Ancient Web: Wilfried Braakhuis Built a 1998 World War Two Reference Room

Part of the Ancient Web Collection.

Some old websites put a history book online. Wilfried Braakhuis built one that also tried to make the visitor feel as if they were entering a military command post, complete with national flags, tanks, a scrolling background, and a remarkably ambitious navigation menu.

Visit The World at War, History of WW 1939–1945.

The Dutch webmaster identifies himself on the page and gives its completion date as January 1, 1998. What survives is an extensive World War II reference environment, with chronological history, military strategy, campaigns, information about the major powers, and links intended for students and enthusiasts. Its introduction explicitly describes the project as a way to connect events through chronology and cross-reference rather than simply list famous battles.

A history site built for Netscape-era browsing

Braakhuis created a sliding menu for navigation, animated the page background, and specified a preferred screen resolution of 1152 by 864. The HTML contains a commented-out Java snow effect and several generations of visitor counters. These details are part of the site's physical history: they show what a personally maintained educational project considered impressive and practical in 1998.

The homepage also advertised a discussion forum, mailing list, guestbook, and message board. Many of those services should be treated as historical links rather than assumed functioning communities. It lists shortened web addresses added in 2001 and 2006, reflecting the gradual shift from a personal ISP address toward dedicated domain names.

A particularly useful contemporary marker is the site's claim to have been a USA TODAY Education Best Bet for April 9–15, 2002. That award is reported on the site itself; the surviving page is not independent confirmation of the recognition. It nevertheless records how webmasters presented outside attention before social media metrics.

The historical introduction discusses the invasion of Poland, the fall of France, North Africa, and the Soviet front. Its interpretations belong to the author and should not substitute for modern scholarship; the point of preservation is how the information was arranged for a late-1990s reader.

Braakhuis gave the early web a combination of personal enthusiasm, ambitious research, and decorative effects that a modern publishing platform would probably strip away. The battle history matters. So does the website that taught it.

Explore the original history, navigation, and community links.

Part of the Ancient Web Collection.