Mitteleuropa – mirage or necessity?

myslpolska.info 2 years ago

I read Friedrich Naumanna's "Mitteleuropa" from 1915. It was written at a time erstwhile the German power was at its highest and dreamed of creating an area dominated by Germany, or Central Europe.

He wanted to make a "economic nation", due to the fact that in his concept it was economical unity and attractiveness of the German variant of capitalism, which was different from Anglo-Saxon, to be the basis of integration.

This vision, rejected for national and geopolitical reasons by Dmowski (this program excluded the construction of an independent Polish state and in Mitteleuropa there would not be any Poles), nor did the German (Prussian) nationalists like it, due to the fact that Naumann criticized Germanization. The book is perfectly written, the most interesting thing about it is the thesis that there is no place in the modern planet and there will be no place for completely independent states, and they can last in isolation at most 1 generation. He felt that the processes as if we called them globalisation present were inevitable and that this would force the formation of large blocks of states and nations, with at that time seeing 3 specified areas organized by the US, England and Russia. Germany, according to him, may have joined the group, but under certain conditions. Interestingly, even though he was an enemy of Russia, he felt that it had very advanced integration capabilities, although on the another hand he felt that a tempting imagination of cooperation between Russia and Germany (e.g. in the economical field) would be deadly for Germany and would bring them to the function of the vassal of Russia.

Friedrich Naumann (1911)

As for Poland and Poles, Naumann saw the place of Poles in Mitteleuropa (but not the Polish state), however, he recommended moving distant from Germanization and Prussian policy against Poland and Catholicism. He wrote, giving an example of the loyalty of Poles during the first phase of the war: “No 1 who did not believe the speech of staunch Poles should be surprised, however, that Poles from Prussia almost without exception faithfully fulfilled and proceed to fulfil their duty. The magnetic and real strength of any state rising to fight is so large that no part of society can defy it. Consider, for example, the many Germans who, unfortunately, are now fighting in the Tsaric Army! Not everyone was forced to do that. Like them Poles from Russia joined the Russian army, from Prussia – to German, and from Galicia – to Austrian. due to the fact that they could not fight for the lost homeland of their dreams, they dedicated themselves to serving the countries they are citizens. If they fail, they will fall for the country from which they request respect for their brothers. And in this case, after the war, a decisive revision of all the methods utilized so far, a decision distant from forced Germanization and the improvement of better rules for coexistence within a single country will be necessary. This, in turn, naturally opens our eyes to Germans from the Reich, to national issues in Austria and Hungary. We must begin to realize them at last, we must learn it."

Naumann was right, but did not foresee 1 – the collapse of the German state in 1918 was besides the end of Poles' loyalty to him, though not everywhere (video of East Prussia).

Finally, the most crucial passage on the inevitability of integration processes: “As long as the sun shines, we must cultivate the thought of joining a number of planet economical powers of the highest rank. Its implementation requires the annexation of another Central European countries and nations. In turn, aside from our German brothers in Austria and Hungary, they have no direct interest in Germany being on the council of the world's leaders.

It is impossible to ask them to share our historical sensitivity, due to the fact that otherwise the heart beats in them, in their veins flows another blood and are made of another clay. From their point of view, they ask themselves whether, having a choice between German, Russian and English leadership, they want to belong to the large German empire or not. Their situation is akin to the above considerations regarding our hypothetical choice between the English or Russian power, with the only difference that smaller nations can never dream of leadership in a large economical bloc.

In fact, they can only choose between isolation and integration. Since, for the above reasons, isolation will be hard to endure for 1 generation, sooner or later, they will gotta decide with which block – depending on geographical location, way of production and dominant intellectual currents – they want to cooperate. It is simply a brutal law, a harsh fate, but this is the powerful order of the modern era, the categorical imperative of the evolution of humanity. At a time erstwhile territorial and national states, on the 1 hand, and humanity, on the another hand, are pushing powerful intermediate forms, there will be no usage in complaints and denunciations.

We must do the inevitable, sooner or later, more voluntarily or more under duress, but the rules of the game have been imposed and there is no another way than to follow them. In the end, those who learn them more rapidly will get better conditions than those who let the waves of past to throw them. We do not gotta announce this with many words, due to the fact that words are weak here – economical experiences talk better than they do. tiny countries which cannot afford to wage customs wars, and which are sentenced to import and export day-to-day, must be recorded in the stock book of 1 of the world's largest companies, before these global companies become more isolated from each another than before the war."

Of course, everyone will ask the question – does Naumanna's imagination have any another actuality? Are the Germans quietly pursuing his ideas? At first glance it looks like yes, but it is an illusion. First, in 1915 Germany was 1 of the most powerful countries in the world, Naumann believed in their triumph and so made a program of "management" him. However, Germany lost, an independent Polish state was created, which it did not foresee in its concept – for him. During planet War II, the Germans did not follow Naumanna's indications at all, they would be engulfed by the insane racial ideology, according to which the Slavs are subhumans. German Europe in the release of the 3rd Reich leaders had small to do with Naumanna's visions. But individual will say, like the author of the introduction Professor Grzegorz Kucharczyk – Naumann "relived" in the present times, due to the fact that the European Union is dominated by Germany.

Only that Germany is now a non-divide country, in which 40,000 American soldiers are stationed, which is intertwined with a network of American institutions dealing with the preservation of the "lawful" ideological and political. In this situation, it is hard to talk about the anticipation of implementing their own completely German political and economical ideas. Yes, the German economy had any autonomy and could have gained a dominant position in Central Europe, but only within certain limits, and it is presently fighting for endurance pressed against the wall by the Americans and destroyed by the mad policies of the green German government. In this situation, it cannot be said that Naumann is “living forever”. His book and large visions should be regarded as an interesting reason for the past of German dreams of greatness, although even he did not exceed a certain limit of reason, which commanded him to be careful and to weigh his strength and capabilities. Today, Naumann (The Friedrich Naumann Foundation) serves Germans to propagate ideas alternatively far from what Germany and their past mission were imagined in his day. Naumann present serves the thought of neoliberal globalisation alternatively than German nationalism.

Jan Engelgard