𝗪EIL WIR MENSCHEN SIND – Portrait 1

The portrayed individual, born in the 1950s, grew up in an environment marked by violence and drugs. As a teenager, he became involved in the squatter scene and engaged in criminal activities.

At 17, he was imprisoned for the first time. At the age of 24, he received a ten-year prison sentence for armed robbery, violent offenses, and drug abuse. Following his release, it did not take long for him to be convicted again.

Back in freedom, he was involved in a shooting in which he killed a police officer and severely injured another, leading to his current prison sentence with subsequent preventive detention.

After decades in prison, he is now beginning a training program at SothA NRW and attempting to free himself from his violent personality.

‚The scars of his past run deep.

Photo / Editing: Chris Bolze
Text: Chris Bolze and SothA NRW

𝗪EIL WIR MENSCHEN SIND – Portrait 2

The portrayed individual grew up in an anthroposophical environment and enlisted in the Bundeswehr at the age of 17, together with his best friend. After his military service, he worked as a nurse and lived in a stable relationship with his wife and their son.

His life changed drastically when he began an affair with a trainee, leading to tensions in his private life.

At the same time, he developed a close relationship with an elderly woman who also lent him a sum of money. He drugged her with sedatives and attempted to start a fire. He was convicted of attempted murder and fraud and sentenced to eleven years in prison.

During his incarceration, he began to reflect on his actions and his personality. He recognized that he harbored certain personality traits that contributed to his crimes. He now works specifically on these aspects in social therapy.

Photo / Editing: Chris Bolze
Text: Chris Bolze and SothA NRW

𝗪EIL WIR MENSCHEN SIND – Portrait 3

The portrayed individual, originally from Essen, was born into a criminal extended family and was drawn into violent circles at a young age.

His criminal career began at the age of 14 with brawls and minor offenses, followed by aggravated assault, extortion, protection racket schemes, and kidnapping.

Due to his inability to control his violent impulses, he repeatedly ended up in prison.

Today, he is in preventive detention at SothA NRW, working on managing his aggression. Despite regular outings, he does not yet consider himself ready to regain his freedom. With the support of SothA, he wants to continue working toward living a life free of violence in the future.

Photo / Editing: Chris Bolze
Text: Chris Bolze and SothA NRW

𝗪EIL WIR MENSCHEN SIND – Portrait 4

The portrayed individual is 27 years old and has been in prison since the age of 22, following an eight-year sentence for two violent offenses.

His childhood was marked by ups and downs. His biological father left the family after becoming abusive toward his mother. When he was five years old, his stepfather entered their lives. At school, he was often bullied and felt like he didn’t belong anywhere. From a young age, he became aware of his tendency toward aggressive behavior and quickly fell into bad company. At 15, he took up boxing to boost his self-confidence. He dropped out of his roofer apprenticeship and lost his driver’s license due to drug use. Cocaine eventually became a regular part of his life, influencing many of his decisions.

Under the influence of cocaine and alcohol, he committed crimes that ultimately led to his incarceration. His delinquency has had a lasting impact on his life, with the break from his family affecting him deeply. Through therapy at SothA NRW, he is working on developing his capacity for empathy. He hopes to lead a normal life after his release—with a partner, his own apartment, and a job.

Photo / Editing: Chris Bolze
Text: Chris Bolze and SothA NRW

𝗪EIL WIR MENSCHEN SIND – Portrait 5

The portrayed individual, born in 1993 in Gelsenkirchen, grew up in impoverished conditions. His childhood was marked by emotional neglect, financial difficulties, and his parents‘ struggles with alcoholism. Early on, he developed the habit of lying to embellish his reality.

Due to the unexpected success of his father’s company, he experienced a financial upturn as a teenager, which reinforced his tendency toward self-promotion. He struggled with learning difficulties and was caught in a web of lies that shaped his life. He was incarcerated for multiple serious offenses. In the social therapeutic institution, he is confronting his past and his actions for the first time, beginning to understand the gravity and long-term consequences of his crimes.

Currently, he is training as a carpenter and participating in family therapy. He has about three years left in prison and hopes to lead a life free of manipulation and deceit after his release. He fears relapsing and the challenges of life outside incarceration.

Photo / Editing: Chris Bolze
Text: Chris Bolze and SothA NRW

𝗪EIL WIR MENSCHEN SIND – Portrait 6

The portrayed individual is 47 years old. He was born in a women’s shelter in Soest and adopted at the age of two. His adoptive parents provided him with a stable home and were always open about his origins. He is the eldest of four siblings.

Over the course of his life, he married, became a stepfather to two children, and had a biological daughter with his wife. His marriage was marked by many difficulties.

The turning point in his life came when his wife had to stay in the hospital for three months. During this time, he committed numerous crimes, which he now considers the biggest mistake of his life.

He is currently in SothA NRW, undergoing a process of self-reflection and taking responsibility for his actions.

Photo / Editing: Chris Bolze
Text: Chris Bolze and SothA NRW

𝗪EIL WIR MENSCHEN SIND – Portrait 7

The portrayed individual is 31 years old. He shares his story and his prison sentence for multiple cases of extortion involving violence. At 16 months old, he was put up for adoption due to his biological mother’s alcohol problems.

At 14, he committed his first crime, which led to placement in a care home and a juvenile psychiatric facility. After his release, he lived in a youth housing group. A difficult relationship and another failed partnership eventually left him homeless. A former school friend took him in, but through this connection, he became involved in criminal circles and carried out armed robberies on supermarkets and other businesses.

