A Childhood Shattered

The Collini Case

The loss of Philipp and his parents breaks Leinen’s sheltered adolescence and shapes his later attachments and sense of self.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

The Boy at Rossthal The Boy at Rossthal from "The Collini Case". The Boy at Rossthal An adopted refuge Leinen spends holidays with Philipp’s family, finding warmth and freedom at Rossthal that he lacks in his father’s house.

The Boy at Rossthal from "The Collini Case". The Boy at Rossthal An adopted refuge Leinen spends holidays with Philipp’s family, finding warmth and freedom at Rossthal that he lacks in his father’s house.

The Boy at Rossthal An adopted refuge Leinen spends holidays with Philipp’s family, finding warmth and freedom at Rossthal that he lacks in his father’s house. The boys share school, fishing, and long summers. A fragile sense of belonging The Meyer household gives Leinen an experience of family he does not otherwise possess. That belonging makes later loss more than the death of a friend.

Johanna’s Arrival Johanna’s Arrival from "The Collini Case". Johanna’s Arrival A new attachment Johanna arrives from England and meets Leinen when he is still a shy adolescent.

Johanna’s Arrival from "The Collini Case". Johanna’s Arrival A new attachment Johanna arrives from England and meets Leinen when he is still a shy adolescent.

Johanna’s Arrival A new attachment Johanna arrives from England and meets Leinen when he is still a shy adolescent. Her confidence and warmth leave him with a lasting attraction. A wider family bond His feelings for her grow inside the same household where his friendship with Philipp deepens. The relationships become inseparable from the family life that he may lose.

The Fatal Road The Fatal Road from "The Collini Case". The Fatal Road A sudden crash Philipp’s parents’ car passes beneath a timber truck. Philipp is decapitated, and his parents die at the roadside.

The Fatal Road from "The Collini Case". The Fatal Road A sudden crash Philipp’s parents’ car passes beneath a timber truck. Philipp is decapitated, and his parents die at the roadside.

The Fatal Road A sudden crash Philipp’s parents’ car passes beneath a timber truck. Philipp is decapitated, and his parents die at the roadside. A world stops The accident ends the boys’ shared future without warning. Leinen is left to encounter death as an event that makes ordinary hopes seem meaningless.

Leaving the Funeral Leaving the Funeral from "The Collini Case". Leaving the Funeral Refusal of consolation The priest praises the dead but does not speak of the closed coffin or the violence of the loss.

Leaving the Funeral from "The Collini Case". Leaving the Funeral Refusal of consolation The priest praises the dead but does not speak of the closed coffin or the violence of the loss.

Leaving the Funeral Refusal of consolation The priest praises the dead but does not speak of the closed coffin or the violence of the loss. Leinen leaves before the service ends and watches the burial from the chapel. Grief without ceremony The living gravediggers seem painfully ordinary beside the catastrophe. Leinen cannot find comfort in public language about a better world.

A Distant Self A Distant Self from "The Collini Case". A Distant Self An altered young man Leinen grows quiet and sometimes feels detached from his body, as if watching himself from outside.

A Distant Self from "The Collini Case". A Distant Self An altered young man Leinen grows quiet and sometimes feels detached from his body, as if watching himself from outside.

A Distant Self An altered young man Leinen grows quiet and sometimes feels detached from his body, as if watching himself from outside. The loss changes how he experiences ordinary life. A future shaped by grief He studies law and later chooses defense work, carrying the memory of the Meyer family into his profession. The old wound returns when he is assigned Collini’s case.

Before Philipp’s final school year

During a Christmas holiday

Less than a year after the final school exams

The day of the funeral

The years after Philipp’s death