The writer Stefan Zweig left his native Austria in 1933/34. In exile he wrote works such as "Die Welt von gestern" and "Schachnovelle". In a letter on 15 April 1933 he wrote: "I have the strongest aversion to becoming an emigrant [...] because I know that all emigrantism is dangerous; it makes those who remain hostage and makes life more difficult for them". After years in London, he tried to start a new life in Brazil from on 1941 - in vain. But even if he remained unheard with his vision of a "better" Europe: there was hardly a more ardent European than Stefan Zweig. Europe is anything but an "innocent continent". It is no coincidence that the filmmaker Raoul Peck showed the history of the European continent using the words civilisation, colonisation and annihilation. While one might have hoped that the horrors of many past centuries had been recognised, Vladimir Putin's war of aggression against Ukraine taught one otherwise: On the morning of 24 February 2022, the European peace lay in ruins. Once again, the only hope that remains is that democracy and self-determination will become again the guiding principles of European action. Rarely have values such as those espoused by the European Union been so existential: "respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities." In the face of the current dramatic changes in the world, European filmmaking could also gain cultural strength and identity. Many films from European countries have always encouraged this - perhaps they will now be seen in a different, "better" light.