The crumbling
Atlantic Wall through
the inquisitive eyes of
photographer Stephan
Vanfleteren
During World War II, Adolf Hitler gave the
order for a line of defense to be constructed
along the coasts of the western front.
Ranging from the French-Spanish border
to the north of Norway, this Atlantic Wall is
a series of bunkers, barricades and coastal
batteries.
Over the past year Stephan Vanfleteren
photographed this 'wall' of more than 2600
kilometres in his well-known black-andwhite
style. He planted his tripod on various
beaches in Belgium, the Netherlands and
Germany, climbed cliff faces in France,
sailed between the fjords of Norway and
stood in the surf in Denmark to photograph
the ruins of the largest military structure of
the previous century.
Vanfleteren shows with this series of photos
his wonder for the untamed architectural
beauty of these concrete structures and
he shows the power of nature as it slowly
reclaims these structures that were once
considered impenetrable.
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Stephan Vanfleteren: photographer; Benoit Strubbe: research assistant, Province of West Flanders/Raversyde; Mathieu de Meyer: Coordinator-Curator, Atlantic Wall Raversyde.