Made during the Cold War by the Soviet Union, “Peace in Europe” is a detente-era propaganda film that encourages peaceful relations between Russia and Western Europe, while also taking a stand against NATO, the militarization of the continent, and Ronald Reagan’s Star Wars program aka SDI. It was likely made in the mid-1980s after the Helsinki Accords and the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe. At 2:00, peace protests are seen at the Greenham Common Peace Camp. Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp was a peace camp established to protest at nuclear weapons being sited at RAF Greenham Common in Berkshire, England. The camp began in September 1981 after a Welsh group, Women for Life on Earth, arrived at Greenham to protest against the decision of the British government to allow cruise missiles to be based there. The first blockade of the base occurred in May 1982 with 250 women protesting, during which 34 arrests were made. The camp was active for 19 years and disbanded in 2000.
At 2:30, NATO military exercises are seen. After this comes a brief and bloody history of Europe from the Napoleonic Wars through WWI (seen at 4:38 as primitive tanks move across a landscape), and various failed and successful peace conferences from Vienna to the League of Nations are shown. At 6:03, the rise of Hitler and the onslaught of WWII is shown. A Soviet monument to WWII is seen at 7:30.
At 8:00, the signing of the Helsinki Accords is seen. The Helsinki Declaration was the final act of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe held in Finlandia Hall of Helsinki, Finland, during July and August 1, 1975. Thirty-five states, including the USA, Canada, and all European states except Albania and Andorra, signed the declaration in an attempt to improve relations between the Communist bloc and the West. The Helsinki Accords, however, were not binding as they did not have treaty status
At 9:48 the International Conference Center at Geneva is shown. At 10:00, the 1984 Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) is seen in Madrid. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world’s largest security-oriented intergovernmental organization. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control and the promotion of human rights, freedom of the press and fair elections. It employs around 3,460 people, mostly in its field operations but also in its secretariat in Vienna, Austria and its institutions. It has its origins in the 1975 Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) held in Helsinki, Finland.
At 11:25, Soviet bloc military exercises are shown. At 13:13, Russian gas flows to Europe, and at 13:34 a trade agreement is signed. At 15:00, Western tourists are seen visiting Moscow in the summer. A film festival is shown.At 20:04, joint Soviet and Western European equipment s shown, apparently part of the Soviet space program and the Soyuz-Apollo program. At 21:12, Ronald Reagan’s proposed “Star Wars” system is seen along with Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinburger and President Reagan. At 21:53, Western European protests against Reagan’s arms build-up are seen.
At 23:20, Mikhail Gorbachev is seen in Paris meeting with European counterpart French Presdent François Mitterrand. At 24:38, Reagan meets with Gorbachev at Geneva. The Geneva Summit of 1985 was a Cold War-era meeting in Geneva, Switzerland. It was held on November 19 and 20, 1985, between U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev. The two leaders met for the first time to hold talks on international diplomatic relations and the arms race.
The film ends with the eternal flame of the WWII martyrs shown at 26:28.
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