According to the title sequence, the film "Der erste Schritt – Die Geschichte eines Briefes" ("The First Step – The Story of a Letter") is based on a true story which the well-known German journalist Peter von Zahn (1913-2001) modified for this informational film. It explains the need for a closer European cooperation on the basis of the Schuman Declaration and the subsequent establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC).
The film begins with a voice-over of a young women who is introduced in the expository intertitle as the French student Simone. In her comment, Simone explains her motivation to present her father’s First World War medal for bravery (here falsely described as ‘Kriegsverdienstkreuz’ in a displayed title of a newspaper clipping) with an accompanying letter to a German politician participating in the negotiations for the Treaty of Paris in 1951. Hereafter, a disabled war veteran, a transport driver as well as Simone’s brother have the opportunity to explain their various arguments in favour of a supranational European organization from their point of view: Peace, the end of political and economic national rivalries, the reduction of bureaucracy and customs barriers, efficiency, prosperity and progress. The end of the film picks up Simone’s story. She finishes the letter to the German politician and encloses the honorary medal as a symbol for the successful Franco-German reconciliation process.

The undisclosed politician was Konrad Adenauer, the German Chancellor and Foreign Minister of the Federal Republic of Germany. On 18 April 1951, he took part in the signing ceremony of the Treaty of Paris at the Quai d’Orsay. After Adenauer’s return to his hotel, he received a letter from the French student Simone Patrouilles who included her father’s "Croix de Guerre". The German translation of Patrouilles’ letter as well as Adenauer’s reply is published in: Adenauer, Konrad: Erinnerungen 1945-1953, Stuttgart: Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt 1965, p. 440. The medal is part of the collection of the Stiftung Bundeskanzler-Adenauer-Haus in Rhöndorf.

Expository intertitle in German: "Der Film entstand nach einer Idee von Peter von Zahn. Der Brief ist Wirklichkeit. Er wurde von der französischen Studentin Simone an einen deutschen Politiker geschrieben, der zu Verhandlungen über den Schuman Plan nach Paris gekommen war..."

Genre
Documentary / Compilation Film

Credits
Production Country: Germany
Film Production Company: Neue Deutsche Wochenschau GmbH, Hamburg; Pathé-Journal, Paris
Commissioning Institution: Unknown
Director: Günther Schnabel
Producer: Unknown
Editorial: Marcel Cleinow
Idea: Peter von Zahn
Cinematography: Horst Grund; Jean-Pierre Lemoine
Film Editing: Marcel Cleinow
Music: Siegfried Franz
Commentator: Unknown

Technical Information
Original Film Format: 35 mm
Duration: 16 minutes
Colour: Black & White

Schuman Declaration, French-German Reconciliation, Economic Cooperation, Prosperity, Cold War, First World War, Second World War, Verdun, Fort de Vaux, Fort de Douaumont, Peace, European Coal and Steel Community, Efficiency, Bureaucracy, Customs, Franco-German Border, European Youth, Wissembourg, Strasbourg, Council of Europe, USA, National Rivalries, Progress

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German

Video

Bundesarchiv – Filmarchiv, Berlin

The film was digitised from the copy located at the Bundesarchiv – Filmarchiv, Berlin

The German translation of the letter, Adenauer’s response as well as a photo of the medal are available online: https://www.adenauerhaus.de/downloads/ExpNov12.pdf

Italian translation of Adenauer’s autobiography regarding the letter:
Audisio, Giuseppe ; Chiara, Alberto : I fondatori dell’Europa Unita secondo il progetto di Jean Monnet. Robert Schuman, Konrad Adenauer, Alcide De Gasperi, Turin : EFFATA’ Editrice 1999, p. 67.

French translation of Adenauer’s autobiography regarding the letter:
Anta, Claudio Giulio : Les péres de l’Europe. Sept portraits avec une présentation d’Arturo Colombo, Bruxelles : Peter Lang 2007, p. 76.