Visions of Reconstruction

Abstract

After WWII, films accompanied the reconstruction of Europe’s destroyed cities. Many contained historical footage. How was this material used, to articulate visions of reconstruction, what happened to the material later on, and how do the films relate to municipal film archives? This question is approached in terms of collective cognitive functions, applied to a media archaeological case study of Rotterdam. In focus are two audiovisual landmarks, from 1950 and 1966, and their historical footage, all with different temporal horizons. This study attempts to position the city film archive in media history.