Jungbrunnen
World
On the occasion of the 100. anniversary of the death of Henri Dunant, (Oct 30th 2010) whose deeply humanitarian position is the basic principle of the Red Cross. A compelling historical novel.In April 1859 Austria under Franz Joseph I declares war on the kingdom of Piemont. The 18 year old Tyrolean Karl, son of a farmer, volunteers for the army.
In the Lombard village Castiglione 15 year old Ricardo grieves for his brother Giovanni, who was killed in a battle near Magenta.
By adverse conditions Henri Dunant, a Swiss businessman, lands right in the center of the war zone. In Cas tiglione he faces horrible scenes. After the battle of Solferino injured people overwhelm the village. Dunant is appalled by the bad organisation and intervenes. He attends to all soldiers, no matter where they come from, and becomes an example for the whole village. Ricardo too learns from Dunant and takes care of the Austrian Karl, whose eye has been destroyed by a bayonet.
Karl, Ricardo and Henri Dunant spend just one day together, but at the end of this day they all have realized that humanity has to persist even between enemies at war.
