Germany then and now

Superb work.

The Dutchman Jeroen Ruiter founded Ruiter Productions in 2007 and proceeded to make a series of videos where key German WW2 locations are shown Then and Now.

The quality of the work – video, score, superimpositions – is outstanding. It is also bone chilling. Here’s an example, this being the Luitpold Arena in Nuremberg, site of the infamous Nazi rallies of the 1930s so well documented by Hitler’s photographer Leni Riefenstahl:



The Luitpold Arena in the 1930s.


The same location today.


The presentation is gripping and there are many more videos available on Ruiter’s web site. There’s even one on Auschwitz-Birkenau, but I lack the courage to watch it.

Although the Luitpold Arena has been largely destroyed, many of the sites profiled – especially in Munich, in a separate video – remain largely unchanged. Seeing the exact locations, with images, of where the Nazis paraded is quite remarkable.

Highly recommended.