These archive images illustrate the action taken by pro-European activists after the Second World War and their success.

On 7 May 1946, Joseph Retinger, Polish co-founder of the Independent League for European Cooperation (ILEC), delivers an address at the Royal Institute of Foreign Affairs in London in which he calls on Europeans of good will to welcome closer relations between the Western and Eastern parts of the Old Continent.

In this interview, journalist Jean-Pierre Gouzy, former Member of the Executive of the French Movement for the United States of Europe and of the French Union of Federalists, recalls the origins of the pro-European tendency in France after the Second World War.

In this interview, journalist Jean-Pierre Gouzy, a former Member of the Executive of the French Movement for the United States of Europe and of the French Union of Federalists, identifies the reasons for the proliferation of pro-European movements after the Second World War.

The United Europe Movement, established in London in January 1947 by the former British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, and by his son-in-law, the Conservative MP, Duncan Sandys, issues a statement in support of the unity of the European continent.

On 31 January 1947, Georges Bidault, French Foreign Minister, informs Henri Hoppenot, French Ambassador to Switzerland, of the line to be taken regarding Count Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi’s proposals and of his plans for a united Europe.

On 17 February 1947, René Massigli, French Ambassador to London, informs Georges Bidault, French Foreign Minister, of the substance of his latest meeting with the former British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, on the United Europe Movement which Churchill recently established and on his personal views on European unity.

In April 1947, Grégoire Gafenco, former Romanian Foreign Minister, considers the principles behind the re-establishment of a peaceful, democratic order in Europe on a federal basis and places particular emphasis on the special role of the citizens of Eastern European countries.

On 25 April 1947, Jean Rivière, French Ambassador to the Netherlands, informs Georges Bidault, French Foreign Minister, of the substance of the debates at the Congress held in the Hague by the Union of European Federalists (UEF) and the main positions adopted by its leaders on the issues involved in European unity.

On 14 May 1947, the United Europe Movement, established in 1947 by the former British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, and his son-in-law, Duncan Sandys, holds a rally at the Royal Albert Hall in London devoted to the unity of the continent of Europe.

The United Europe Movement, established in London in January 1947 by the former British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, and the Conservative MP, Duncan Sandys, pursues an active campaign in the United Kingdom to attract new members.

The United Europe Movement, established in London in January 1947 by the former British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, and his son-in-law, Conservative MP Duncan Sandys, carries out fund-raising and a publicity campaign in the United Kingdom.

In this interview, Charles Rutten, former Second Secretary of the Netherlands Catholic People's Party (KVP), recalls the main implications of the first congress of the Nouvelles Équipes Internationales (New International Teams — NEI), held from 31 May to 2 June 1947 in Chaudfontaine, near Liège.

In September 1947, in the Brussels journal Synthèses, Henri Brugmans, Dutch President of the Union of European Federalists (UEF), outlines the origins of the federalist doctrine and its implications for European reconstruction.

In December 1947, the French twice-monthly journal La République Moderne, mouthpiece of the Socialist, Federalist and Communitarian Circles, makes an impassioned appeal for European unity on a supranational basis.

On 10 January 1948, in the French weekly publication L’Aveyron Libre, mouthpiece of the French Section of the Workers’ International (SFIO), Paul Ramadier, former French Prime Minister, launches an appeal for pacifism and for the unity of the countries of Europe.

On 17 January 1948, in the weekly publication L'Aveyron Libre, mouthpiece of the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO), Paul Ramadier, former French Prime Minister, gives an account of the policy pursued since the end of the Second World War by the French authorities in favour of European unity.

In spring 1948, Robert Boothby, a former colleague of Winston Churchill, Scottish Conservative MP and leader, with his Labour colleague, Ronald Mackay, of a pro-European All-Party Group in the House of Commons, drafts a proposal for a Western European Union which takes into account, in particular, the fact that the United Kingdom is an imperial power and the economic and political situation in Germany.

In January 1948, the British cartoonist Illingworth takes an ironic look at the proliferation of conflicting plans for European unification. From left to right: the vision of the Soviet leader, Joseph Stalin, of a Communist Europe; European unification according to the former British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill; and Socialist Europe as promoted by British Labour politicians Ernest Bevin, Herbert Morrison and Clement Attlee.

On 23 January 1948, as debates are being held on European unity, the former British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, addresses the House of Commons and outlines the role of the United Europe Committee which he established in January 1947 with his son-in-law, Duncan Sandys.

On 29 April 1948, Victor Larock, Editor-in-Chief of the Belgian Socialist daily newspaper Le Peuple, outlines the main thrust of the European idea as supported by the Socialist parties and describes the work of the International Socialist Conference for the United States of Europe.

On 1 May 1948, the Brussels daily newspaper La Dernière Heure compares the Congress of Europe in The Hague, whose participants are of varying political persuasions, with the International Socialist Conference and the Christian Socialists.

In May 1948, on the eve of the Congress of Europe in The Hague, Alexandre Marc, Head of the Institutional Department of the Union of European Federalists (UEF), emphasises the numerous issues involved in the forthcoming event and recalls the efforts made by the various federalist movements to promote the idea of a united Europe.

In May 1968, on the 30th anniversary of the Congress of Europe held in The Hague, Denis de Rougement outlines to the monthly publication Communauté Européenne his memories of the preparations for and the proceedings at this militant event which he attended in his capacity as rapporteur for the Cultural Affairs Committee.

In March 1964, René Courtin, former Delegate-General of the French Council for a United Europe, recalls the successive stages of his commitment to European unity.