Lessons from WW II: this must never happen again

On 4 and 5 May May of each year, the Dutch commemorate the casualties of WWII, and celebrate their freedom. These are emotional days, and the personal stories of people who survived the war play a prominent role. But fewer and fewer eye-witnesses of the war are still alive. This means fewer people are able to engage new generations with their unique personal stories, and pass them on. When we read a newspaper article in which war veterans reached out with a plea to pass on their stories, it got us thinking. KPN is a Dutch telecom company with a mission to connect people. So how could it connect the generation of back then with the generation of today? And how could it do that in a way that engages young people’s emotions, and connects to the mindset of today.

Evert_45: a boy who tells his story on social media, from 1945

What better way to engage young people and show them that our freedom is our most valuable asset. During national liberation celebrations in the Netherlands this May, Evert_45 did just that. Evert_45 is an immersive campaign played out as an ongoing series on Instagram, YouTube and on the website evert45.com. Evert’s war story is an account of his journey to find his brother in hiding after escaping a German labor camp. The narrative of the online campaign was carefully crafted from numerous insightful interviews with World War II veterans, as well as historians and teachers. It is in fact the end result of a Dutch newspaper article entitled ‘It’s up to you to keep this story alive’ featuring interviews with elderly resistance fighters.

Real historical stories

Even though the character Evert_45 is fictional, his story was based on true stories of ordinary Dutch people from the Second World War. Historical accuracy was safeguarded by historian Dr. J. Rosendaal. And during development it was tested by experts and stakeholders (e.g. veterans, teachers, National Committee for 4 and 5 May, and the Dutch Resistance Museum).

Content = king

The content of Evert_45 can be found on his own YouTube and Instagram channels. The media consumption of young people was used to determine the frequency, duration and location of the content. It was aligned with the way they would view content from ‘normal’ vloggers. Thanks to an overwhelming response in both volume and interaction among young people, teachers across the Netherlands are embracing this new way of exploring history and Evert_45.com is due to be included on the Dutch school curriculum as of 2018.