Der erste Schritt (1951)
Letter from a French student to a German politician in which she presents him with her father's Cross of Merit. Flashback to the 1914-1918 war, Verdun, battlefields, cemetery. Pictures from the Ruhr area, destroyed factories, a German coal mine with obsolete equipment, the coal problem, import of coal from America, the border problem in Europe, transport difficulties in Germany, controls at the borders, on 24.11.1950 students open the barrier to Strasbourg, demand for the creation of a united Europe, pictures from the steelworks in Lorraine. Europe becomes economically healthier through the elimination of borders, through unification and modernized economy an increase in the purchasing power of all. (Source: Viewing protocol Bundesarchiv Koblenz)
