Freelance illustrator Markus Freise was inspired to create “Großväterland,” a 120-page graphic novel about World War II, because the number of eyewitnesses left to tell their personal experiences of the war is continually decreasing.
“Oftentimes the German veterans of World War II don’t talk about anything they experienced during this period: what they did, in which crimes they may have been involved or from what events they (may have) suffered,” Freise said. “(It’s) mostly out of personal shame for the fact that the suffering on the other side was so much bigger.”
The three members of the team will be interviewing German eyewitnesses and telling their stories in the graphic novel because they firmly believe, he said, that these stories need to be told — and not just in comparison to the suffering of the victims on the other side.
“World War II and its outcome changed no nation more than it did Germany,” Freise said
Christain Hardinghaus, one of the expert historians for “Großväterland,” said he would be checking the accuracy of the events told by the eyewitnesses and placing them in the correct chronological order as well as providing background information throughout the stories.
The stories are very personal, Hardinghaus said, and many of them have never been told before.
“Many have never talked about the time; (they) are afraid or ashamed,” Hardinghaus said. “You have to take time to listen to them, but must also not be afraid to ask for details. There are just certain personal events and emotions they went through during a terrible time.”
During the interviewing process, Hardinghaus said, he was amazed at the recall ability of the survivors. Most were able to remember full names, date and times.
According to the website, the word Großväter — the German word for “grandfather” — represents the people who were changed forever after surviving the war, all of whom are now old enough to be grandparents.
“World War II is the essential part of younger German history, and forever part of our national DNA ... The bigger historic picture is told in hundreds of books, dozens of movies and documentaries and is being researched in detail,” Freise said. “But by the time you start to talk to people who lived through this nightmare, you get a very different view of it. It becomes very personal and direct.”
Freise’s idea for the comic has turned into a crowdfunding project with the help of Hardinghaus and social media project consultant Alex Kahl.
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“It is a really utmost concern for me to conserve the stories of the generation of our grandparents and tell them in a way that young people like to read them,” Kahl said in his bio.
Crowdfunding efforts for this project began on Oct. 29 and ended on Dec. 28 last year.
In order to begin production of “Großväterland,” the fundraising campaign had to meet the goal of $18,000. According to the fundraising website called Indiegogo, the pre-ordering fundraiser closed with a total of $19,560, officially commencing the production of the graphic novel.
The targeted release date of the novel is this fall.
Skylar Griego is a freelance reporter and book reviewer for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @DailyLobo.
