April 15, 1874, boulevard des Capucines, Paris: a group of young feverish painters shunned by the official Salon and mocked by the classical masters, chose to come together to exhibit their paintings freely, in the studio of photographer Nadar. At the end of a teeming century, when modernity was emerging, this group of rebellious artists, revolutionized the world of art.

They grew up under the Nazi regime. They pledged to give their lives for Hitler. They were fanatics who would not be stopped. They were the 20,000 teenagers who made up the 12th SS Panzer Division. Unleashed in France to halt the Allied invasion, they would sow terror and destruction in their wake. Historical colorized archives and a handful of survivors tell us this story.

In 1945, twelve million homeless children wandered through the rubble of a Europe that had just emerged from the deadliest conflict it had ever known. An unprecedented number of children were separated from their parents or orphaned. Under the guise of the best interests of these children and of the nation, France, the United States, Great Britain and the countries of Central Europe embarked on a veritable race for children. By demographic opportunism, by fear of seeing them indoctrinated by a new totalitarianism, these countries move and adopt these orphans, erasing their history and their identity.