Visions of Reconstruction: Layers of Moving Images

After WWII, films accompanied the reconstruction of Europe’s destroyed cities. Many contained historical footage. Howwas thismaterial used to articulate visions of reconstruction, what happened to thematerial later on, and howdo these films relate to the city film archive? This question is approached in terms of collective cognitive functions, applied to a media archaeological case study of Rotterdam. In focus are two audio-visual landmarks, a municipally sponsored ‘film suite’ from 1950 and a television documentary from 1966, as well as their historical footage, all with different temporal horizons. This study attempts to position the city film archive in media history.