in Neuengamme
41:28 Chapter VI: A Trial
01:05:03 Chapter VII: A Letter
01:09:13 Epilogue
Sources:
1. The trial documents (in German) can be found in the Bremen Archive under the following signatures: StAB 10.B Al 1333 and StAB 4.44/3 357
2. Walerjan Wróbel’s Homesickness: A Special Trial 1941/42 (Das Heimweh des Walerjan Wróbel: Ein Sondergerichtsverfahren 1941/42) by Christoph U. Schminck-Gustavus, J. H. W.Dietz Verlag, Bonn, 1986
3. Walerjan Wrobel’s Homesickness (Das Heimweh des Walerjan Wróbel) (German film, directed by Rolf Schübel, 1991)
4. Luise. Archeology of an Injustice (Luise. Archäologie eines Unrechts.), photography exhibition by Stefan Weger, 2021.
5. Interview with Stefan Weger by Annette Schuhmann (in German): https://zeitgeschichte-online.de/interview/luise-archaeologie-eines-unrechts
24 Comments
Watched and listened breathlessly to this beautiful documentary, thank you so much for all the hard work you put in it!
So much effort. I really hope that soon you get the recognition you deserve for all your hard work.
Just found your channel, extremely well done!
Thank you for such a well done re telling of such injustice beyond measure. I have been through some unjust thing's in my life, by places that existed more than thirty year's ago, and exist today. There is unimaginable suffering in this world at the hands of those who are ravenous wolves, preying on the innocent. This boy had faith that was inside him, and that kind of faith will carry one through thing's other people just could not bare. I should not be alive, and Dr's don't understand how i am alive, or how i have a functioning mind. I have committed no crimes, but the crimes against me are deplorable, and i can understand some of what this boy went through, though i am a nearly 53 year old woman. Faith is where my heart lies, and it has gotten me through some of the worst and most challenging event's in my life. My experiences helped change thing's just a little for other's less mentally capable than myself, but in the end, when you are looked at as less than human, certain people find it easy to treat you as less than human, and that is a poison that has been going on since the beginning of civilization. G-d bless everyone.
Exceptional work, wisdom and narration, thank you.
Do my eyes deceive me? Another journey by this glorious lass – it shall await dutifully in my watch later!
Excellent! Your works are of the highest standards.
Your content is always amazing; what a great story, very well done. I look forward to more stories. My grandmother, before she passed in March, had many stories from WWII. As a Dutch resistance member, much was done to fight the Nazis, most of it never recognized.
flawlessly researched and narrated
Subtitles in five languages are available: English, German, French, Spanish and Italian!
Absolutely Heartbreaking Story. Can't help but think about the Ukrainian Children taken by the Russians for re-education. What would befall a truly home sick child that acted out in hopes of being returned home.
Well done, another superbly made film. I do hope you start to get the recognition you deserve
howww does this not even have a thousand views? it feels so depressingly relevant, all the time.
also, this video is how i learned the pencils i grew up chewing have a direct tie to the nuremberg trials 😅
Absolutely excellent, thoroughly researched video and so moving a narration. I am yet one more who has shed tears for Walerjan while watching it. Thank you.
Thanks again for informing and reminding us all. As Wednesday Addams put it 'Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it'.
Well researched, beautifully written, and outstanding narration! You should get an award for this.
Thanks
Bro, is this an AI voice?
Well done.
Well done. 💐
the kind of content that makes me happy that i didn't quit YT. Thank you very much for such an insightful and meaningful video, again.
merci pour votre travail très intéressant !!
Hello and thank you for this video and your expert research, storytelling and narration! I watched hoping that there would be a somewhat happy ending but alas, I was crushed. Sadly there are hundreds of thousands of similar tales that will not be told from this time but thank you so much for telling Walerjan’s story and keeping his spirit alive. People just discarded and erased because they don’t meet the Nazi ideal….Tragic beyond words..His last letter home was so heartbreaking. Again, thank you!
Keep up the great work! I very much look forward to your next tale.
Beautiful narration, and what a surprising story, hope you continue making these videos
Law students should be compelled to listen to this.