Full PDF of the book Children of Europe
Magnum describes Chim’s spring 1948 trip, supported by UNESCO/UNICEF:
In the aftermath of the Second World War, Magnum co-founder David ‘Chim’ Seymour traveled across Europe as refugees traversed its fractured lands. With a humanistic sensibility, he documented the lives of child survivors and the efforts of the charities who endeavored to help them, providing them with food, shelter, shoes and vaccinations. His journey took him to refugee camps, homes, schools hospitals and remote villages blighted by war, creating a comprehensive portrait of the human impact of the war on society’s youngest and most vulnerable members.
The 60-page book, Children of Europe, with 50 of Chim’s photos, was published by the newly formed United Nations agency UNICEF. Some of the photos appeared in LIFE magazine in an exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago. The book and photos were influential in building American sympathy for the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe.
Magnum’s tribute to this project tells the story:
For this seminal photo-essay, Chim journeyed across Europe for six months, documenting the ongoing plight of millions of children three years after the end of World War II. Accepting the small sum of $2,600 instead of his usual $100 day rate, Chim fully dedicated himself to the project, shooting a total of 257 rolls of film. Driving through five European countries – Austria, Greece, Italy, Hungary and Poland – he encountered children who had suffered severe mental and physical trauma. From survivors of the Nazi concentration camps and refugees long separated from their families, to victims of air-raids, rape, disease and malnutrition, Chim recorded for posterity the irreversible damage inflicted on a generation deprived of their childhood.
Carole Naggar’s 2013 book Chim: Children of War tells the story of how the project was done and how the negatives were recovered 45 years later.
In 2017, almost 50 years after Chim’s trip, Magnum photographer Olivia Arthur told another story of modern European refugee children. Her exhibit was part of a larger Magnum project to retell influential stories: Magnum Retold: Olivia Arthur’s Children of Europe.