Editing Central Europe (section)

==Historical perspective==
===Middle Ages and early modern period===
In the early Middle Ages, Central Europe had a diverse landscape, with various ethnic groups inhabiting the region. [[Germanic peoples|Germanic tribes]], among them the [[Franks]], [[Alemanni|Alemans]] and [[Bavarians]], were predominantly situated in the west, and [[List of early Slavic peoples|Slavic tribes]] were predominantly in the east.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Central Europe (including Germany), 500–1000 A.D. {{!}} Chronology {{!}} Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History {{!}} The Metropolitan Museum of Art |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/06/euwc.html#:~:text=Overview,Roman%20and%20Byzantine%20imperial%20power. |access-date=2023-12-15 |website=The Met’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History}}</ref> However, the region encompassed a wide spectrum of additional tribes and communities.

From the late 6th century to the early 9th century, the area roughly corresponding to the [[Pannonian Basin|Carpathian Basin]] was part of the Avar Khaganate, the realm of the [[Pannonian Avars]].<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Saag |first1=Lehti |last2=Staniuk |first2=Robert |date=2022 |title=Historical human migrations: From the steppe to the basin |url=https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10153156/9/Staniuk_2022_Saag&Staniuk_finaldraft.pdf |access-date=2024-01-03 |website=University College London |page=3}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022 |title=1,400 years old mystery of origins of Avars elucidated with ancient DNA |url=https://www.elte.hu/en/content/1-400-years-old-mystery-of-origins-of-avars-elucidated-with-ancient-dna.t.2211 |access-date=2024-01-03 |website=Eötvös Loránd University}}</ref> While the Avars dominated the east of what is now Austria, its north and south were under Germanic and Slavic influence, respectively.<ref>{{Citation |last=Štih |first=P. |title=VII. The Carantanians – An Early Medieval Slavic Gens Between East And West |date=2010-01-01 |url=https://brill.com/display/book/9789004187702/Bej.9789004185913.i-463_009.xml |work=The Middle Ages between the Eastern Alps and the Northern Adriatic |pages=108–122 |access-date=2023-12-15 |publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-18770-2}}</ref> Meanwhile, the territories now comprising Germany and Switzerland were under the influence of the [[Merovingian dynasty]], and later the [[Carolingian dynasty]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Merovingian dynasty {{!}} Frankish Kings & Legacy|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Merovingian-dynasty |access-date=2023-12-15 |website=britannica.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Griffith |first=Michael |title=Carolingian Dynasty |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Carolingian_Dynasty/ |access-date=2023-12-15 |website=World History Encyclopedia}}</ref> Various Slavic tribes that inhabited eastern Central Europe established settlements during this period, primarily in present-day Croatia, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.<ref name=":9">{{Cite web |last=Kazanski |first=Michel |date=2020 |title=Archaeology of the Slavic Migrations |url=https://hal.science/hal-02902087/file/Kazanski_Archaeology-Slavic%20Migrations_2020.pdf}}</ref> The territory of Lithuania was inhabited by [[Balts|Baltic]] tribes. Amongst them were the [[Samogitians]], [[Lithuanians (tribe)|Lithuanians]] and [[Curonians]].<ref name=":14">{{Cite web |title=Samogitian {{!}} people|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Samogitian |access-date=2023-12-27 |website=britannica.com}}</ref>

