Small-scale European cooperation project “Houses of darkness”

Dutch filmmaker Eline Jongsma grew up unaware that her great-grandfather was a Nazi-aligned mayor famous for his penchant for violence. Known as “Gekke Gerrit” (“Mad Gerrit), he was wiped from the family history after the war. But secrets can’t stay hidden forever, and in the animated Instagram documentary series His Name Is My Name, Jongsma and her partner Kel O’Neill unearth a history that is at once unique and universal. Equal parts detective thriller and personal essay, His Name Is My Name explores how the crimes of WWII-era perpetrators still reverberate through today’s society, shaking the foundations of our homes and our families.

‘He was a Jew hunter and a member of the Dutch SS–and he was also my great-grandfather.’

Emmy-nominated filmmakers @jongsma_oneill present the groundbreaking documentary @hisnamemyname. Told through 10 animated chapters and an AR experience, the project launches July 8, only on Instagram. Follow now, www.instagram.com/hisnamemyname

Trailer: His Name Is My Name from JONGSMA + O’NEILL on Vimeo.

About the project

“Houses of darkness” is a small-scale cooperation project in which three WW2 memorial centres, together with a non-profit media organisation, invite a young audience to participate in exploring perpetrator spaces and the question of how to incorporate a legacy of brutality and ignorance in the larger narrative of European cultural heritage. The project is the result of a joint initiative by the former Nazi camps and now memorial centres Falstadsenteret (Norway), Herinneringscentrum Kamp Westerbork (Netherlands) and Gedenkstätte Bergen-Belsen (Germany). The project runs from December 2020 to December 2023, and is co-funded by Creative Europe.