The coastal landscape from the top of Norway to the southern tip of France is dotted with relics from another time. These are largely the result of a building frenzy from 1942 to 1944, bunkers and casemates built in defence of the German Reich to repel an enemy invasion. This was known as the Neue Westwall (New West Wall) at first but is better known as the Atlantikwall (Atlantic Wall) today.
A photography project
Atlantikwall is a photography project that I will be pursuing together with fellow photographer Joeri van Veen. As of yet I haven't decided what formats and media I will use for this project so film and digital, 120 and 135, medium format and full frame, colour and black and white are all options. It is tempting to make this a medium format project but there are several advantages to using the smaller 135/full frame format as well so I guess we'll see! ;-)
The focus of this project will be the Atlantikwall fortifications in the Netherlands. Perhaps not surprisingly because of the D-Day landings in Normandy on the 6th of June, 1944 it is the Atlantikwall in France that is getting the most attention but it is by no means the only country affected by Führer Direktive (directive) No. 40 'Sicherung gegen feindliche Landungen an der europäischen Küsten' (defence against enemy landings on the European coast) dated the 23rd of March, 1942. This project will tell part of that story.