The [[Holy Roman Empire]] was founded at the turn of the 9th century, following the coronation of [[Charlemagne]] by [[Pope Leo III]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Holy Roman Empire - Charlemagne, Coronation, Empire|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Holy-Roman-Empire/Coronation-of-Charlemagne-as-emperor |access-date=2023-12-26 |website=britannica.com}}</ref> At its inception, it incorporated present-day Germany and nearby regions, including parts of what is now Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Switzerland. Three decades later, [[Great Moravia]], centred on present-day Czech Republic and Slovakia, became one of the first West Slavic states to be founded in Central Europe. In the late 9th Century, the [[Magyar tribes|Hungarian tribes]], originating on the [[Asian Steppe]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Fóthi |first1=Erzsébet |last2=Gonzalez |first2=Angéla |last3=Fehér |first3=Tibor |last4=Gugora |first4=Ariana |last5=Fóthi |first5=Ábel |last6=Biró |first6=Orsolya |last7=Keyser |first7=Christine |date=January 2020 |title=Genetic analysis of male Hungarian Conquerors: European and Asian paternal lineages of the conquering Hungarian tribes |journal=Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences |language=en |volume=12 |issue=1 |page=31 |doi=10.1007/s12520-019-00996-0 |issn=1866-9557|doi-access=free |bibcode=2020ArAnS..12...31F }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Orsolya |first=Kuli |date=2024-04-02 |title=Egy fideszes képviselő megmondta: évszázadok óta tartó rejtély után kiderült, a magyarok tényleg leszármazottai-e a hunoknak |url=https://index.hu/tudomany/2024/04/02/kutatas-tanulmany-hunok-magyarsag/ |access-date=2025-02-13 |website=index.hu |language=hu}}</ref> settled in the Carpathian Basin and established the [[Principality of Hungary]].<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Cloet |first1=Pierre-Robert |last2=Legue |first2=Benedicte |last3=Martel |first3=Kerstin |date=2018 |title=Hungary |url=https://institutdelors.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/flag-anthem-hungary.pdf |website=Institut Jacques Delors}}</ref>

The earliest recorded concept of Europe as a cultural sphere, instead of simply a geographic term, was formed by [[Alcuin of York]] in the late 8th century during the [[Carolingian Renaissance]] and was limited to the territories that practised [[Western Christianity]] at the time. "European" as a cultural term did not include much of the territories in which the Orthodox Church represented the dominant religion until the 19th century.<ref>{{cite book |author=Sanjay Kumar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iGc9EAAAQBAJ |title=A Handbook of Political Geography |publisher=K.K. Publications |year=2021 |pages=125–127}}</ref>

Following the Christianization of various Central European countries, elements of cultural unity emerged within the region, specifically [[Catholic Church|Catholicism]] and [[Latin]]. Eastern Europe remained [[Eastern Orthodox]], and was dominated by [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] cultural influence. After the [[East–West Schism]] in 1054, significant parts of Eastern Europe developed cultural unity and resistance to Catholic Western and Central Europe within the framework of the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], [[Church Slavonic]] and the [[Cyrillic alphabet]].{{sfn|Magocsi|2002|loc=chapter 11}}<ref name="Greyerz">{{cite book |title=Religion and Culture in Early Modern Europe |author=Kasper von Greyerz |publisher=Oxford University Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SmEpMnfYZ-oC&q=%22all+of+central+Europe%22 |isbn=978-0-19-804384-3 |pages=38– |date=2007 }}</ref><ref name="Sedlar">{{cite book |title=East Central Europe in the Middle Ages, 1000–1500 |author=Jean W Sedlar |publisher=University of Washington Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3o5lrvuwOVwC&q=%22estrangement+to+be+permanent%22 |isbn=0-295-97291-2 |pages=161– |year=1994 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://biblio.hiu.cas.cz/documents/161327|trans-title=The shape of Europe. The spirit of unity through culture in the eve of Modern Europe|title=Uspořádání Evropy – duch kulturní jednoty na prahu vzniku novověké Evropy|language=cs|url-access=registration |last=Dumitran|first=Adriana|year=2010|location=[[Czech Republic]]|publisher=Bibliography of the History of the Czech Lands, The Institute of History, [[Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic]]}}</ref>

<gallery mode="center">
Francia 814.svg|[[Frankish Empire]] and its [[Tributary state|tributaries]] in 814
East Francia 843.svg|[[East Francia]] in 843
Great moravia svatopluk.png|Possible furthest extent of [[Great Moravia]] under [[Svatopluk I]] (870–894)
Duchy of Poland 1000.svg|[[History of Poland during the Piast dynasty|Duchy of Poland]] under the [[Piast dynasty]] in 1000
Duchy of Bohemia 1000.svg|[[Duchy of Bohemia]] (Czech Duchy) in 1000
Kingdom of Germany 1004.svg|[[Kingdom of Germany]] in 1004
Kingdom of Hungary 1190.svg|[[Kingdom of Hungary]] in 1190
Croatia 1260.png|[[Croatia in personal union with Hungary|Kingdom of Croatia]] in 1260
Holy Roman Empire (c. 1600).svg|[[Holy Roman Empire]] in 1600
Map of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1619–1621).png|[[Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth]] and its [[fief]]s in 1619
</gallery>

