The Children of Korntal
Documentary (91 min) · 2023
Korntal, a little town in the south of Germany, is the scene of the greatest abuse scandal ever to rock the Protestant Church in Germany. An estimated 150 former children from homes run by the Pietist Brotherhood have broken their silence: They are revealing the physical and mental horrors to which they were exposed. Many of them were victims of sexualised violence there at an early age. The 9,000-person town and its parish have responded to the accusations with disbelief and denial. They cannot imagine that this could have happened in their God-fearing town. However, pressure is mounting on the Protestant brotherhood – which still runs children’s homes – and it is initiating an inquiry. There is much contention about compensation and how to proceed with the inquiry. Many victims are being set back to their past by their testimonies being called into question and are describing the inquiry as further abuse. The film gives 6 protagonists the chance to tell their stories and to put to rights what they feel the inquiry report fails to disclose. A sensitive, profound treatment of a highly topical subject.

Credits
Director
Julia Charakter
DoP
Jonas Eckert
Producerin
Birgit Schulz
Editor
Jonas Eckert, Julia Charakter
Music
Leonard Küßner
Alto saxophone
Hannah Koob
Re-Recording Mixer
Volker Armbruster
Sounddesign
Marco Schnebel, Volker Armbruster, Timo Letzus
Animation/Grafik
Mick Mahler
Production company
Bildersturm GmbH
Co-Production
ZDF/Das kleine Fernsehspiel, GEO TELEVISION