Backes

The bread oven, or “backes” in local Plattdeutsch parlance, occupies a central place in Recht, a small village in the Eastern Cantons, where director Julien Kartheuser's paternal grandparents hail from.

These communes, formerly known as “redeemed cantons”, changed nationality four times during the 20th century, oscillating between Germany and Belgium. During the Second World War, great-grandfather Joseph was forcibly conscripted into the Wehrmacht when the region was annexed to the Third Reich. From the Russian front, he wrote hundreds of letters to his family, before disappearing without a trace in Latvia in 1945.

The recent rediscovery of these letters has revived a long-buried family memory, leading three generations to question their history and its link with that of their region. In this process, the “backes” stands out as a symbol, an intergenerational rallying point where the reunion with common roots and a shared identity is re-enacted.