According to the historian [[Jenő Szűcs]], Central Europe at the end of the 1st millennium became influenced by Western European developments. Szűcs argued that between the 11th and 15th centuries, Christianization influenced the cultures within Central Europe, and well-defined social features were also implemented in the region based on Western characteristics. The keyword of Western social development after the turn of the millennium was the spread of [[Magdeburg rights]] in some cities and towns of Western Europe. They began to spread in the mid-13th century in Central European countries and brought about self-governments of towns and counties.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://unipub.lib.uni-corvinus.hu/1162/1/Zsinka_2013b.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://unipub.lib.uni-corvinus.hu/1162/1/Zsinka_2013b.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|author=László Zsinka|title=Similarities and Differences in Polish and Hungarian History|access-date=15 January 2015}}</ref>

In 1335, the [[King of Poland|Kings of Poland]], [[King of Bohemia|Bohemia]] and [[Charles I of Hungary|Hungary and Croatia]] met in the castle of [[Visegrád]]<ref name=Halman /> and agreed to cooperate closely in the field of politics and commerce. That has inspired the post-[[Cold War]] [[Visegrád Group]].<ref name=Halman>{{cite book|last=Halman|first=Loek|author2=Wilhelmus Antonius Arts|title=European values at the turn of the millennium|url=https://archive.org/details/europeanvaluesat00arts|url-access=limited|publisher=[[Brill Publishers]]|year=2004|page=[https://archive.org/details/europeanvaluesat00arts/page/n145 120]|isbn=978-90-04-13981-7}}</ref>

In 1386, [[Władysław II Jagiełło|Jogaila]], the [[Grand Duke of Lithuania]], converted to Christianity (specifically Catholicism) and subsequently became King of Poland through marriage to [[Jadwiga of Poland|Queen Jadwiga of Poland]]. That initiated the [[Christianization of Lithuania]] and resulted in the [[Union of Krewo]], signifying a personal union between the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]] and the Kingdom of Poland. The union commenced an enduring political alliance between the two entities and laid the foundations for the later establishment of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1569.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Frost |first=Robert |title=The Oxford history of Poland-Lithuania. Volume 1: The making of the Polish-Lithuanian Union, 1385-1569 |date=2015 |publisher=Oxford Univ. Press |isbn=978-0-19-880020-0 |edition=First published in paperback |location=Oxford |pages=47–57 |chapter=5}}</ref>

Between the 15th and the early 16th centuries, the Kingdom of Croatia, which was then in [[Croatia in personal union with Hungary|personal union]] with the Kingdom of Hungary, served as a significant maritime gateway of Central Europe, with its ports facilitating key trade routes between Central Europe and the Mediterranean.<ref name=":12">{{Cite book |last=Krekić |first=Bariša |title=Dubrovnik in the 14th and 15th centuries: a city between East and West |date=1972 |publisher=Univ. of Oklahama Press |isbn=978-0-8061-0999-2 |series=Centers of civilization series |location=Norman}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Dubrovnik |url=https://www.adrijo.eu/en/port/dubrovnik |access-date=2024-02-18 |website=Remember Adrijo}}</ref> The [[Republic of Ragusa]] emerged as a prominent hub for cultural exchange during this time.<ref name=":12" /> Following the Ottoman and Habsburg wars of the 16th and 17th centuries, the Kingdom of Croatia, [[Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg)|under Habsburg rule]], began to regain its position as a significant trade route, restoring ports and revitalising commercial activity.

===Before World War I===
[[File:Central Europe 1902.PNG|thumb|A view of Central Europe dating from the time before [[World War I]] (1902):<ref>Source: Geographisches Handbuch zu [[Andrees Allgemeiner Handatlas|Andrees Handatlas]], vierte Auflage, Bielefeld und Leipzig, Velhagen und Klasing, 1902.</ref> {{legend|#FF0000|Central European countries and regions: the German Empire and the Habsburg monarchy (without [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]] and [[Dalmatia]])}}{{legend|#FF8080|Regions located at the transition between Central Europe and Southeastern/Eastern Europe: [[Romania]]}}]]

