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Ghost of WWII: 1940's meticulously overlaid on modern day

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Re: Ghost of WWII: 1940's meticulously overlaid on modern day

#41

Post by grigory »

brc wrote: post #13

As remote as these images might feel, it's important to remember that some of our parents and grandparents went through this time. We always feel that the world is a peaceful place, but things got this bad in a very short space of time. Certainly in a shorter space of time than the war in Iraq has been going on. Things can fall apart very quickly, and the ones who fight for peace the most are those who can remember o…

While I agree with you, I wanted to provide a different perspective on how "remote" these images might seem. (I might be misunderstanding meaning you're putting behind that word. If so, please forgive me!)

I'm Russian, and I grew up in different parts of USSR and later ex-USSR. All of my older relatives were, in some sense, involved in WW2. A big part of my family died during that time - some killed in fighting, some from hunger, some from random bullets, some because of repressions of that time... That war greatly affected every family I know, usually in most tragic ways. So to many people over there, such photographs are not "remote" at all - they are an integral part of their own history.

At the same time, it is saddening to see a new generation grow up oblivious to what their grandparents went through... People forget so easily!

Re: Ghost of WWII: 1940's meticulously overlaid on modern day

#42

Post by torpor »

This set of data is just screaming to be turned into an iPhone app .. imagine, you're somewhere in Europe. The GPS figures out where, and gives you a picture (modern-day) to wipe your fingers over .. revealing the WW2-era pic underneath.

For some European cities, this would be killer .. I know a lot of people who are interested in the history of Europe from the perspective of WW2, and this could be quite an intriguing application to develop ..

Re: Ghost of WWII: 1940's meticulously overlaid on modern day

#43

Post by Hume62 »

torpor wrote: post #42

This set of data is just screaming to be turned into an iPhone app .. imagine, you're somewhere in Europe. The GPS figures out where, and gives you a picture (modern-day) to wipe your fingers over .. revealing the WW2-era pic underneath. For some European cities, this would be killer .. I know a lot of people who are interested in the history of Europe from the perspective of WW2, and this could be quite an intriguin…

Don't think I have read about any well-funded startups in this area yet, but boy there's a business opportunity here. Aside from the major historical locations, most every state/city in the US has a "historical society" of some sort that has thousands/millions of old pictures laying around. My own (Minneapolis) had a project many years back where they went around and took a pic of every single house in the city limits. I'd like to be able to go to a cool neighborhood and point my phone to a street corner and see what was there, sort of my own interactive history lesson. Rather than each of these government agencies or museums figuring out how to do an aug reality app on their own dime, someone needs to build the template/service and offer it up.

Re: Ghost of WWII: 1940's meticulously overlaid on modern day

#44

Post by torpor »

Hume62 wrote: post #43
torpor wrote: post #42

This set of data is just screaming to be turned into an iPhone app .. imagine, you're somewhere in Europe. The GPS figures out where, and gives you a picture (modern-day) to wipe your fingers over .. revealing the WW2-era pic underneath. For some European cities, this would be killer .. I know a lot of people who are interested in the history of Europe from the perspective of WW2, and this could be quite an intriguin…

Don't think I have read about any well-funded startups in this area yet, but boy there's a business opportunity here. Aside from the major historical locations, most every state/city in the US has a "historical society" of some sort that has thousands/millions of old pictures laying around. My own (Minneapolis) had a project many years back where they went around and took a pic of every single house in the city limit…

This is really a great idea. I'd love to be involved in such a startup .. iPhone/Android/PlaszmaOS/Angstrom developer here, ready to be recruited!! :)

Re: Ghost of WWII: 1940's meticulously overlaid on modern day

#45

Post by arethuza »

kenver wrote: post #31
palish wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's really cool. A city with a castle on a volcano? Which city is that?

I think it's Edinburgh, it's built on an extinct volcano though. It's probably a health and safety requirement.

Correct: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edinburgh_Castle

There are a few good reasons that the science of geology was pretty much started here :-)

Re: Ghost of WWII: 1940's meticulously overlaid on modern day

#46

Post by arethuza »

jacquesm wrote: post #32
nostrademons wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Much of the Northeast has this flavor. I dunno if you've ever been to the Boston area, but many of the buildings have this same sense of history to them. In the leather district, you've got former tanning factories which became porn studios which became software offices and yuppie lofts. In Maynard, you have old textile mills from the industrial revolution, which became DEC in the 50s and 60s, which became Monster.co…

'Old' in Europe is more like this: http://pics.ww.com/v/jacques/buildings/dscf1025.jpg.html or this: http://pics.ww.com/v/jacques/buildings/dscf1021.jpg.html The oldest parts of this building date from the 12th century: http://www.engelmunduskerkvelsenzuid.nl/images/foto_kerk_2.j... I've actually had an office in the 'carpet factory' in Toronto, which was an industrial revolution age textile mill, amazing building, w…

I'd have said "old" in Europe is more like this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skara_Brae

Skara Brae had been abandoned for 1200 years when Troy fell!

