Siberian Chronicles – Project on pause
In early 2022, I started a project Siberian Chronicles: a story based on the diaries of a German soldier from WW1, who was held as a prisoner of war in South Siberia. His great-granddaughter—my friend—generously shared copies of his diaries with me.
But the full-scale russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, changed everything, it changed my whole perspective on russian imperial history and the way I look at this story. It felt impossible to continue a project while a new war was unfolding. So I put it a side.
This map of the Russian Empire from 1916 serves as the historical backdrop for Thomas’s story. Besides his route to the prisoner-of-war camp, the map shows a monstrous empire that swallowed many different indigenous lands, nations with different cultures, languages, and religions.
Even the names of cities like Vladikavkaz and Vladivostok mean „To own the Caucasus“ and „To own the East.“ Who is the owner…
If we look closer at history, we will see the anti-colonial struggles of all the different indigenous nations against Russian dominance.
Now in 2026, the current debates about recruitment and army service in Germany brought me back to Thomas’s journals. I went back to the year 1915, when he — a father of two, was called up to the army.
These drawings above are not from the diary pictures. They are based on photos from a Reddit group. The sketches above are a study of the people and the spirit of that time—an age of great global change that will brutally reshape and sometimes destroy the lives of individuals.
Personally, I am not against conscription; sometimes our democracy and freedom needs to be defended. However, I feel for the young generation who feel it’s not fair…