Franciszka Themerson (L) and Stefan Themerson (far R) taken from Europa (1931), Stefan and Franciszka Themerson / © Themerson Estate
Avant-garde film masterpiece Europa restituted by the Bundesarchiv, Germany,
to the heir of Stefan and Franciszka Themerson in July 2021, 80 years after its seizure in Paris.
It received its world première at the 65th BFI London Film Festival on 6 October 2021
"The rediscovery of Europa in Germany’s Federal Archives is a reminder that all such archives are full of loot taken forcibly
from other cultures and communities. Whereas the conventional narrative is that archives rescue and preserve materials for posterity,
the story of Europa underscores how ‘preservation’ can mean the removal of a work from a living culture."
So Mayer, Frieze, 15 December 2021
from other cultures and communities. Whereas the conventional narrative is that archives rescue and preserve materials for posterity,
the story of Europa underscores how ‘preservation’ can mean the removal of a work from a living culture."
So Mayer, Frieze, 15 December 2021
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