Mit Srednje Evrope v literarnem diskurzu 20. stoletja

Povzetek

This paper studies different conceptions of Central Europe in the literary and historical discourse of the 20th century, and at the same time, compares how the concept of Central Europe is defined in the works of Havel, Kundera, Konrád and others. Central Europe has always been a cultural and geographical crossroads between the East and the West, with shifting centres and peripheries, overlapping ethnic groups, cultures and religions. For simplicity, two conceptions of Central Europe can be distinguished: minimalist and maximalist. The minimalist conception regards Central Europe as part of the West, because of analogous historical structures and cultural values. It partly overlaps the original Habsburg Empire and is opposed to the Balkans and Russia. The maximalist conception applies an axiological approach, regarding Central Europe as a set of historically established ideas, connected with the traditions of Christian civilisation, i.e. it includes the eastern and southern corners of Europe as well. Central Europe then is geographically identified with the symbolism of the Danube, as both a dividing and unifiying feature. According to Kundera, it is the Jewish people who have made the greatest contribution to the multicultural character of Central Europe, which after 1945 was politically aligned with the East, although historically it had been part of the West.