Notions of solidarity and integration in times of war: the idea of Europe, 1914–18

Abstract

This article argues that the First World War did not just aggravate nationalist sentiments but also encouraged intercultural exchange and a better understanding of other societies and ways of life. Indeed, the wartime prevalence of notions of solidarity and integration requires more attention and careful analysis. The essay explores three key issues, focusing in particular on solidarity practices and transnational interaction. It investigates military alliances, the collaboration between national independence movements, and the role of neutral countries as refuge and gathering place of pacifist groups and intellectuals. Many of these actors discussed and promoted forms of at least regional cooperation in post-war Europe.

Keywords:

• Solidarity
• European history
• First World War
• internationalism
• military alliances
• independence movements
• neutrality
• pacifism

Notes

1. Masaryk, Das neue Europa, 10.

2. Duroselle, L’idée d’Europe, 261. Pegg devotes merely six pages to the war in his Evolution of the European Idea, 8–13. See also Curcio, Europa, 789–98; de Rougemont, Idea of Europe, 335–36; Bugge, “The Nation Supreme;” Stirk, History of European Integration, 20–1. The various contributions to Spiering and Wintle, eds., Ideas of Europe since 1914, focus on the consequences of the war rather than on the conflict itself.

3. Eric J. Hobsbawm, for instance, speaks of ‘a slow slide towards the abyss’ before 1914: Hobsbawm, Age of Empire, 311.

4. Kießling, Gegen den “großen” Krieg?; Afflerbach and Stevenson, eds., An Improbable War?; Beatty, Lost History.

5. Bayly, Birth of the Modern World; Osterhammel, Verwandlung der Welt; Illies, 1913.

6. Emmerson, 1913, xiii, 3.

7. Angell, The Great Illusion.

8. Zweig, World of Yesterday, 193, 196.

9. Otte, “The Waning of the Monarchies.” I am very grateful to T.G. Otte for making his essay available to me before publication. Also see Kann, “Dynastic Relations.”

10. Quoted from Scholder, Churches and the Third Reich, 6. Also see Krumeich, “‘Gott mit uns?’”; Lehmann, “International Solidarity;” Becker, “Faith, Ideologies, and the ‘Cultures of War;’” Gregory, “Beliefs and Religion.”

11. Quoted from Zurbrugg, ed., Not Our War, 7. On organized labour and socialist movements before 1914, see Geary, ed., Labour and Socialist Movements and Berger, “Labor Movements.”

12. See, for instance, Morrow, Great War; Sondhaus, World War One; Gerwarth and Manela, eds., Empires at War.

13. See, with further references, Neiberg, “Commanding through Armageddon” and Vermeiren, First World War.

14. [Arthur] Moeller van den Bruck, “Schicksal ist stärker als Staatskunst,” Deutsche Rundschau, November 1916, 161–7 (p. 165).

15. Ernst v. R[eventlow], “Das siegreiche Bulgarien,” Deutsche Tageszeitung, 29 December 1915. Also see Schweitzer, Bulgarienbild; Heeresgeschichtliches Museum, ed., Der unbekannte Verbündete; Stein, “‘Wer das nicht mitgemacht hat, glaubt es nicht.” On German–Turkish relations, see most recently Lüdke, Jihad Made in Germany; Will, Kein Griff nach der Weltmacht; Loth and Hanisch, eds., Erster Weltkrieg und Dschihad.

16. Vermeiren, First World War, 73–119, 183–222.

17. Churchill, World Crisis, 73.

18. War Speeches by British Ministers, 8.

19. Amara, Des Belges à l’épreuve de l’Exil.

20. Giladi, “L’idéologie panlatine.”

21. Kipling, “France at War,” 116, 119, 131, 159.

22. On Mitteleuropa, see Meyer, Mitteleuropa; Droz, L’europe centrale; Plaschka et al., eds., Mitteleuropa-Konzeptionen; Brandt, “Von Bruck zu Naumann.”

