War, Peace, Europe: The Themersons and Modern Pacifism

The article considers pacifist and cosmopolitan intentions inscribed in the film Europe by Franciszka and Stefan Themersons, especially in the context of its source text by Anatol Stern. Rakoczy juxtaposes Stern's poem with another cosmopolitan and pacifist text, namely the geopolitical manifesto Paneuropa written by Richard CoudenhoveKalergi. Showing the broad spectrum of pacifist and cosmopolitan attitudes of the European interwar period - attitudes that are extremely important and necessary today - I consider: how they projected European identity? With what cultural and technological changes were they associated? What was understood by the concept of Europe, especially after the horrors of the Great War? I try to answer: what pitfalls and weaknesses were inscribed in these projects? Moreover, I wonder why these projects were disconnected from the experience of Central and Eastern Europe, the home region of all the considered artists, as well as from its invisible cosmopolitan practices.