Work in progress Amsterdam

My project is about my grandmother, who left her home and two small children to follow her Nazi lover to South America. At least, that is the story that is told in our family. When I try to find my grandmother to see what has become of her and to try and understand the choices she has made, I discover that this couldn’t be further from the truth.

This search for my grandmother touches upon a lot of common themes like the destructive force of family secrets and the far reaching consequences that certain life choices can have, in the post-World War II era. But there are also some very recent themes that come to light, including the ethical consequences of modern technologies like DNA research in relation to the right to privacy. How far should we go in our search for the truth?