Director’s notes:

During the research that led us to select these diaries (kept at the National Diary Archive in Pieve Santo Stefano, the Association pour l’Autobiographie et le Patrimoine Autobiographique in Ambérieu-en-Bugey, and the Deutsche Tagebucharchiv in Emmendingen) we came across numerous autobiographical memoirs that amazed us. Men and women of all ages, in different and distant places in Europe, had felt the same need: to keep a diary during the period of liberation. Texts documenting a feeling of closeness among people who were no longer divided under the banner of victors or vanquished and shared a desire for peace.

Production notes:

The freedom we experience today is thanks to a covenant made between men and women nearly 80 years ago. However, today’s perspective in the face of multiple crises seems rather bleak. We believe that by sharing the stories of Magda, Madeleine and Käthes, the creative expression of the three women’s perspectives allows today’s audiences to identify with their experiences. If we compare the events narrated with those of today, it can be useful and inspiring to look at the stories of our protagonists and try to answer the fundamental question that many of us ask ourselves today: what can I do? Diaries of Liberation is a story of resistance and courage.