Before 1870, the industrialization that had started to develop in Northwestern and Central Europe and the United States did not extend in any significant way to the rest of the world. Even in [[Eastern Europe]], industrialization lagged far behind. [[Russia]], for example, remained largely rural and agricultural, and its autocratic rulers kept the peasants in serfdom.<ref>Jackson J. Spielvogel: ''Western Civilization: Alternate Volume: Since 1300''. p. 618.</ref>
The concept of Central Europe was already known at the beginning of the 19th century,<ref name="essex.ac.uk">{{cite web|url=http://www.essex.ac.uk/ecpr/events/graduateconference/barcelona/papers/681.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081217051750/http://www.essex.ac.uk/ecpr/events/graduateconference/barcelona/papers/681.pdf|archive-date=17 December 2008 |title="Mitteleuropa" is a multi-faceted concept and difficult to handle |access-date=31 January 2010}}</ref> but it developed further and became an object of intensive interest towards the 20th century. However, the first concept mixed science, politics, and economy and was strictly connected with the aspirations of German states to dominate a part of European continent called ''Mitteleuropa''. At the [[Frankfurt Parliament]], which was established in the wake of the [[German revolutions of 1848–1849|March Revolution]] of 1848, there were multiple competing ideas for the integration of German-speaking areas, including the ''mitteleuropäische Lösung'' (Central European Solution) propagated by Austria, which sought to merge the smaller German-speaking states with the multi-ethnic Habsburg monarchy, but was opposed by Prussia and others. An imperialistic idea of ''Mitteleuropa'' also became popular in the [[German Empire]], which was established in 1871 and experienced intensive economic growth. The term was used when the [[Union of German Railway Administrations]] established the ''Mitteleuropäische Eisenbahn-Zeit'' (Central European Railway Time) [[time zone]], which was applied by the railways from 1 June 1891 and was later widely adopted in civilian life; the time zone's name has been shortened to the present-day [[Central European Time]].<ref name="Zeit-MEZ">{{cite news |title=Eisenbahner erfanden Europas Zeit |url=https://www.zeit.de/wissen/geschichte/2013-03/geschichte-mitteleuropaeische-zeit/komplettansicht |date=13 March 2013 |website=[[Die Zeit]] |accessdate=2023-10-28 |last1=Vensky |first1=Hellmuth }}</ref>

The German term denoting Central Europe was so fashionable that other languages started referring to it when indicating territories from [[Rhine]] to [[Vistula]] or even the [[Dnieper]] and from the [[Baltic Sea]] to the [[Balkans]].<ref>A. Podraza, ''Europa Środkowa jako region historyczny'', 17th Congress of Polish Historians, [[Jagiellonian University]] 2004</ref> An example of this vision of Central Europe may be seen in [[Joseph Partsch]]'s book of 1903.<ref>Joseph Franz Maria Partsch, Clementina Black, Halford John Mackinder, ''Central Europe'', New York 1903</ref>

On 21 January 1904, ''Mitteleuropäischer Wirtschaftsverein'' (Central European Economic Association) was established in [[Berlin]] with economic integration of Germany and Austria (with eventual extension to Switzerland, [[Belgium]] and the [[Netherlands]]) as its main aim. Another time, the term Central Europe became connected to the German plans of political, economic, and cultural domination. The "bible" of the concept was [[Friedrich Naumann]]'s book ''Mitteleuropa''<ref>F. Naumann, ''Mitteleuropa'', Berlin: Reimer, 1915</ref> in which he called for an economic federation to be established after World War I. Naumann's proposed a federation with Germany and the Habsburg monarchy as its centre that would eventually unite all external European nations through economic prosperity.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Хессе |first=Райнхард |date=2021-06-23 |title=GERMANY AND ITS DIFFICULT SITUATION IN CENTRAL EUROPE / MITTELEUROPA |url=https://bulletin-irr.ablaikhan.kz/index.php/j1/article/view/91 |journal=Известия. Серия: Международные отношения и Регионоведение |language=en |volume=44 |issue=2 |doi=10.48371/ISMO.2021.44.2.006 |issn=2710-3633}}</ref> The concept failed after the German defeat in [[World War I]].{{cn|date=August 2024}}{{Dubious|date=September 2024}} The revival of the idea may be observed during the [[Nazi Germany|Hitler era]].{{cn|date=August 2024}}{{dubious|date=August 2024}}

