"Mitteleuropa" by Friedrich Naumann has just been published by the Pilecki Institute. This fact immediately raises the question of why such a book is published in Polish - for the first time – more than a hundred years after its original language publication. Since that has not been a literary discovery – like for example some work of Thomas Mann, forgotten for unknown reasons - the answer should be sought in current politics because only this can add current contexts to the geopolitical conclusions of the German pastor from 1915.

Vertigo

In 1915, the German Empire and its allied Austro-Hungarian Empire are doing very well on the Eastern Front. The Germans occupy almost the entire territory of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, pushing Russia far to the West. Hence, the political order on the European continent - which was established after the Congress of Vienna (1815) – went down in history. New perspectives opened up for Germany and its ally, which could turn many heads.

Mitteleuropa means Central Europe. Now, all of this is German - something must be done about it. However, the German Empire is too small. Even with the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary, it is still too small to cope with English perfidy, French decadence and Russian barbarism - that is, to dominate economically and politically between the Baltic, Black and Adriatic seas. And such dominance is a condition for the survival of the German work system and the German spirit.

German order comes from the philosophical thought of Hegel and Fichte, which is why this is the most valuable achievement of the human race.

If we (Germany) don't get them, they (British Empire, France and barbaric Russia) will get us - the author seems to say.

Of course, dominating the nations of Central Europe gives Germany a civilisational opportunity and hope to create a homogeneous European society over time, working like Germans and using the German language as a lingua franca.

Germany, Germany above all

At the beginning of the book, the reader learns about the plans – even the necessity – of the far-reaching unification of Austria-Hungary with Germany. However, not only Austrian Germans live in the country ruled by a providential man, Franz Joseph I. With them and German colonists in other European countries, there will be no problem; they will finally see what they have been dreaming about for a long time.

However, in the empire of Franz Joseph, there are other nations as well: Hungarians and various Slavs. While the author considers the Hungarians almost to be Germans - probably due to their political role in the monarchy - Naumann has a declaratively kind, but at the same time very patronising attitude towards the “dreamy and careless” Slavs.

Speaking of the Slavs, he does not, of course, omit the Poles. And here is the good news dated from a century ago - Germanization did not work, as proved by the experience in Prussia:

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     “So Prussia grabbed the »stick« of coercion in one hand and the »carrot« of material prosperity in the other, demanding loyalty from the Poles. Economically, much good has been done, but no way has been found to reach the souls of the Polish community. (…) Even if they stopped believing in the rebirth of the Polish state in the Prussian lands and they are doing well economically, there is still a huge gap between them and the German-speaking majority – they are a different nation.”

One needs to use other methods, but everything will be fine because:

“German economic ideas should define the character of this region more and more fully in the future. A unified economic nation will emerge, transcending all state borders. Austrians and Hungarians already share our lives because all of them - including those who speak other languages - economically have our blood in their veins. Czechs, Poles and Hungarians - although often anti-German and in the non-economic sphere, harbouring unfriendly emotions and prejudices - could not resist the magnetism of our working method."

And should they resist it, the Germans will find a remedy to their own advantage:

“Mitteleuropa cannot be perceived as military barracks, a convent or a monastery, as people's assembly or a factory, an estate or suburb, a bank or a workshop, but all qualities - discipline and self-reliance, punishment and reward - must have their place. This is an aspect we must consider because such an order will not come about alone. We must perfect the nature of nations by bringing in the ordering reason."

Those brought into order, in turn, will forgive this ordering by reason because:

"No patriotic Hungarian or Czech will hold it against us, German patriots, that we sing, dream, think and act, hearing in our hearts: »Germany, Germany, above all«.”

It should be added here that the author is quite aware of the Hungarians’ and Czechs’ patriotic ambitions and them hearing something else in their hearts - for the time being.

“During the war, we all wonder why Germans - especially the Reich Germans - are disliked so much in the surrounding world. Many well-meaning members of our German community find this animosity rather terrifying and cause them to rack their brains over what else we should do to be back in favour. (…) It does not occur to them that we are being disliked because we have discovered a system of work that no European nation will be able to imitate… now, or for a long time to come.”

Being better, especially the best, costs a lot; every top performer and overachiever must know the obvious truth.

World Management Center

Initially, we read about the future integration of the two empires - victorious in the Great War at the time of the book being written - although Austria-Hungary is a younger partner, not as integrated and nationally homogeneous as the German Empire.

But the appetite grows with eating. As you read, Mitteleuropa expands. Poland, perhaps as a result of Russia's defeat, will regain its statehood, but what Prussia seized during the partitions will remain German, and some future Kingdom of Poland will be useful in separating Central Europe from Russia - a buffer state under the civilisational influence of Germany and its control.

