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My Family and the Nazis

April 30, 2025

A 17-year-old Polish forced laborer was executed by the Nazis in 1942. It was Stefan Weger's great-grandmother who testified against him.

My Family and the Nazis
The 17-year-old Walerjan Wróbel was deported as a forced laborer and executed in 1942.Image: DW

After many decades, German photographer Stefan Weger began to question his family's long silence. His photo project “Luise” grapples with guilt, denial, and responsibility.  

Felicja Sieczkowski had to work as a forced laborer for five years until the end of the war.Image: DW

Daniel Sieczkowski from Poland meanwhile, is also searching for answers: His grandmother was deported to Nazi Germany as a young woman.

Image: DW

She and many other Poles were sold off like cattle, regarded by the Nazis as “racially inferior”. They were the second largest group of civilian forced laborers after Soviet citizens – and are estimated to have numbered up to three million. 

Descendants confront the shadows of the past: Stefan Weger's (left) great-grandmother Luise Martens played a key role in the execution of Walerjan Wróbel. Daniel Sieczkowski (right) is the great-grandson of forced laborer Felicja Sieczkowski.Image: DW

Two people from the same generation with two very different perspectives. A generation that is asking hard questions: "What did our ancestors do? And what does that mean for us today?" A search for answers amid denial and repression – and the future of remembrance.

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