Ghosts Of History: Chilling Images Merge Modern Day Life With Photographs Of World War II

Jo Teeuwisse is a history consultant who takes her work home with her. The Amsterdam historian layers modern day images with photos taken decades ago.

According a loose translation of the Dutch version of her Facebook profile:

Miss Jo Hedwig Teeuwisse is an old-fashioned lady in a modern time. Thanks to her passion for the past, she has converted into a 1930s lifestyle. She dressed and lives day in and day out she if someone from before the war. (WWII)

The idea for the project came to Teeuwisse after she found some old negatives at a flea market. The photos were of the town where she lives, but they were taken decades earlier. Ever the historian, she began researching the locations and decided to merge past with present and highlight the contrast between a war-torn world and the rebuilt one.

That project inspired more historical photo merges: After identifying locations in the old photographs, Teeuwisse would take a new picture in the exact same spot and meld the past together with the present.

The process is not complicated, but the impact can be significant. Here are a few examples of her work:

Visit Teeuwisse’s Flickr site for more photos available for viewing and purchase.

(H/T: Daily Mail)