Winterkinder - Die schweigende Generation

Do you know if your grandfather was a Nazi? Film director Jens Schanze tries to break the silence and myths that have surrounded his own grandfather for 60 years. He and his sisters only know him from the stories of their mother. For her, he’s always been our loving father. But the letters he wrote during the war and his membership of the Nazi party tell a different story. While Germany seems to be dealing openly with its responsibility for preserving the memory of the holocaust, almost 50% of the German population believe that their own family members were opposed to Hitler. What impact does the great silence that spread within German families after WWII still have on the present generation? In Winter’s Children, the unexpected decision of the director’s mother to question her memories of her father helps to establish a new dialogue between the post-war generations. But how can someone accept that their own beloved father was a Nazi? We sense that, deep under the surface of daily life there is a hidden trauma that affects even the grandchildren’s generation. Winter’s Children takes a courageous look at a very personal story as well as a part of German history. (DOK.fest München)