The Hike That Killed Five Schoolboys

My deepest respect for the villagers who went into the blizzard in the middle of the night to save a bunch of foreign children.

If any kids are reading this, please remember that just because someone is an adult in charge doesn't mean they know everything. If it feels wrong, defy them, stay back. Defend yourself if you know something is wrong. Better in some trouble than dead.

The fact that Keast completely got away with it, and the case was mostly swept under the rug, is just disgusting. This was blatant murder, thank you for shedding light on this tragedy with such a well-made video Excited to watch this channel's growth

I read the The Guardian article on this some time ago. Keast said a week after the death of the boys that "today I've had the happiest day of my life" in a letter to his crush. I've no doubt that guy was either a manipulative pyscho or the worst type of narcissistic egomaniac or both. I'm sure in his mind he was the hero he'd told everyone he was, and I wish the truth had come out while he was alive so he'd have to watch everyone know him for the monster he was.

"Ir was just too late to turn back" after multiple people openly told and then begged him to stop his madness. That man was a monster.

Something quite horrifying to consider is, the German locals warning them about the severity of the storm and not to go would obviously be conversing in German with the teacher, which the children probably weren't able to understand/catch most of Edit: spelling

I've watched lots of stories of lost hikers, mostly in remote areas. The story usually starts with the hikers setting off, and then there's no contact with any other person. They simply vanish. In this case, there were many times the boys could have been spared. All those people who tried to warn them and who gave them directions. It's like Keast was trying to get them all killed.

"There's no need to go over the details of what happens when a young boy is made to march through sub-zero temperatures in shorts and sandals for hours on end. It's every bit as heartbreaking as you imagine it to be." This line alone deserves an enormous amount of respect. Thank you.

Keast was my German teacher at Marlborough and none of us knew this story. I am pretty sure the school can't have done either; it was after all some 30 years later. At Marlborough he was known for driving a 1930s Rolls Royce and writing witty end-of-term reports. In one of mine, he wrote: "certainly my most intriguing pupil, but I feel I have failed to get anything across to him. However, I am game to go on trying." I am now ashamed of finding that witty. Watching this, I became angrier and angrier and more and more upset. Turns out, my sister lives in Freiburg and has done for 30 years. She married a German who works for the radio and knew the story. He had even interviewed the mayor of Hofsgrund who was an eyewitness to the tragedy before broadcasting the story. Next time I visit, I promise I will lay a wreath at the site.

Honestly bless those villagers and their families for risking their lives for children that weren't even theirs.

Nearly cried at the part where the villagers risked their lives to save the boys. True Heroes of the Story.

My heart breaks for that father who tried so hard to fight for justice. That man was broken and his life destroyed by a murderer who got off totally free.

Im not religious or anything, but the fact that church bells are the ones that led some of the boys to find help made me cry. Imagine hearing nothing but wind and snow and your own breathing, and you hear church bells. I cant even imagine the pain and horror those poor boys went through. That leader is a monster.

As a native, who has spent his childhood hiking all over the region with his parents, let me tell you it’s not called the Black Forest for nothing. It’s a rugged and mountainous woodland with treacherous weather and it’s difficult to navigate at the best of times. Even today in the age of GPS, hikers get lost all the time.

It wasn’t Keats’ extreme carelessness or the tragic deaths of the boys that pains me the most . The most heartbreaking thing is that there were several people who tried desperately to get the justice done but ended up failing and be traumatized for life. Life is so unfair.

As a parent, this infuriates me. Putting your trust in a leader to guide and care for your child, and subject them to this is monstrous to say the least.

as a german living in the black forest, making someone go hiking in these conditions is basically murder. i never knew about this story, very interesting

Its been 84 years and this still enrages me, its almost like he was trying to kill them.

I'm a local living close to Freiburg, have been on the Schauinsland many times throughout my life, but I did not know about this story yet. Thanks for telling it, great video! Hits hard when you know all of those locations and see the absurd path this teacher and the poor children took.

I'm crying for those children, and for the injustice their parents experienced. This is one of the worst non-fiction stories I've ever heard. Thank you for sharing it. I's got everything...innocent kids, concerned villagers, grieving parents, a lying "guardian," the detemined investigator, Nazi theatrics, deceptive politics and overall governmental neglect. Those poor, trusting children.