While the perfidy of the English and the decadence of the French - as a threat to the historical role of Germany - are obvious and do not require further exploration, the Russians provoke reflection:

“With their uncouth nature, the Russians have an undeniable charm that radiates to semi-civilized nations. On our entire eastern border, starting from Finland and going through the Balkan states, we encounter this force of attraction for the Russian element, which is difficult for us to understand; Those people are torn by dilemmas whether the unpredictable Russian, full of natural vitality, is not, after all, nicer than the overly rational, scrupulous German.”

As for the inhabitants of the Balkans, that might be true, but the radiation of Russia's attractiveness to Poles and Finns has historically been - to put it mildly - moderate.

As the narrative evolves, Mitteleuropa shall cease to be strictly Central Europe. Naumann mentions something about Belgium, the Netherlands, Northern Italy and even Turkey, but that’s edging into some distant future. In the long run, it will be necessary to manage a unified world - the United States of Earth.

One must admit that Friedrich Naumann quickly returns to the ground of European plans, realistically reducing his ambitions.

Middle European Required Urgently "Mitteleuropa" by Friedrich Naumann is a disappointing reading when looking at this from Pole’s perspective. Although non-existent in the circulation of the Polish language, the book was mentioned in many works and articles by experts in German politics as a collection of ideas of modern German imperialism. Finally, it is also published in Polish, but it still does not answer why someone has to manage Europe and why this should be Germany. Perhaps because the obvious is not to be explained, as it goes without saying. And the agreement between the author and the readers must have been vast since the book sold out quickly, with over a hundred thousand copies.

The style of an exalted primus intoxicated with his own eloquence and erudition has the perverse charm of literary modernism, and although Naumann flamboyantly fashions himself to be scientific, he is vague and diffuse, uses undefined concepts and - it happens - contradicts himself. The theses and intentions are clear enough, but if anyone expected a specific lecture, they would rather receive a chance to catch fog in a butterfly net.

However, before Naumann's imperialism starts to outrage us, we must realise that in Wilhelmine Germany he was just like a dove among predatory hawks. Nationalists criticised him for focusing on influence and control instead of population displacement. Later, in the Third Reich, in the so-called General Plan East, the displacement of millions of people from German living space - that is everything east of Germany up to the Ural Mountains - was to be combined with extermination.

The author sums it up at the end of the book:

“Do let me transfer the so-far theoretical arguments into a convincing picture. I visualise a scene ten years from now – ok, let it be even more than that. Let’s say I went to Prague to visit the chairman of the Central European economic commission. I asked the host: »How are the relations with the Czechs and other non-German inhabitants of Mitteleuropa?« Oh – he replied – the beginning was not easy because we speak German in our office, but in the end, contact with us turned out to be much too important for Czech farmers and entrepreneurs. Besides, I can incorporate a Czech word here and there. Sometimes it really helps people to understand German better. (…) a large economic area can only be governed well if a certain degree of humanity is preserved.”

And how possibly could you not like Friedrich Naumann - a human master, even though the spirit of history sets for people like him the most necessary and daunting tasks, also called - by the author, in various parts of the text - a challenge, a journey, and even an adventure.

“I wouldn’t like to deal with human work other than undertaking the greatest tasks. We have significant roots and numerous virtues, we are also able to carry out tasks consistently, but only now do we face a real challenge - the culture of Mitteleuropa is to be crystallised around Germany, to notice the human type in the heart of the continent among the French, Italians, Turks, Russians, Scandinavians and English. We are looking for this middle European model!”

One thing is clear: Germany, as the headquarters of every empire, is supposed to control its periphery, i.e. Mitteleuropa, through economic, political and cultural influence. This concept already got into circulation during the Spring of Nations (1848–1849), and the task of historians and political scientists should be to investigate whether and to what extent this idea is still present in German political thinking. And every columnist dealing with Polish-German relations should consider Naumann's book an essential reading.

Maybe history and political science literature, as well as journalism, will explain what we should and want to know: "While observing the increased concern of German politicians for the »rule of law« in various Central European countries, the expansion of the German »economic type« within the framework of the European Union and the activity in the cultural field in our region of Europe - with foundations affiliated to the largest German political parties, can we talk about Mitteleuropa 2.0?” – wrote Professor Grzegorz Kucharczyk at the end of his introduction to the book.

– Krzysztof Zwoliński

TVP WEEKLY. Editorial team and jornalists

– translated by Katarzyna Chocian