===Interwar period===
{{multiple image
| direction         = vertical
| width             = 220
| image1            = Central Europe (Geographie universelle, 1927).svg
| caption1          = [[Interwar period|Interwar]] Central Europe according to Emmanuel de Martonne (1927)
| image2            = Avantgarde CE.svg
| caption2          = CE countries, ''Sourcebook of Central European Avant-Gardes 1910–1930'' (L.A. County Museum of Art)<ref name="Between Worlds – The MIT Press" />
}}

The [[interwar period]] (1918–1938) brought a new geopolitical system, as well as economic and political problems, and the concept of Central Europe took on a different character. The centre of interest was moved to its eastern part, particularly to the countries that had rappeared or reappared on the map of Europe. Central Europe ceased to be the area of German aspiration to lead or dominate and became a territory of various integration movements aiming at resolving political, economic, and national problems of "new" states, being a way to face German and Soviet pressures. However, the conflict of interests was too major, and neither the [[Little Entente]] nor [[Intermarium]] (''Międzymorze'') ideas succeeded. The Hungarian historian [[Magda Ádám]] wrote in her study ''Versailles System and Central Europe'' (2006): "Today we know that the bane of Central Europe was the [[Little Entente]], military alliance of [[Czechoslovakia]], Romania and [[Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes]] (later Yugoslavia), created in 1921 not for Central Europe's cooperation nor to fight German expansion, but in a wrong perceived notion that a completely powerless Hungary must be kept down".<ref>István Deák (2006) The English Historical Review, Volume CXXI, Issue 490, page: 338: The Versailles System and Central Europe [https://academic.oup.com/ehr/article-abstract/CXXI/490/338/458682]</ref> The [[events preceding World War II in Europe]], including the so-called [[Western betrayal]] such as the [[Munich Agreement]], were very much enabled by the rising nationalism and ethnocentrism that typified that period.

The interwar period brought new elements to the concept of Central Europe. Before World War I, it embraced mainly German-speaking states, and non-German speaking territories were an area of intended German penetration and domination, with German leadership being the 'natural' result of economic dominance.<ref name="essex.ac.uk" /> Post-war, the Eastern part of Central Europe was placed at the centre of the concept. At the time, the scientists took an interest in the idea: the International Historical Congress in [[Brussels]] in 1923 was committed to Central Europe, and the 1933, Congress continued the discussions.<ref name="ehr.oxfordjournals.org">{{cite journal|last1=Deak|first1=I. |title=The Versailles System and Central Europe|doi=10.1093/ehr/cej100 |page=338|volume=CXXI |year=2006 |journal=The English Historical Review|issue=490}}</ref>

According to [[Emmanuel de Martonne]], in 1927, Central Europe encompassed Austria, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Switzerland, northern Italy and northern Yugoslavia. The author uses both Human and Physical Geographical features to define Central Europe but failed to take into account the legal development or the social, cultural, economic, and infrastructural developments in those countries.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100212050523/http://img73.imageshack.us/img73/5269/file0039ao0.jpg], [https://web.archive.org/web/20100212050523/http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/1867/martonne2a.jpg] and [https://web.archive.org/web/20100212050523/http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/4384/martonne1.jpg] ; ''Géographie universelle'' (1927), edited by [[Paul Vidal de la Blache]] and [[Lucien Gallois]]</ref>

The avant-garde movements of Central Europe contributed to the evolution of modernism and reached their its peak throughout the continent during the 1920s. The ''Sourcebook of Central European avantgards'' ([[Los Angeles County Museum of Art]]) contains primary documents of the avant-gardes in the territories of Austria, Germany, Poland (including western parts of present-day [[Belarus]] and [[Ukraine]], and southern parts of Lithuania), Czechoslovakia (including the Czech Republic and Slovakia), Hungary, Romania and Yugoslavia (including present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, [[Montenegro]], [[North Macedonia]], [[Serbia]] and Slovenia) from 1910 to 1930.<ref name="Between Worlds – The MIT Press">{{cite web|url=http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=8958 |title=Between Worlds|publisher=The MIT Press |access-date=31 January 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060922195357/https://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=8958 |archive-date=22 September 2006 }}</ref>

===Mitteleuropa===
With the [[dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire]] around 1800, there was a consolidation of power among the [[Habsburgs]] and the [[Hohenzollerns]] as the two major states in the area. They had much in common and occasionally cooperated in various channels, but more often competed. One approach in the various attempts at cooperation, was the conception of a set of supposed common features and interests, and this idea led to the first discussions of a ''Mitteleuropa'' in the mid-nineteenth century, as espoused by [[Friedrich List]] and [[Karl Ludwig Bruck]]. These were mostly based on economic issues.{{sfn|Evans|2006|p=296-297}}

