Western and Eastern Traditions of Central Europe

Extract

To write about Central Europe and do justice to all the problems that face us there, and to the nations that provoked them, is well nigh impossible. That part of Europe, in its national and political makeup, resembles a crazy quilt which does not, at first glance, present any common thread to unravel the general design of its historical and political evolution. The nations occupying the vast regions from the North Sea to the Adriatic and the Black Seas are so numerous and, on the surface, so heterogeneous, that it appears impossible to find any common ground on which all could meet and forget their national, religious, and political differences. Who will work the miracle of discovering a common interest among the Germans, the Slavs, the Magyars, and the Rumanians? Strictly speaking, Central Europe only includes the Germans from the Rhine to die Oder, the Czechs, the Magyars, the Slovenes, and the Croats. But any study of dieir history reveals that their story is inseparable from the history of Eastern and Soudieastern Europe. For a true understanding of Central Europe Poland and the Balkans must also be considered.