Czechs and Germans—An Enduring Problem in the Heart of Central Europe: A Conclusion

Extract

The relationship between Germans and Czechs has often been the crucible on which the history of Central Europe was forged. Although characterized more by enmity than amity in recent times, this was not always the case. For most of the centuries when Czechs and Germans shared the same Central European space, the cultural differences between them lacked a political dimension, and their interaction was peaceful and mutually beneficial. The Teutonic Knights named their citadel “Königsberg” in honor of the Czech ruler, Přemysl Otakar II, while German townspeople contributed their skills and crafts to the economic advancement of the Bohemian kingdom which he ruled. Beginning in the nineteenth century, however, the positive aspects of this ethnic coexistence were ignored, forgotten, or suppressed by scholars and politicians, both Czech and German, who interpreted the Bohemian past in the language of national separatism.