Korntal, a little town in southern Germany, is the scene of the greatest abuse scandal to ever rock Germany’s Protestant Church. An estimated 150 survivors who once lived in children’s homes run by the Pietist Brotherhood broke their silence, revealing the extent of the physical and mental horrors to which they had been exposed, with many of them victims of sexual abuse from an early age. The 9,000-person town and its parish responded to the accusations with disbelief and denial. They could not believe that this could have happened in their God-fearing town. Under mounting pressure, the Protestant Brotherhood—which still runs children’s homes—launched an inquiry. Many of the survivors were called in for questioning and have described the inquiry as a form of further abuse. This film gives six protagonists a chance to tell their stories and to correct what they feel the inquiry’s report failed to disclose. A sensitive, profound examination of a highly topical subject.

Impact goals

• Put on 50+ film screenings to raise awareness of the issue of abuse and discuss how to support survivors of sexualized violence.
• Organize a special film screening in Korntal, facilitated by a trauma specialist, to initiate a dialogue between survivors and the citizens of Korntal.
• Hold screenings for decision- and policymakers in order to reform investigations into sexual abuse cases in accordance with transparent, independent guidelines.
• Generate 100,000 signatures for a petition run by Tour 41 to challenge the statute of limitations for sexualized violence and generate public pressure to prevent theclosure of the Fonds sexueller Missbrauch (German Sexual Abuse Fund; FSM).
• If we can dream big here: collaborate with the #ChildAbuseIsTorture campaign, which aims to abolish the twenty-year statute of limitations on child abuse internationally, advocating for changes in human rights legislation to ensure justice for survivors at the ICJ.

To achieve this, we would like to.…

• raise money for our joint impact campaign with our partner Tour 41 to make sure that we reach our goal of 100,000 signatures;
• start a social media campaign using the film and quotes from survivors, gathering support from the press and media;
• partner with an experienced trauma therapist/institution to mediate at the special screening in Korntal and provide a safe space for survivors and citizens; and
• organize a special screening with decision-makers to spark political change, for example at:
  • the EKD Synode or Kirchentag (2025) Bischöfin Fehrs 
  • the Bundestag (for example Kerstin Klaus) 
  • the EU Parliament if necessary.