After the end of the Second World War, Europe is on the verge of ruin and loses influence in the former colonies, but reconstruction goes hand in hand with the new democratic European institutions. With the Marshall Plan the economic improvement of Europe begins. The Iron Curtain divides the continent into two spheres of influence; Western European countries and the US are joining forces in NATO. In the East and West, the rearmament begins, a third world war threatens. The European communities will make Europe the second largest economic power in the world. With the founding of European Economic Community and Euratom on 25 March 1957, Europe secures a place between the blocs and heralds a new phase of cooperation with developing countries.

Genre
Compilation Film

Credits
Production Country: France
Film Production Company: Société Nouvelle des Établissements Gaumont
Commissioning Institution: Information Service of the European Communities

Director: Daniel Wronecki
Producer: Unknown
Cinematography:
Film Editing: Germaine Artus
Music: Eugène Kurtz

Technical Information
Original Film Format: Unknown
Duration: 18 minutes
Colour: Black & White

European Communities, Cold War, NATO, Decolonization

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French

Video

Centre National du Cinéma et de l'Image Animée (CNC), Paris

The film was digitised from the copy located at the Centre National du Cinéma et de l'Image Animée (CNC), Paris

Clemens, Gabriele: «Auftrag Europa» – Öffentlichkeitsarbeit und Filmwerbung der europäischen Gemeinschaften, in: Gabriele Clemens (ed.): Werben für Europa. Die mediale Konstruktion europäischer Identität durch Europafilme, Paderborn: Schöningh 2016, pp. 43-128.