Mishra, P. (2014) “How Germany Conquered Europe in 25 Years“, Bloomberg View, 26 Οκτωβρίου.
On Nov. 9, Berlin will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the fall of the wall that divided the city during much of the Cold War. At the time, images of exuberant wall-breakers signaled the end of communism. A quarter-century later, the event seems to have also been a prelude to the rebirth of Berlin and the emergence of Germany as Europe’s supreme power.
This astonishing turnaround contains many inescapable historical ironies. Germany’s great intellectual, political and scientific talent had once destined it to be the principal nation of Europe. But Germany went on to produce the most terrible variant of European imperialism, and almost brought about the destruction of Europe itself.
Not surprisingly, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the prospect of a reunified Germany struck terror in the hearts of British and French leaders. The late U.K. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher recorded in her memoir how she pulled out a map from her famous handbag to show French President Francois Mitterrand “the various configurations of Germany in the past, which were not altogether reassuring about the future.”
Mitterrand, going all misty-eyed, said that “at moments of great danger in the past France had always established special relations with Britain and he felt such a time had come again.” Thatcher solemnly concluded that “although we had not discovered the means, at least we both had the will to check the German juggernaut. That was a start.”
It remains one. In Berlin, from where I write, this Anglo-French grandstanding makes for sad reading today. France and the U.K. have rarely been so divided from each other since the end of World War II. In that time, their international stock has never been lower.
Σχετικές αναρτήσεις:
- Mitchell, B. (2014) “The German experiment has failed“, Mainly Macro Blog, 07 Οκτωβρίου.
- The European Magazine: Conversations, Interview with Philippe Legrain, “Germany is undermining future growth”, 20 Σεπτεμβρίου 2014.
- Daveri, F. (2014) “The German surplus and the Eurosceptics“, VoxEU Organisation, 28 Μαΐου.