woensdag 12 juni 2013

Then and now

The Jewish Historical Museum in Amsterdam has an exhibition about the photographer Philip Mechanicus (1936-2005). The Amsterdam photographer was best known for his black-and-white portraits of figures from the cultural world. But he also built his reputation with photos taken around 1960 in the streets of Amsterdam's former jewish quarter, where he had born and raised. He would wander there for hours with a borrowed camera. 

Nineteen large panels with photographs by Mechanicus are installed in and around Waterloo square in exactly the spots where he originally took the photos. He has an eye for the melancholy atmosphere of the deserted streets, but also for the high spirits of the children at play there, for whom the ruined neighbourhood by WWII and its heaps of rubble formed the ideal playground.

All the old houses are demolished  and the Operahouse has raised here now. Watching the photos and walking through the neighbourhood is very interesting. So many has gone and watching your own childhood is weird. Children looked so different at that time and lived such a different life as today. We walked through the city on our own, there was hardly any traffic, we played in the streets every day after school. I didn't realise it all looked so old and ruined. As a child you take things for as it is.

Many houses in the postwar Jewish quarter were so run down that theyn had to be knocked down before they collapsed. They were in such poor condition because they had been unoccuppied for so long, but also because during the winter famine of 1944-1945 the desperate people of Amsterdam had stripped away the wood from the houses of deported Jews.

12 opmerkingen:

  1. I like to look at olde historical photos and compare with what was once there. We have a few such photos about our river that flows through town, except there were hundreds of sailing vessels tied in at the many, many wharf's then, compared to the only two wharf's today and minimal traffic. Looking at these photos, there are some remarkable changes and memories. You are correct that children took things as they were and in the last photo, I am sure that wood kept many people warm and alive during that very cold winter back in 1944-45. Thank you for the now and then history - with great photos.

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  2. a startling contrast with what is there now.
    I love the atmosphere of the photos. Incredible!!

    hope you are well, Bieb!

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  3. I can't even image the suffering. Very interesting post.

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  4. Dearest Marianne,
    That is quite an interesting historical tribute. Glad Philip Mechanicus caught things on camera for others to stare at now and to compare. What a drastic change of the former Jewish quarter where he was born... Smart also for using maps and pinpointing where he photographed what. So sad for the reason that the houses of deported Jews got stripped of their bones by others... What a fate for those that did return.
    Hugs to you,
    Mariette

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  5. What a wonderful concept that many other cities around the world could follow. My San Francisco would be especially interesting if they did this. Yes, the world looks much different through the eyes of a child. Great post Marianne.

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  6. Inderdaad erg interessant. Geweldig goed dat ze dit doen.

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  7. There's never enough told about the tragedies that happened in the war. A friend told me about his father picking up potatoes and coal along the RR . It's something I won't forget.

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  8. It is hard to believe the difference between just one generation. My playground as a child in Manchester were the bombsites. As an industrial city many bombs were dropped there during the war. It was only when I was much older that I understood, I just thought they were areas for children to play. The eyes of children are very different from those of the adult.

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  9. I often think we have no idea of how hard life was through and just after the war years Marianne, this is why the work of street photographers in those times is so important now oui..

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  10. Very interesting love the oll time pictures

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  11. Very interesting love the oll time pictures

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