I’ve just arrived back in Newcastle, my head still reeling from ten intense days in Germany working on our Napola documentary.

It’s August 5th, 2022, and I’m surrounded by cases of filming equipment, memory cards, and a swirl of emotions. Part of me is exhausted. Part of me is exhilarated. And all of me feels the weight of the stories we’ve just captured.

---

How the Napola Documentary Began

This journey began thanks to Dr. Helen Roche, a world specialist on the Nazi elite schools known as the Napolas. After publishing her book The Third Reich’s Elite Schools, Helen was approached by production companies keen to adapt her research for television. But she was wary of handing the story over to companies who might sensationalise it or take ownership.

Helen and I had worked together during my time as Filmmaker in Residence at Durham University. She appreciated my quiet approach and technical skills and felt confident we could tell the story with the care and respect it deserved. Together, we began planning how to record the testimonies of former Napola pupils, many now in their nineties, for our Napola documentary. You can see more of my work in this area on my collection of academic films, which similarly focus on capturing research and personal stories on film.

---

A Last-Minute Change of Plans

Originally, Helen, Dominik Mitterer, and I were supposed to travel to Germany as a team. But just before our departure, Helen phoned me while I was on an evening walk around Newcastle. She was experiencing pregnancy-related health issues and couldn’t travel. It was a huge blow. Helen had not only the historical expertise but also the trust of the men willing to share their stories.

Still, I knew we couldn’t abandon the project. That night, I sat down in my flat in Jesmond and worked out ways for Helen to conduct some interviews remotely via Zoom. It wasn’t ideal, but it allowed us to keep going.

---

Filming Across Germany

So Dominik and I flew to Frankfurt and spent the next ten days filming interviews across Germany for our Napola documentary. We travelled to cities like Kronberg, Hofheim, Darmstadt, Karlsbad-Spielberg, Bielefeld, Minden, and Osterholz-Scharmbeck. Each day began early and finished late, often involving long drives, hours of interviews, and then backing up footage late into the night.

Many interviews lasted up to four hours, filled with stories both fascinating and deeply moving. These former pupils had been part of the Nazi elite schools, a hidden chapter of history that shaped a generation.

---

---

The Technical Challenge

Because of airline baggage restrictions, I travelled with a relatively lean kit. My main cameras were three Panasonic GH4Rs. My lenses included:

• Canon EF 50mm 1.8 STM with a Metabones Speed Booster
• Voigtländer Nokton 25mm f/0.95
• Voigtländer Nokton 10.5mm f/0.95
• Samyang 12mm f/2.0
• Panasonic 45-200mm for close-ups

For lighting, I brought two Neewer LED panels and four Aputure MC RGBWW lights. Audio was captured using Rode Wireless Go mics. Everything had to fit into a Lowepro ProTactic backpack and a single suitcase for the hold. Newcastle Airport security took ages to inspect every compartment of my camera bag.

Lighting was always a puzzle. While I love natural light, interviews lasting several hours meant daylight often shifted dramatically. I usually set one Neewer panel as a key light and used Aputure lights for subtle backlighting. Some rooms were tiny, so I sacrificed aesthetic perfection to keep our elderly interviewees comfortable.

Sound was another challenge. Every space had different acoustics, and external noise sometimes threatened our recordings. Many of the men spoke softly, and with my limited German, it wasn’t always easy to follow the conversation. Dominik was invaluable, stepping up from his original role as driver and assistant to conduct interviews and handle translations.

---

Data Safety and Relief

Data security was a constant worry throughout filming the Napola documentary. Internet connections weren’t fast enough for daily cloud backups. Instead, I filmed each day onto fresh SD cards, then backed them up to two hard drives. Dominik and I carried those drives separately—and even flew home on different flights—to avoid losing everything in one go.

The first thing I did when I got back to Newcastle was plug my drive into Backblaze and start the upload. It took over two days. I didn’t breathe easy until I knew the footage was safely in the cloud.

---

A Story Worth Telling

It’s hard to process everything we’ve witnessed. The men we interviewed shared memories from a world few have ever heard about. Though there’s still much uncertainty about the future of the project, I know one thing for sure: capturing these forgotten voices is some of the most important work I’ve ever done.

---

---