Rookwolken boven de Schiedamsesingel te Rotterdam c. 1940 - 1945

J. Nolte captured this photograph, "Rookwolken boven de Schiedamsesingel te Rotterdam," with the stark immediacy of lived experience. It's a chilling visual record of the devastation inflicted upon Rotterdam, likely during the harrowing days of World War II. In the photograph, smoke billows ominously over the Schiedamsesingel, a scene that encapsulates not just physical destruction, but also the profound disruption of everyday life. The personal is overshadowed by the monumental scale of war, yet it is in the details—the buildings, the water—that we glimpse the lives upended. This image serves as a stark reminder of the human cost of conflict. Consider what it meant for the individuals who lived and worked in these buildings, for whom this place was home. Through Nolte’s lens, we confront a moment of history that demands remembrance and reflection.