For a building that can actually be used, how about this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_Hercules (1900 years old) or the Pantheon http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantheon,_Rome (~1900 years).

Although my favourite is Hagia Sophia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagia_Sophia - a youngster at almost 1500 years old.

Re: Ghost of WWII: 1940's meticulously overlaid on modern day

#47

Post by konve »

pvg wrote: post #8

http://sergey-larenkov.livejournal.com/ Original source, also lists the locations. There are also places in a number of these cities where limited amounts of the ww2 damage are left un-repaired, as a memorial and a live version of these composites.

Thank you.

This one just... froze me. http://pics.livejournal.com/sergey_larenkov/pic/000029eg/

Re: Ghost of WWII: 1940's meticulously overlaid on modern day

#48

Post by Vivtek »

jacquesm wrote: post #34
Vivtek wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My house, in 1905 and last year: http://big-old-house.blogspot.com/2009/09/then-1905-and-now-...

That's so cool! My house is also from 1905: http://pics.ww.com/v/jacques/buildings/neatspot/07042007224.... It's a tiny little farmhouse, I spent 2 years rebuilding it.

What a pretty little house!

Mine was actually built in 1885 according to the insurance company records of the day (back then, the insurance companies had an actual map of every house in a major town of Indiana, just in case somebody signed up for their insurance - and now it's all on microfiche at the library). The 1905 picture was the earliest I've found so far; it would have been interesting to see one from anything before 1901, when the front porch was built.

I love the house; it's built to last and even has a brick outhouse (which was in fact built like a brick outhouse). The neighborhood, not so much. Richmond's fortunes have fallen since the 1800's.

Re: Ghost of WWII: 1940's meticulously overlaid on modern day

#49

Post by jacquesm »

Vivtek wrote: post #48
jacquesm wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's so cool! My house is also from 1905: http://pics.ww.com/v/jacques/buildings/neatspot/07042007224.... It's a tiny little farmhouse, I spent 2 years rebuilding it.

What a pretty little house! Mine was actually built in 1885 according to the insurance company records of the day (back then, the insurance companies had an actual map of every house in a major town of Indiana, just in case somebody signed up for their insurance - and now it's all on microfiche at the library). The 1905 picture was the earliest I've found so far; it would have been interesting to see one from anythin…

Very interesting to be able to pull that much historic information up from the records. I've traced some of the older occupants of the house that I live in (one guy in his late 80's!) and invited them over, it was quite the experience to hear them tell their stories. World War II started for the Netherlands about 500 meters from where my house is (it's right on the German border, the Northernmost crossing).

If those old walls could tell stories...

Re: Ghost of WWII: 1940's meticulously overlaid on modern day

#50

Post by Vivtek »

jacquesm wrote: post #36
Peryodo wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

'What Europe can be quite proud of is how not only war was avoided during the last decades but also that war was made less likely over the decades.' Whaaaaaaatt??? Does sound any bell to you the names Yugoslavia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Croatia...?

Technically you are right, but most of Europe sees that as the des-integration of Yugoslavia, which would make it a civil war rather than a war between nation states. And I think you meant to write Serbia instead of Yugoslavia. The other countries getting involved was to stop worse from happening. From what I know about that war it was basically something that was bound to happen the moment Tito kicked the bucket. He…

Very true, except for the statement that other countries' involvement stopped worse from happening - the Yugoslav arms industry was nonexistent, and while they most definitely would have kept on killing one another with rocks, I think they would have been less efficient.

I agree with your larger point, though. The breakup of Yugoslavia was unfortunate - and inevitable - but it's kind of the exception that proves the rule. 1914, after all, was the last time a war was started in Yugoslavia, and it took down the rest of Europe and spread beyond the continent. This time, it was relatively self-contained, and the pieces of Yugoslavia are joining the Union, one by one. (After all, Yugoslavia was always a political fiction - Tito needed a platform big enough to fend off the Soviet Union, and by God if Slovenia didn't like it they could go suck an egg.)

Belgium may be next - and nobody's going to get killed over it. I just can't stress enough what incredible progress that really is.

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