The Ill-fated Child

Summary

The story of a 20-year-old carpenter named Michal who has been travelling around for a few years and documenting the former death camps throughout Europe. Michal doesn't have any Jewish ancestors; his family wasn't affected by the war. He's employed in a branch of Siemens in Plzeň where he does stereotypical work every day. He has taught himself German, Polish, Belarus, English and partially Yiddish. He takes information in Polish and German from the former concentration camps and translates it. He has written 8 novels (each over 150 pages) set in death camps. Each novel is based on a specific historic event. The novels were never published, they have only been appreciated on a regional level. He writes under the pseudonym Michael Wäckerle (Wäckerle was the first ever leader of a concentration camp in Dachau as early as 1933). What drives a young person to have such an interest in the holocaust that he dedicates all his time to it? The film is a portrait of an exceptional young man, it probes his motivation and deals with questions of collective guilt. – Department of documentary film, FAMU – 2nd year.