In the organizer's words:

Thousands of women disappeared behind prison walls and in concentration camps during the National Socialist era because they had fallen in love with a forced laborer or prisoner of war. Their crime: "forbidden intercourse". A documentary shows some of these stories.

When the enemy became a friend, even a lover, the women and men were met with severe retribution. Prison sentences or even murder: public executions of forced laborers were intended to "deter" and prevent any form of humanity.

After the war, many of the women affected were further marginalized: Authorities denied them recognition as political prisoners and thus any compensation; they were often shunned and silenced in their communities.

With her film, Erika Fehse has succeeded in encouraging three of these women and two of their daughters to tell their stories publicly for the first time. One of them is Katharina Sämann.

Film "For a love so punished", WDR, 2000, 45 min.

Welcome: Dr. Christine Glauning
Director of the Documentation Center for Nazi Forced Labor

Panel:
Erika Fehse, director
Katharina Sämann, daughter of a portrayed contemporary witness

Moderation:
Lucy Debus, historian and curator of the exhibition trotzdem da!

At 6 pm we offer a guided tour with the curator Lucy Debus.