Plans for the Delta Works began to be drawn up immediately after the 1953 flood disaster. It would take take thirty-four years to complete the Works that needed to secure the land against the sea. For the Dutch, it was a project of national prestige that was much written about in books, newspapers and magazines, most of the time accompanied by photographic illustrations.

Aart Klein, who had documented the catastrophic consequences of the 1953 flood disaster, was there to witness the birth and construction of the Delta Works. In 1963, his photographs of the Dutch delta area appeared in Delta. Poort van Europa (Delta, Gateway to Europe) and its sequel Delta. Stromenland in beweging (Delta. Water-country in Movement), which was published four years later. For this site, 1,669 negatives were selected out of a total of 4,000 shots. Aside from the Delta Works, they portray the landscape of the province of Zeeland and its people. As S.J. Groenman wrote in his introduction to Delta. Stromenland in beweging: ‘The portrayal of the Delta area presents a classic theme: innovative dynamics versus old forms.’