23. Naumann, Central Europe, 11. Also see Vermeiren, First World War, 145–82.

24. Stevenson, “The First World War and European Integration,” 856. For the broader context, see Soutou, L’or et le sang. From a more Europeanist and pacifistic (rather than state-official) point of view, such ideas of European economic integration were also promoted by C.E. Curinier and Charles Gide. On aspects of political cooperation between 1914 and 1918 and beyond, see Williams, “The Allies during the First World War.”

25. Masaryk, Das neue Europa, p. 72.

26. Roshwald, Ethnic Nationalism.

27. Zeman, Break-Up of the Habsburg Empire; Valiani, End of Austria-Hungary.

28. Hanak, Great Britain and Austria-Hungary; Calder, Britain and the Origins; Seton-Watson, Making of a New Europe.

29. Mamatey, United States and East Central Europe.

30. Juzwenko, “Leon Wasilewski’s Hopes;” Borodziej et al., “Polnische Europa-Pläne des 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts.” See also Górny, “Eagle and Dwarf.”

31. Quoted from Gross, Crossroads of Two Continents, 88.

32. Langer, “Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk.” Also see Machovec, Tomáš G. Masaryk; Höhne, “Imperiale Ambitionen;” and Hájková, “Masaryk’s Vision.”

33. See, as one example, den Hertog and Kruizinga, eds., Caught in the Middle. For a recent overview with further references, see Kruizinga, “Neutrality.”

34. See, for example, Hinz, “Humanität im Krieg?;” Little, “Humanitarian Relief in Europe.”

35. Rosenbusch, “Spain’s Relief Effort.”

36. Farrar, Divide and Conquer; Steglich, Friedensversuche; Hollander, Elusive Dove.

37. Timmermann, Friedenssicherungsbewegungen; van der Linden, International Peace Movement. For recent overviews, see Kennedy, “Peace Initiatives” and Ceadel, “Pacifism.”

38. “Soviet Appeal to the Peoples of All the World,” 14 March 1917, quoted from King, “Dilemmas of a ‘Democratic Peace,’” 13 (my emphasis). Also see Carsten, War against War; Kirby, War, Peace, and Revolution; Nation, War on War; Nishikawa, Socialists and International Actions.

39. van Suchtelen, Het eenige redmiddel.

40. Fuentes Codera, “Ideas of Europe.”

41. Wettstein, Europas Einigungskrieg; Schweizerisches Komitee zum Studium der Grundlagen eines dauerhaften Friedensvertrages, ed., Grundlagen eines dauerhaften Friedensvertrages; Rüegg, Vereinigten Staaten. Also see Berger, Organisation der Internationalen Friedensliga and Planta, Europa auf dem Wege zur Einheit.

42. Erni, Europäische Union. Also see already [Anon.], Der letzte Krieg.

43. See, with further references, Prochasson, “Intellectuals and Writers” and Rasmussen, “Mobilising Minds.”

44. Nicolai, Biologie des Krieges.

45. Fried, Europäische Wiederherstellung. For a comprehensive discussion of German pacifist circles in Switzerland, see Charrier, L’émigration allemande and idem, “Europe in German Pacifist Discourse.”

46. Zweig, Romain Rolland, 53.

47. Several of his wartime writings are collected in Rolland, L’esprit libre. Also see his Journal des années. Standard works on Rolland include Cheval, Romain Rolland; Fisher, Romain Rolland; Klepsch, Romain Rolland. Also see Hertrampf, “Romain Rolland.”

48. Zweig, Romain Rolland, 53.

49. On the war after the war, see now Gerwarth, The Vanquished.

50. It is remarkable that none of these figures or indeed the various pacifist organizations that were mentioned above are discussed in Mark Mazower’s recent history of internationalist thought and practice: Governing the World.

51. Manela, The Wilsonian Moment.

52. For a recent overview of developments during the interwar period (and beyond), see Hewitson and D’Auria, eds., Europe in Crisis.