Ghosts of Amsterdam

Artist Jo Teeuwisse found a cache of old World War II negatives at a flea market in Holland.  Intrigued by the photos, she researched and photographed the same locations now.  Layering the old and the new with Photoshop, she amassed quite an interesting collection.  They have been exhibited in galleries all over Europe. I was not familiar with them until my Dutch son-in-law sent me the link.  Here are a few more of Jo's photos. 

In the US we tear down and rebuild something different, but in Europe the tradition is more rebuild again as it was. So, it is not surprising that she could match up the old photos with current landscape. Obviously what is in color is new and the black and white is the old.

Here is what the artist said in an interview:

"What do you hope others will get out of your merged photos?
I hope that they remind people of history, make them realize that the past is all around us and that things happened where they are walking, where they live, where they work. I am passionate about the past, I think it is one of the most important subjects in the world. Without knowing where we come from we don't know where we're going. Seeing a place you know well as it was many years ago is always fascinating, seeing that same spot at a time when something important, horrible, lovely, interesting or unusual was happening, this is also confrontational and will hopefully make people think."

I was so intrigued by this type of combining the old and new, but quickly found out that she was not the first to employ this technique with WWII photos.  Below Leningrad and Berlin:

These photos are by Sergey Larenkov.

St Petersburg:

Chilling, isn't it?  It gives a new meaning to "if walls could talk".

Comments

[Connie]

These are wonderful - makes me wish I was more adept at Photoshop! Thanks for sharing!

[kelly]

These are beyond fascinating.

[Just a Plane Ride Away]

Wow, SO interesting! Thanks for sharing this, Ginny.

[Seth]

What a creative idea and powerful result.

[Vicki in Michigan]

As a tourist in France last summer, I was struck by how war and its aftermath are EVERYWHERE.

Cathedrals with shrapnel in the piers which hold up the roofs. Streets with buildings that are hundreds of years old next to buildings that are obviously new. Remnants of old buildings that have not been rebuilt (the ones we saw were former cathedrals)...........

Here, everything is so much newer, and, here, we have not experienced war on our soil for over 100 years......

Totally different............

I wondered to what extent all of that daily/hourly exposure to the aftereffects of war changes the way people see the world........

These pics surely show the contrast between now and wartime in a strong and graphic way!

[Susan Goodell]

The wonders of modern technology. These are great photos.

[Maureen]

Amazing photos Ginny. That one of Cherbourg hit me because it could have been my father in that photo. So often I wish I could ask him questions...

[Lori Lee]

Thank you SO much for sharing these, Ginny! My husband and I found these pictures absolutely amazing and so moving...absolutely fantastic! I have often stared at old buildings and wished they could 'speak' and tell us about the people who lived in them!

[ginnycartersmallenburg]

Thank you so much for the comments. I am glad the photos had the same effect on you as they did me.
They are so moving. I lived in the Netherlands in the 80s and WWII was still being discussed by the Dutch on a
daily basis. There were still bunkers on the road to the North Sea and my neighbors told me that my house
had once hidden Jews and later housed German officers who had taken over our street.
I walked every street wondering what the history was on that spot.
These photos definitely make us think and respond emotionally.

[Barbara]

I am in awe of these photo's - such a great way to express the past and present!