Uncovering a person’s past is not always easy. Unlike today, people of previous centuries do not have a digital footprint from which we are able to learn about their day-to-day lives and experiences. Imagine how life must have been before modern computers: no Facebook, no Instagram, and no Kodak moments. We must rely on old film and other items that easily tarnish and diminish over time, leaving vast holes where information was once contained.
Nearly 70 years ago, a World War II soldier shot 31 rolls of film that documented his service in the military. These photos offer a firsthand insight into the life and experiences of the soldier.
Levi Bettweiser, a collector and restorer of historical film, discovered the soldier’s forgotten photographs. Bettweiser decided to develop the film and create a lasting memory for the WWII veteran.
Luckily, the historical collector had the resources to make his project a reality: Bettweiser works for the Rescued Film Project, an organization that serves as an online gallery for images captured between 1930 and the 1990s. The images are found all over the world, and each tells their own interesting story.
The images arrive at the organization’s headquarters as undeveloped film and, utilizing various technologies, the organization is able to develop film from all eras. In fact, they even have the ability to develop film that has been damaged by heat, time, and moisture, or film that is no longer manufactured by modern companies.
The Rescued Film Project does not charge for their film development, running entirely on donations and unsolicited financial support from various individuals.
The individuals who contribute their time to the organization feel that, according to the mission statement:
“Each frame captured reflects a moment that was intended to be remembered. The picture was taken, the roll was finished, wound up, and for reasons we can only speculate, was never developed. These moment never made it into the photo albums … We believe that these images deserve to be seen … Forever making their existence in history.”
Bettweiser was smart to bring the undeveloped WWII film into the office for his next project.
1. The film, which had been damaged by water and rust, was discovered in Ohio during a local auction.
2. Therefore, the outcome of the project was unknown.
3. Bettweiser was uncertain about what would come of the film.
4. According to our source, Bettweiser thought, “There is a large possibility that I might not recover a single image from any of these rolls of film.”
5. However, the young collector was in for a shocking surprise.
6. Upon developing the film in his kitchen, Bettweiser was glad that he had moved forward with the project.
7. He thought to himself, “When I pulled the film that I had just developed out of my film development tank and look at them, I’m the very first person that has ever seen that picture.”
8. And what a treat the photographs turned out to be!
9. The developed photos, as an archived gallery, depict the life of military men during WWII. The truth and insight available within the gallery is stunning.
10. Bettweiser certainly uncovered a wonderful piece of history to share with the world.
