Stones From The Soil, The Story of the Gross Breesen Farm

About Stones from the Soil

Stones from the Soil tells the story of a unique school in 1930s Germany where a small group of Jewish teenagers was trained to become the vanguard of a new society. One of those teenagers was the filmmaker’s father, Rudolph Caplan. The school, situated on a farm, was called Gross Breesen (pronounced bray’ sen), and it would eventually save the lives of Rudi and 150 other students. Stones from the Soil begins sixty-six years later, when Rudi’s son returned to find the farm.

Film History

Stones from the Soil aired from 2005-2007 on 150 PBS stations throughout the U.S, with primetime coverage in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Florida, and more.

In August of 2005 the film aired on WTTW—Channel 11 in Chicago, preceded by interviews of Michael Caplan on WBEZ, the Chicago National Public Radio station, and on WTTW’s nightly news show, Chicago Tonight. It has been viewed by more than 500,000 people nationwide.