Finding The Little Boy From War-Torn Europe 1944 | WWII Then & Now

duda-wsm • October 29, 2021

 

Dutch Researcher Searches and Finds Little Boy in 1944 Photograph

The stark black and white image of a sad little boy sitting on a pile of sacks in front of sign indicating the direction of Luxembourg and Echternach haunted Dutch researcher, Joey van Meesen. The photo was part of a collection of Lee Miller, an American female war correspondent who documented many aspects of World War II. In researching the photograph, van Meesen found out that the child’s name was Raymond Melchers and the image was taken just behind the front line in the village of Bech, Luxembourg.

 

For several years, van Meesen has been producing WW2 mini-documentaries and videos featuring “Then and Now” shots from Europe on his YouTube channel SNAFU DOCS. Captivated by the idea that the little boy in the photo could still be alive, he set out on a quest to film his search. Raymond Melchers was around the age of seven, 77 years ago in war-torn Luxembourg. This meant that van Meesen would be searching for an older man nearly 84 years old.

 

The film is captivating as the young researcher starts out with very little clues searching for the old man.


Watch “The Quest to Find this Little Boy – WWII Then & Now” mini-documentary below:

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BASTOGNE 2020 - For this year's anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge the team of SNAFU DOCS produced sevaral Then & Now videos. The Battle of the Bulge is a term for history buffs that is inseparable with the German Counter Offensive against the US frontlines in Belgium and Luxembourg that started on Decemeber 16, 1944. The offensive was intended to stop the Allied use of the Belgian port of Antwerp and to split the Allied lines, allowing the Germans to encircle and destroy four Allied armies and force the Western Allies to negotiate a peace treaty in the Axis powers' favor. The Battle of the Bulge was the largest battle ever fought by the US Army in World War II. In this episode of WWII Then & Now we travel around the city of Bastogne to take several Then & Now comparison photographs to cover the story of the 10th Armored Division and the 101st Airborne Division. Many thanks to WWII Researchers: Bob Konings , Joey van Meesen and Florent Plana for helping to produce this video.