The Crisis of European Identity

Abstract

This chapter is principally addressed to the question of Mitteleuropa. This slippery concept has generally been considered to apply not only to a region but also to a cultural-political idea. The term suggests something much more ideological than the idea of Europe. Today there is a strong tendency to revive the idea of Central Europe, which is seen as the true historical heritage of the area which, since the Second World War, has become known as ‘Eastern Europe’. According to this view, Mitteleuropa is an emancipatory ideal and suggests an alternative to communism and its redundant construct, Eastern Europe.KeywordsEuropean IdentityWeimar RepublicHistorical MissionEuropean IdeaSoviet CommunismThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.