GERMANY
Deutsche Welle
As a child in the famous Regensburg Domspatzen Catholic boys choir, Alexander Probst was one of hundreds of victims of physical and sexual abuse. Now, with the release of a final report on the abuse, he speaks with DW.
Starting in 1968, Alexander Probst joined the famous Domspatzen Catholic choir in Regensburg, Bavaria. He was in the third grade. He and his fellow students were insulted, beaten and abused on a regular basis. After two years, Probst moved to the choir’s high school. There, a teacher forced him into a secret group. The teacher would meet with the boys, drink beer, smoke, and watch pornos. The man began coming into the boys’ dormitory at night, where he would reach under Probst’s blanket and sexually abuse him. Probst says it must have happened more than a hundred times. When he told his father about the abuse toward the end of the school year, he was immediately taken out of the school.
Decades later, in 2010, Probst became one of the first victims to go public with details of the abuse he suffered during his time with the Domspatzen. For him and others like him, it was the start of a struggle for their suffering to be recognized. At the start of this year, he published a book about what he went through as a child.
Deutsche Welle: You went public with your story seven years ago; how are you doing today?
Alexander Probst: I have found my peace, and that also means that I hope those on the other side [who committed these crimes] find peace. I will continue to help when I can. But this is no longer the driving force in my life, and that feels good.
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