Page Description
Explore stories where life, justice, and society intersect. Witness how innocence meets systemic failure and reflect on the human consequences.
Life, justice, and society are deeply intertwined, yet the consequences of failure are often overlooked. In these stories, innocence meets systemic shortcomings, revealing the human cost of injustice. We explore real events that challenge us to reflect, question, and understand how society can falter — and what it means for each of us.
Leven, gerechtigheid en samenleving zijn nauw met elkaar verbonden, maar de gevolgen van falen worden vaak over het hoofd gezien. In deze verhalen ontmoet onschuld systemische tekortkomingen, waardoor de menselijke tol van onrecht zichtbaar wordt. We verkennen echte gebeurtenissen die ons uitnodigen tot reflectie, vragen oproepen en laten zien hoe de samenleving kan falen — en wat dat voor ons allemaal betekent.
Introduction
Jeremy Paxman | Season 2 Episode 1 | Full Episode | Who Do You Think You Are
When Life Hangs by a Thread in the Desert
Before The Little Prince, He Nearly Died in the Sahara
11 mei 2026 #PaperWitness #AntoineDeSaintExupery #SurvivalStory
On the fourth day in the Sahara, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry had almost no water left.
Years before the world knew him as the author of The Little Prince, Saint-Exupéry was a pilot attempting a record flight from Paris to Saigon with his mechanic and navigator, André Prévot. Over the Libyan desert, one mistake brought their aircraft down in the dark.
They survived the crash.
Then the desert began to kill them slowly.
This PaperWitness episode tells the real survival ordeal behind Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s 1935 Sahara crash — the wreck, the thirst, the hallucinations, and the human rescue that came when both men were close to disappearing.
PaperWitness brings real stories to life through hand-drawn documentary visuals and cinematic AI-assisted animation.
Real stories drawn to life.
CHAPTERS
00:00 — The fourth day
00:45 — A record flight to Saigon
01:12 — The crash in the Libyan desert
01:47 — Almost no water
02:15 — They began to walk
03:11 — The body starts to fail
03:39 — Hallucinations in the Sahara
04:28 — Someone finds them
04:49 — Before The Little Prince
04:57 — PaperWitness outro
ABOUT THIS STORY
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was a French aviator and writer. In December 1935, he and André Prévot crashed in the Sahara while attempting a Paris-to-Saigon speed record. Their desert ordeal later became one of the real experiences associated with Saint-Exupéry’s writing and imagination.
This episode focuses only on the survival ordeal — not a full biography, and not a literary explanation of The Little Prince.
STYLE NOTE
This video uses original narration, editing, hand-drawn-style visual design, and AI-assisted animation to reconstruct a documented historical survival story in a restrained documentary style.
Before The Little Prince, He Nearly Died in the Sahara
This video tells the dramatic story of how Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, the beloved author of The Little Prince, faced a life-threatening ordeal in the Sahara Desert. Stranded in the harsh, unforgiving landscape, he confronted the full force of nature and the fragility of human life. This near-death experience left a profound mark on him, shaping not only his worldview but also the stories he would later tell, including the poetic and philosophical reflections in The Little Prince. Witness the moment where survival, creativity, and destiny intersect in the vast desert.
Voordat De Kleine Prins Bestond, Overleefde Hij Nauwelijks de Sahara
In deze video wordt het meeslepende verhaal verteld van hoe Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, de geliefde auteur van De Kleine Prins, een levensbedreigende ervaring meemaakte in de Sahara. Gestrand in het harde, genadeloze landschap, werd hij geconfronteerd met de kracht van de natuur en de kwetsbaarheid van het menselijk leven. Deze bijna-doodervaring liet een diepe indruk op hem achter en vormde niet alleen zijn wereldbeeld, maar ook de verhalen die hij later schreef, waaronder de poëtische en filosofische reflecties in De Kleine Prins. Beleef het moment waarop overleven, creativiteit en lot samenkomen in de uitgestrekte woestijn.