''[[Mitteleuropa]]'' may refer to a historical concept or a contemporary German definition of Central Europe. As a historical concept, the German term ''Mitteleuropa'' (or alternatively its literal translation into English, ''Middle Europe''{{sfn|Johnson|1996|p=165}}) is an ambiguous German concept.{{sfn|Johnson|1996|p=165}} According to [[Fritz Fischer (historian)|Fritz Fischer]] ''Mitteleuropa'' was a scheme in the era of the [[German Empire|Reich of 1871–1918]] by which the old imperial elites had allegedly sought to build a system of German economic, military and political domination from the northern seas to the Near East and from the Low Countries through the steppes of Russia to the Caucasus.{{sfn|Hayes|1994|p=16}} Later on, Professor Fritz Epstein argued the threat of a Slavic "Drang nach Westen" (Western expansion) had been a major factor in the emergence of a ''Mitteleuropa'' ideology before the Reich of 1871 ever came into being.{{sfn|Hayes|1994|p=17}}

In Germany, the word's connotation was also sometimes linked to the pre-war German provinces east of the [[Oder-Neisse line]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sinnhuber |first=Karl A. |date=1954 |title=Central Europe: Mitteleuropa: Europe Centrale: An Analysis of a Geographical Term |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/621131 |journal=Transactions and Papers (Institute of British Geographers) |issue=20 |pages=15–39 |doi=10.2307/621131 |jstor=621131 |issn=1478-4017}}</ref>

The term "Mitteleuropa" conjures up negative historical associations among some people although the Germans have not played an exclusively negative role in the region.{{sfn|Johnson|1996|p=6}} Most Central European Jews embraced the enlightened German humanistic culture of the 19th century.{{sfn|Johnson|1996|p=7}} Jews at the turn of the 20th century became representatives of what many consider to be Central European culture at its best, but the Nazi conceptualisation of "Mitteleuropa" sought to destroy that culture.{{sfn|Johnson|1996|pp=7, 165, 170}} The term "Mitteleuropa" is widely used in German education and media without a negative meaning, especially since the end of communism. Many people from the [[new states of Germany]] do not identify themselves as being part of Western Europe and therefore prefer the term "Mitteleuropa".{{citation needed|date=October 2023}}

