Ghosts of War, then and now: Artist pays homage to Nazi-occupied Amsterdam

Ghosts of War, Then and Now: A composite photo, created by photographer and historical consultant Jo Hedwig Teeuwisse, of factory workers on the stoop of a house in Amsterdam during the Nazi occupation in World War II. Photo used with permission of Jo Hedwig Teeuwisse. All rights reserved. The past is always with us. We might think we've evolved beyond it, grown more sophisticated or grounded in the present, but it is there, every day, in our ordinary lives.

In the streets we walk, the stairs we step down in the morning, the shopping plazas we cross.

No one understands this more than Jo Hedwig Teeuwisse, an amazing historical consultant based in the Netherlands, who through her remarkable photographic artistry has managed to merge the some of the most horrific memories of the past century with the mundane present.

Through her photographic art, which melds today's images of familiar places'mostly set in Amsterdam'with images of 70-years-ago Nazi-occupied Amsterdam, Teeuwisse creates a haunting, visceral body of work that will never, ever leave you alone. Once seen, her work simply will not be easily forgotten.

The photograph that opened this post, for example, was a mash-up the two below, taken at a site she identifies as Nieuwe looierstraat, Amsterdam. The older picture was part of a serendipitous discovery, she explains on her Flickr page:

The old photo was part of a bunch of negatives I found on a fleamarket, I have been trying to find out more about the person who made the photos and the people in them. The owner worked in a factory, or even owned it. He took this photo of some of the workers in the factory sometime during World War two.

Above, then. Below, now. Nieuwe Looierstraat, Amsterdam. Photo used with permission of Jo Hedwig Teeuwisse. All Rights Reserved. She's more than just a photographer; through her work she's also become something of an amateur detective. She says:

One of the wartime photos I found compared to the location today. I didn't know the location but when making the photo on the Reguliersgracht I decided to walk around and then discovered the other location as well. This is where the photo was taken, Nieuwe Looierstraat Amsterdam.

This photo might help me find out what factory these people really worked for and where it was.

Yes, a detective and an artist with an expertise in history. The results of this amazing combination can be found below the fold.

Beware. There are photos that will haunt you'oh, not gruesome, trust me. It's another sort of haunting entirely.

(Continue reading below the fold.)