Ultimately, he was sentenced to six and a half years in prison. After two years in standard incarceration, he is now in the therapeutic facility SothA NRW, where he is working on his rehabilitation.

He is training as a metal technology specialist and plans to move into assisted living after his sentence. Determined to complete his therapy successfully, he hopes to shape a better future for himself.

Photo / Editing: Chris Bolze
Text: Chris Bolze and SothA NRW

𝗪EIL WIR MENSCHEN SIND – Portrait 8

The portrayed individual, a 49-year-old man, has a brother who is two years older. During his childhood, he experienced a strict upbringing where defiance was punished.

His mother used physical violence when he did not comply. At first, she struck him with her hand, later with a wooden spoon, and eventually with an ox whip.

He spent most of his time at home and had little contact with other children. Since November 2023, the man has been in the Social Therapeutic Institution NRW. Prior to that, he spent four years in regular incarceration.

He is serving time for a serious offense, for which he will remain imprisoned for several more years.

The man acknowledges that his actions were wrong. He emphasizes that he never wants to offend again.

Photo / Editing: Chris Bolze
Text: Chris Bolze and SothA NRW

𝗪EIL WIR MENSCHEN SIND – Portrait 9

The portrayed individual was born in 1984. After his parents‘ divorce, he lost his father at the age of eight, an event that deeply shaped him. At 13, he began using and selling drugs.

At that same age, he committed his first violent act, injuring a boy with a knife. In the following years, he became a drug dealer in the Bonn and Cologne area. He sold marijuana, ecstasy, and speed and joined a criminal organization. He committed further, sometimes brutal, violent crimes. The offenses against women weigh heavily on him.

Despite his remorse, he remains haunted by guilt. In prison, he struggles to control his violent tendencies. He suffers from nightmares and is tormented by the faces of his victims.

After his release, he hopes for a new, peaceful life. Yet, he doubts whether he will ever be able to leave his past behind. He wishes to find a way to make amends for his actions.

Photo / Editing: Chris Bolze
Text: Chris Bolze and SothA NRW

𝗪EIL WIR MENSCHEN SIND – Portrait 10

The portrayed individual, a 33-year-old man, grew up in a large family in Gelsenkirchen.

At the age of eleven, he became a victim of sexual abuse— a trauma he repressed for years. As a result, he developed difficulties in trusting others.

Despite his past, he began training as a metalworker at 16. At 19, he met his first great love. When this relationship ended after nine years, his sense of loneliness deepened.

Following another failed relationship, he committed criminal offenses.

Today, he is serving his sentence in SothA NRW. He expresses remorse, reflects on his actions, and recognizes the connection to his own past. In prison, he is questioning his behavioral patterns for the first time and working on himself.

He believes that a life without relapse is possible but remains uncertain about the challenges he will face after release. He hopes to apply what he has learned and lead a crime-free life.

Photo / Editing: Chris Bolze
Text: Chris Bolze and SothA NRW

𝗪EIL WIR MENSCHEN SIND – Portrait 11

The portrayed individual was born in 1972 in Cologne and was raised by his mother. As a child, he often felt emotionally overwhelmed in various situations. At the age of 12, he realized that he was attracted to men, but in his conservative environment, this was a taboo subject.

The fear of being excluded led him to suppress his feelings and adapt to societal expectations. He tried to lead a „normal“ life, joined the Bundeswehr, and had a brief relationship with a woman—though he lived it more as a facade, ultimately leading him to lead a double life. Eventually, he was imprisoned for the first time due to a criminal offense.

Shortly after his release, he committed another serious crime. For this act, he was sentenced to eight years in prison with subsequent preventive detention. Since 2016, he has been at SothA NRW, where he has started to acknowledge the danger he poses.

He expresses remorse for his actions and recognizes that his manipulation and behavior have caused significant harm to his victims. The scars he has left run deep, and he knows he must live with this guilt for the rest of his life.

His future remains uncertain, but he is determined to never create another victim and to confront his inner demons.

Photo / Editing: Chris Bolze
Text: Chris Bolze and SothA NRW

𝗪EIL WIR MENSCHEN SIND – Portrait 10

The portrayed individual describes how his criminal trajectory began at the age of 14 when he was first incarcerated. He was convicted of offenses including bodily harm, resisting law enforcement, and driving without a license.

He grew up in isolation in the forest as the youngest of eleven siblings. At 15, he received his first prison sentence and had to prove himself in juvenile detention. Shortly after his release, his father passed away, leaving him feeling directionless. At 21, he committed a murder and was sentenced to 13 years in prison. During his sentence, he was frequently involved in fights with fellow inmates and even assaulted prison officers.

Upon regaining his freedom, he met his girlfriend, with whom he has a daughter. She has since become his most important source of support.

In his late 30s, he committed another serious crime, leading to his placement in preventive detention. He has now been in preventive custody for 19 years, since 2016. Despite making progress in therapy, he is aware that he must continue working on his issues. He previously used drugs regularly in prison but stopped two and a half years ago when he had the opportunity to receive therapeutic support at SothA NRW. His daughter was a key motivation for this change. Violence was a long-standing problem in his life, but he is learning to better control himself.

He hopes to remain close to his hometown and work at a food bank run by a long-time friend. While he does not expect forgiveness for the murder he committed, he hopes to give something back to society. His potential release depends on his continued progress at SothA NRW.

Photo / Editing: Chris Bolze
Text: Chris Bolze and SothA NRW