Faculty of Science, Technology and Medicine
Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance
Faculty of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences
Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust
Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine
Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History
Luxembourg Centre for European Law
Luxembourg Centre for Socio-Environmental Systems
We are pleased to announce the completion of the 22nd story in our Minett Stories online exhibition.
Minett Stories, an online exhibition dedicated entirely to the history of the Minett region, was initially created in the framework of the European Capital of Culture Esch2022. Since then, we have continued working on the topic. The new, 22nd story “Brothers in Exile” presents a family history centred on three Italian brothers. It takes the form of a graphic novel, accompanied by a carefully curated historical essay for those who want to delve deeper. Visitors can explore historical explanations and consult digitized documents related to the story. The graphic novel was beautifully illustrated by Valentin von Uslar-Gleichen, arranged by Lars Schönfelder, written by Julia Harnoncourt, and edited by Stefan Krebs.
Brothers in Exile
“Brothers in Exile” focuses on Leonzio Romanutti, the brother who spent most of his life in the Minett. It recounts his unique yet emblematic life story: his family and romantic relationships, his political involvement in the communist party, his treatment by the foreign police in Esch-Alzette, and later his persecution by the National Socialists. By following the migrations of Leonzio and his brothers, the narrative also connects the Minett to wider global geographies: Brazil with Italy and the Minett, the Minett with other parts of Europe, and even regions as far as Kazakhstan. These intertwined paths underline that the Minett was not only a destination but also an important transit point in multiple migration histories.
Through the story of the Romanutti brothers, visitors gain insight into pivotal moments of the past 150 years: mass emigration to the Americas at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, the rise of fascism, the two World Wars, anti-communist sentiment in central Europe, National Socialist terror and their takeover of Luxembourg and the Minett, and ultimately the “Great Purge” in the Soviet Union.
The fascinating story of the Romanutti family was uncovered through extensive archival research in various archives in Luxembourg, Belgium, and Italy, as well as other sources such as Brazilian shipping lists. “Brothers in Exile” reflects a real story reconstructed from a wide range of archival documents — including police reports, interrogations, and personal letters — which allows it to be told in remarkable detail and even enables the language to echo the specific voices of early twentieth-century actors.
“Brothers in Exile” is also available in a printed version, which can be ordered for free at: remix@uni.lu