PREVIEW: Dokumentarfilm "SCHWARZE HÄUSER" mit Filmgespräch

Preview of the documentary film "Schwarze Häuser" by Katrin Sikora.

In the presence of and followed by a discussion with the film’s main protagonist, Detlef Lichtrauter from the Kinderverschickungen NRW association, and Norbert Nowotsch.

Between the 1950s and 1980s, millions of children in Germany were sent to so-called sanatoriums. The goal was healing and recovery. Instead, however, many experienced forced medication, humiliation, and systematic violence. Numerous children who were sent away returned traumatized—among them bestselling author Sabine Ludwig and activist Detlef Lichtrauter.

“Schwarze Häuser” (Black Houses) brings to light the structural violence of this supposed “healing system.” The film sheds light on these long-suppressed experiences through intimate eyewitness accounts and archival material, interwoven with the director’s family history. At the same time, the youth ensemble of the Junges Deutsches Theater Berlin is staging a play based on original documents and memories. The director’s artistic exploration opens a cross-generational dialogue about silence, power, and institutionalized violence—topics that are alarmingly relevant today.