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Small Hands in a Big War - Four-part Documentary Series

November 5, 2014

In 1914, war broke out in Europe. Many children recorded their feelings, fears and joys in their diaries, letters and pictures. A hundred years later, our documentary “Small Hands in a Big War” brings them back to life.

https://p.dw.com/p/1Dg3Q

Summer 1914 - a war of unprecedented magnitude changes the world. Millions of men are sent to the front, leaving millions of women and children back home alone. Many of the children write to their fathers on the distant battlefields with longing or miss their mothers as they toil long hours on the “home front.“ They speak to us in their diaries and letters. We laugh, cry and share their doubts. Their stories and the history of the "Great War" are brought to life in a totally new and touching manner. Our four-part documentary series combines animation, drama and archive footage.

In the first episode, “The Attack,” is about Thierry, a young French schoolboy whose initial patriotic enthusiasm for the war quickly wanes during the Battle of the Ardennes. Meanwhile, “The Escape” tells the story of twelve-year-old Justine from Flanders in Belgium, who is confronted by the arbitrariness and injustice of wartime on the most bitter terms. Indiscriminate violence against civilians reached a new peak during the First World War, giving terms such as “war crimes” or “genocide” a whole new meaning.

31.10.2014 DW Feature Kleine-Hände_Folge-1
German occupiers catch twelve-year-old Justine stealing potatoes and punish her severely.

Part Two starts with “The Pain,” the story of Frieda, a German girl who looks after wounded soldiers in hospital and discovers they are only being treated so that they can continue to fight, not to be healed. Then in “The Lie,” we meet eleven-year-old Alison from Scotland, who learns that the war in the mind is as important as the war on the battlefield. Since the First World War, governments all over the world have been using propaganda to deceive their citizens and convince them of the necessity of unpopular measures.

31.10.2014 DW Feature Kleine-Hände Folge-2
Twelve-year-old Frieda decides to care for wounded soldier alone and in secret and manages to save him.

In Part Three, “The Mountain”tells the story of the 10-year-old shepherd Tobias in South Tyrol, who is confronted with the “anonymity” ofmodern warfare with its new weapons such as flamethrowers and poison gas. And in “The Odyssey,” we meet another ten-year old, Jessica from America, who discovers a blind stowaway aboard a cargo ship and secretly supplies him with food. When he’s discovered, Jessica's family must decide whether to stay out of the conflict or take a stand.

31.10.2014 DW Feature Kleine-Hände Gruppe
Shortly before the German invasion, Emilie and her siblings brought their most treasured possession, their father’s watch, into safety.

In Part Four, “The Revolution” tells the story of nine-year-old Misya from Russia, who loses his parents in the war and learns in his struggle to survive how important social order really is. Meanwhile, “The Punishment" is about little Emilie from France, who projects her pain over the loss of her father onto “an enemy,” a German prisoner of war. The same ideology later also characterized the Treaty of Versailles as the victors took revenge on the vanquished and so only sowed the seeds of further conflict and war.

31.10.2014 DW Feature Kleine-Hände Folge-4
After losing his parents, nine-year Misya finds refuge in the Russian army and is sent to the Eastern Front.



Broadcasting Hours:

Part 1:

DW

THU 20.11.2014 – 22:15 UTC
FRI 21.11.2014 – 06:15 UTC
FRI 21.11.2014 – 13:15 UTC
FRI 21.11.2014 – 17:15 UTC
SAT 22.11.2014 – 04:15 UTC
SAT 22.11.2014 – 10:15 UTC

Cape Town UTC +2 | Delhi UTC +5,5 | Hong Kong UTC +8
San Francisco UTC -8 | Edmonton UTC -7 | New York UTC -5

DW (Europe)

FRI 21.11.2014 – 04:15 UTC
FRI 21.11.2014 – 17:15 UTC
SAT 22.11.2014 – 06:15 UTC
SAT 22.11.2014 – 13:15 UTC

London UTC +0 | Berlin UTC +1 | Moscow UTC +3

DW (Arabia)

FRI 21.11.2014 – 04:15 UTC

Tunis UTC +1 | Cairo UTC + 2 | Dubai UTC +4

DW (Amerika)

FRI 21.11.2014 – 06:15 UTC

Vancouver UTC -8 | New York UTC -5 | Sao Paulo UTC -2


Part 2:

DW

THU 27.11.2014 – 22:15 UTC
FRI 28.11.2014 – 06:15 UTC
FRI 28.11.2014 – 13:15 UTC
FRI 28.11.2014 – 17:15 UTC
SAT 29.11.2014 – 04:15 UTC
SAT 29.11.2014 – 10:15 UTC

Cape Town UTC +2 | Delhi UTC +5,5 | Hong Kong UTC +8
San Francisco UTC -8 | Edmonton UTC -7 | New York UTC -5

DW (Europe)

FRI 28.11.2014 – 04:15 UTC
FRI 28.11.2014 – 17:15 UTC
SAT 29.11.2014 – 06:15 UTC
SAT 29.11.2014 – 13:15 UTC

London UTC +0 | Berlin UTC +1 | Moscow UTC +3

DW (Arabia)

FRI 28.11.2014 – 04:15 UTC

Tunis UTC +1 | Cairo UTC + 2 | Dubai UTC +4

DW (Amerika)

FRI 28.11.2014 – 06:15 UTC

Vancouver UTC -8 | New York UTC -5 | Sao Paulo UTC -2


Part 3:

DW

THU 04.12.2014 – 22:15 UTC
FRI 05.12.2014 – 06:15 UTC
FRI 05.12.2014 – 13:15 UTC
FRI 05.12.2014 – 17:15 UTC
SAT 06.12.2014 – 04:15 UTC
SAT 06.12.2014 – 10:15 UTC

Cape Town UTC +2 | Delhi UTC +5,5 | Hong Kong UTC +8
San Francisco UTC -8 | Edmonton UTC -7 | New York UTC -5

DW (Europe)

FRI 05.12.2014 – 04:15 UTC
FRI 05.12.2014 – 17:15 UTC
SAT 06.12.2014 – 06:15 UTC
SAT 06.12.2014 – 13:15 UTC

London UTC +0 | Berlin UTC +1 | Moscow UTC +3

DW (Arabia)

FRI 05.12.2014 – 04:15 UTC

Tunis UTC +1 | Cairo UTC + 2 | Dubai UTC +4

DW (Amerika)

FRI 05.12.2014 – 06:15 UTC

Vancouver UTC -8 | New York UTC -5 | Sao Paulo UTC -2


Part 4:

DW

THU 11.12.2014 – 22:15 UTC
FRI 12.12.2014 – 06:15 UTC
FRI 12.12.2014 – 13:15 UTC
FRI 12.12.2014 – 17:15 UTC
SAT 13.12.2014 – 04:15 UTC
SAT 13.12.2014 – 10:15 UTC

Cape Town UTC +2 | Delhi UTC +5,5 | Hong Kong UTC +8
San Francisco UTC -8 | Edmonton UTC -7 | New York UTC -5

DW (Europe)

FRI 12.12.2014 – 04:15 UTC
FRI 12.12.2014 – 17:15 UTC
SAT 13.12.2014 – 06:15 UTC
SAT 13.12.2014 – 13:15 UTC

London UTC +0 | Berlin UTC +1 | Moscow UTC +3

DW (Arabia)

FRI 12.12.2014 – 04:15 UTC

Tunis UTC +1 | Cairo UTC + 2 | Dubai UTC +4

DW (Amerika)

FRI 12.12.2014 – 06:15 UTC

Vancouver UTC -8 | New York UTC -5 | Sao Paulo UTC -2