Tell Friedhelm's war childhood
Donation protected
About the project
This is Friedhelm Hinn, my grandfather, who was born in 1932 in Germany. He is one of the few remaining living links that people like myself, who were born and raised in Germany, have to their country’s history.
My ongoing photographic project “Vaterland” focuses on the national trauma that German children endured during WWII and how it was inherited by later generations. With most Germans being stunned into silence and forced to focus on survival in post-war Germany, the issue of the physical and mental effects on those who survived the war are only now being uncovered and talked about.
Friedhelm remembers his childhood in vivid detail and has spent hours sat in this exact spot retelling it all. It is a long and difficult process for the both of us. He is showing me a world that I cannot even begin to imagine, but that was his life: being sent away from his family, being trained to shoot at the age of 10, living in the midst of bomb showers…
Throughout the duration of this photographic project, I will be travelling to 10 locations from Germany to Austria, Czechia and Poland with Friedhelm to revisit the settings of his childhood. We will be driving from one location to the next in a total of 30 days.
I will not only document the landscape but engage with the personal nature of this project, working closely with my grandfather to tell his story and through that give a voice to a generation that wasn't allowed to feel the pain of what they experienced until now.
“Vaterland” has opened up an entirely new venture into my family and national history and has raised the question of “what does it mean to be German?”. I hope it will stand as a document of its own in the growing discussion of the war children's experiences.
Where will the money go?
All funds raised will go towards travelling expenses such as gas and overnight stays, production costs such as film and will help me tell my grandfather's story in the form of a "Vaterland" into a book. Furthermore, it will help me finance the exhibiting costs for the degree show at the end of the academic year. (For more information visit www.clayphoto.co.uk )
About me
I am a final year photography student at UWE in Bristol, UK, though I was born and raised in Germany and only moved to the UK for my studies in 2015. My national identity and history are something I have always been aware of and my interest in exploring it has only increased since I left Germany.
For seeing more of this ongoing project, please refer to my Instagram @nelehinn.
Any contribution no matter what size will be greatly appreciated. I would not be able to do this project and my grandfather's story justice if it wasn't for you.
This is Friedhelm Hinn, my grandfather, who was born in 1932 in Germany. He is one of the few remaining living links that people like myself, who were born and raised in Germany, have to their country’s history.
My ongoing photographic project “Vaterland” focuses on the national trauma that German children endured during WWII and how it was inherited by later generations. With most Germans being stunned into silence and forced to focus on survival in post-war Germany, the issue of the physical and mental effects on those who survived the war are only now being uncovered and talked about.
Friedhelm remembers his childhood in vivid detail and has spent hours sat in this exact spot retelling it all. It is a long and difficult process for the both of us. He is showing me a world that I cannot even begin to imagine, but that was his life: being sent away from his family, being trained to shoot at the age of 10, living in the midst of bomb showers…
Throughout the duration of this photographic project, I will be travelling to 10 locations from Germany to Austria, Czechia and Poland with Friedhelm to revisit the settings of his childhood. We will be driving from one location to the next in a total of 30 days.
I will not only document the landscape but engage with the personal nature of this project, working closely with my grandfather to tell his story and through that give a voice to a generation that wasn't allowed to feel the pain of what they experienced until now.
“Vaterland” has opened up an entirely new venture into my family and national history and has raised the question of “what does it mean to be German?”. I hope it will stand as a document of its own in the growing discussion of the war children's experiences.
Where will the money go?
All funds raised will go towards travelling expenses such as gas and overnight stays, production costs such as film and will help me tell my grandfather's story in the form of a "Vaterland" into a book. Furthermore, it will help me finance the exhibiting costs for the degree show at the end of the academic year. (For more information visit www.clayphoto.co.uk )
About me
I am a final year photography student at UWE in Bristol, UK, though I was born and raised in Germany and only moved to the UK for my studies in 2015. My national identity and history are something I have always been aware of and my interest in exploring it has only increased since I left Germany.
For seeing more of this ongoing project, please refer to my Instagram @nelehinn.
Any contribution no matter what size will be greatly appreciated. I would not be able to do this project and my grandfather's story justice if it wasn't for you.
Organizer
Nele Hinn
Organizer
