SO MANY QUESTIONS....

ARE THE STORIES TRUE?

Yes, and I've heard them ever since I can remember. They happened that way to many members of my family, to my teachers and many of their friends. I only tied them together to ne story. But there are also experiences from people in other countries. Pictures of strafing civilians, about airraids and other subjects are very well remembered by people from all over Europe in WW2.

FOR HOW LONG DID YOU WORK ON IT?

I startes off in Spring 1996 after my former Professor Paul Schüllner told us a story of how he took the parachute off a dying airman to sell it. I drew the story as a short story while spending holidays with my wife's nephews, who were around the same age as Mr. Schüllner was then. After that I took the stories to my mother and my wife's mother, who were both surprised how closely I reflected these times. They then told me stories that they remembered, so I drew them as well. From 1997-1999 I combined all those tales to one big story. But somehow it just wouldn't work out until I tried out the computer in 2001 and 2002.

DID CHILDREN REALLY HAVE TO FIGHT IN WW2?

Yes! In all times children took part in wars, just before the age of reason it was not considered as a bad thing. They were seen as small grown ups. They were auxilliars, as servants to knights for example. Who ever is old enough to play, can work, that's how people thought back then. Later, even as man knew that kids were not small elderlies they would have to serve wherever they would be needed. They could be used for reconnaiscance, as drummerboys or as powdermonkeys on warships. But the weapons were heavy an it took a considerable amount of power to handle them, that changed with the weapon inventions of the 20th century. Already in the Great War there were kids who managed to enlist for frontline service. But it was the Germans who first misused children as regular soldiers. At first they were obliged to serve with antiaircraft batteries (Flak), but later on, to cope growing losses of regular soldiers they were forced to enlist. Many of them were killed in 1944 and 1945. Though many kids were so fantized by German propaganda that they were eager to go, there were kids who didn't want to follow. But being regular soldiers they were punished the same way as older soldiers. They were treated as cowards (the military word for this is "Deserter"), and often executed. Even today there are child-soldiers, as weapons become lighter, and are even easier to handle...and as a young childs will is easier to be broken as the one of a grown up.

DID YOU DO IT ALL ON YOUR OWN

NO! Well, I did do the drawings on my own. But it would have gone nowhere without my Professors. Prof. Claudius Lazzeroni opened my eyes towards nonlinear storytelling and showed me that the boundaries of my imagination are not where I think I see them. It was his courses that enabled me to pick up the lost ties and finish the knot (If I hadn't started with the basic training course I probably would have died an idiot without even realizing it). Prof. Klaus Armbruster asked the question that tiggered it all: "What does the computer version do, that a book can't achieve?" After answering that, nothing remeined the same. As the project, 4 weeks before presentation, almost crashed, it was his idea to use elements of movie narration as a vehicle for nonlinear storytelling. And during almost the entire time of drawing it was Paul Schüllner, whose story started it all, to guide me through the drawings.;-))

As I had no idea how to do the programming Arndt Güttners input was priceless . I would have never been able to compose and conduct the music if it wasn't for the help of my dear friend Achim Bährend. Dr. Heinz Gibas did not only contribute the main narrating voice, but also taught me how to to dialogue directing, before that I never even realized that something like that ever existed... My brother Stefan Heuer did do the voice auditionings of the grown ups, my wife Christel Seyberth organised all the kid's voices. She also did finance the project and organised all my helpng hands.

Until today more than 55 peple were involved in making it all happen, not counting those on whose experiences I could build the Childhoodstories. Theres more to read about it in the credits section!!!!

IS THERE AN ENGLISH VERSION AVAILABLE?

No. But even there is no German version for sale. But we are still working heavily on it.