History

The genesis of TracesOfWar: A journey of passion, volunteers and history

The history of TracesOfWar is a story that goes back to the early days of the internet, a time when websites were built by pioneers with a passion for knowledge and technology. What began as a simple collection of articles on World War II has grown over the years into an impressive platform with global reach. This success is due to the tireless efforts of volunteers who time and again launched new initiatives, all driven by the same desire: to keep the memory of World War II alive and share it with others.

The beginning of STIWOT

It all started on 27 April 2000, when Frank van der Drift decided to merge his two existing projects. What began as "Wings, The All in One Aircraft Page" and "The Wo 2 Information Page" resulted in the launch of Go2War2.co.uk, a website dedicated to sharing information about World War II. Although at first it attracted only 25 visitors a day, interest proved great enough to take a big step in 2002: the establishment of the World War Two Information Foundation, or STIWOT. The foundation was set up to officially house Go2War2.nl, paving the way for further growth.

The growth to Oorlogsmusea.nl and Band-of-Brothers.nl

Soon STIWOT expanded its influence into other areas. In 2002, Oorlogsmusea.nl was launched, a website focused on the history of war museums and memorial sites. This platform sought to highlight the importance of these sites, and with a bilingual version from 2004, the site grew steadily. And what about the impact of the legendary TV series Band of Brothers? STIWOT saw an opportunity and created a special section for Easy Company paratroopers on Go2War2.co.uk. Soon this section became so popular that it got its own domain name: Band-of-Brothers.co.uk. The website told the story of Easy Company veterans and expanded to include other Airborne veterans. In 2005, the website was eventually transferred to another owner, but its influence was clear.

Forum, WW2Awards.com, Battlefield Tours, News and Kooistra Archive

In 2005, STIWOT saw the need for a platform for discussion and knowledge exchange, and the STIWOTforum.nl was launched. History enthusiasts and researchers could ask questions, share articles and engage in conversation about World War II. The forum quickly grew into a valuable source of information. In the same year, WW2Awards.com was launched, a website focused on awards and medals awarded during the war. It was STIWOT's first bilingual website, and soon grew to become an important resource for collectors and historians.

The websites just kept on coming. In 2006, STIWOTReizen.nl was founded, for organised tours (Battlefield Tours) to historical sites under expert guidance, and in 2012 WO2Actueel.nl was launched to share the latest developments in the world of WW2. WO2Slachtoffers.nl, which incorporated the Kooistra Archive in 2014, also became a valuable resource for researchers and relatives.

Establishment of TracesOfWar

In 2015 came the big change: STIWOT decided to bring its various projects together under one roof, resulting in the launch of TracesOfWar.com. The Master Project, as it was called, aimed to integrate the various websites to create a streamlined platform for everything World War II-related. It soon became the central source for information on battles, memories, and personal stories. In the following years, several sites, such as Oorlogsmusea.nl, WW2Awards.com and Go2War2.nl, were fully integrated.

Innovation and Future

In recent years, STIWOT has continued to raise its profile with the launch of a new app in collaboration with students from Delft University of Technology. This app uses geolocation and offers users an interactive experience when visiting historical sites and events related to World War II.

One of the most special aspects of STIWOT is that all these projects are developed and managed by volunteers. Without government funding, but with a huge passion for history, these volunteers have dedicated their time and knowledge to preserving the memory of the war. This ensured that the costs remained low but the impact was high.

TracesOfWar: A global community

The journey of STIWOT and TracesOfWar is not only a story of technical progress and growth, but more importantly of a close-knit community of people committed to the same goal: preserving the memory of World War II. What once started as a small website is now a global platform that keeps the memory of the war alive for the generations of today and the future. It is a story of passion, dedication and the undeniable importance of history, told by the people who care most about it.