===Central Europe during World War II===
[[File:World War II in Europe, 1942.svg|thumb|[[German-occupied Europe]] at the height of the Axis conquests in 1942]]
During World War II, Central Europe was largely occupied by Nazi Germany. Many areas were a battle area and were devastated. The mass murder of the Jews depopulated many of their centuries-old settlement areas or settled other people there and their culture was wiped out. Both [[Adolf Hitler]] and [[Joseph Stalin]] diametrically opposed the centuries-old Habsburg principles of "live and let live" with regard to ethnic groups, peoples, minorities, religions, cultures and languages and tried to assert their own ideologies and power interests in Central Europe.<ref>Igor Lukes, "Central Europe Has Joined NATO: The Continuing Search for a More Perfect Habsburg Empire". ''SAIS Review'' (1999): 47–59.</ref> There were various Allied plans for state order in Central Europe for post-war. While Stalin tried to get as many states under his control as possible, [[Winston Churchill]] preferred a Central European Danube Confederation to counter those countries against Germany and Russia. There were also plans to add Bavaria and Württemberg to an enlarged Austria.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.spiegel.de/geschichte/churchill-und-die-deutschen-a-946593.html|title=Churchill und die Deutschen |first=Klaus |last=Wiegrefe |website=Der Spiegel|date=13 August 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230930131008/https://www.spiegel.de/geschichte/churchill-und-die-deutschen-a-946593.html |archive-date= Sep 30, 2023 }}</ref> There were also various resistance movements around [[Otto von Habsburg]] that pursued that goal. The group around the Austrian priest [[Heinrich Maier]] also planned in that direction, which also successfully helped the Allies to wage war by, among other things, forwarding production sites and plans for [[V-2 rocket]]s, [[Tiger tanks]] and aircraft to the United States.<ref>Peter Broucek "Die österreichische Identität im Widerstand 1938–1945" (2008), p 163.</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Pirker |first=Peter |year=2012 |title=Suberversion deutscher Herrschaft. Der britische Geheimdienst SOE und Österreich |series=Zeitgeschichte im Kontext |volume=6 |location=Göttingen |publisher=V & R Unipress |isbn=9783862349906 |page=252}}</ref> Otto von Habsburg tried to relieve Austria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and northern Yugoslavia (particularly the territories of present-day Croatia and Slovenia) from German and Soviet influence and control.<ref>Olga S. Opfell "Royalty Who Wait: The 21 Heads of Formerly Regnant Houses of Europe" (2001), p 133.</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.welt.de/geschichte/zweiter-weltkrieg/article190499367/Unternehmen-Margarethe-Wehrmacht-besetzt-1944-Ungarn.html|title="Unternehmen Margarethe": Wehrmacht besetzt 1944 Ungarn|first=Sven Felix|last=Kellerhoff|date=19 March 2019|work=Die Welt}}</ref> There were various considerations to prevent German and Soviet power in Europe after the war. Churchill's idea of reaching the area around Vienna before the Russians via an operation from the Adriatic had not been approved by the Western Allied chiefs of staff.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://orf.at/stories/3163144/|title=1945/2020: Die Sowjets und die Österreich-Idee |last=Heidegger|first=Gerald|date=26 April 2020|website=orf.at|language=de|access-date=26 April 2020}}</ref> As a result of the military situation at the end of the war, Stalin's plans prevailed and much of Central Europe came under Soviet control.<ref>Gerald Stourzh "Geschichte des Staatsvertrages 1945–1955" (1980), p 4.</ref><ref>Wolfgang Mueller "Die sowjetische Besatzung in Österreich 1945–1955 und ihre politische Mission" (German – "The Soviet occupation in Austria 1945–1955 and its political mission"), 2005, p 24.</ref>

===Central Europe behind the Iron Curtain===
[[File:Neutral and Non-Aligned European States.png|thumb|[[Neutral and Non-Aligned European States]] during the Cold War: {{legend|#DFC56C| [[Neutral country|Neutral]]: [[Austria]], [[Finland]], Sweden and Switzerland}}
{{legend|#8BC870|[[Non-Aligned Movement|Non-Aligned]]: [[Cyprus]], [[Malta]] and [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]]}}]]

Following [[World War II]], parts of Central Europe became part of the [[Eastern Bloc]]. The boundary between the two blocks was called the [[Iron Curtain]]. Austria, Switzerland and Yugoslavia remained neutral.

The post-World War II period brought blocking of research on Central Europe in the [[Eastern Bloc]] countries, as its every result proved the dissimilarity of Central Europe, which was inconsistent with the [[Stalinist]] doctrine. On the other hand, the topic became popular in Western Europe and the United States, much of the research being carried out by immigrants from Central Europe.<ref>One of the main representatives was Oscar Halecki and his book ''The limits and divisions of European history'', London and New York 1950</ref> Following the [[Fall of Communism]], publicists and historians in Central Europe, especially the anti-communist opposition, returned to their research.<ref>A. Podraza, Europa Środkowa jako region historyczny, 17th Congress of Polish Historians, Jagiellonian University 2004</ref>

According to Karl A. Sinnhuber (''Central Europe: Mitteleuropa: Europe Centrale: An Analysis of a Geographical Term'')<ref name=Sinnhuber1954>{{cite journal |last1=Sinnhuber |first1=Karl A. |title=Central Europe: Mitteleuropa: Europe Centrale: An Analysis of a Geographical Term |journal=Transactions and Papers |publisher=Institute of British Geographers |date=1954 |issue=20 |pages=15–39 |doi=10.2307/621131 |jstor=621131 |s2cid=133729155 }}</ref> most Central European states were unable to preserve their political independence and became [[Soviet satellites]]. Besides Austria, Switzerland and Yugoslavia, only the marginal European states of [[Cyprus]], [[Finland]], [[Malta]] and Sweden preserved their political sovereignty to a certain degree, being left out of any military alliances in Europe.

The opening of the [[Iron Curtain]] between Austria and Hungary at the [[Pan-European Picnic]] on 19 August 1989 then set in motion a peaceful chain reaction, at the end of which there was no longer an [[East Germany]] and the Eastern Bloc had disintegrated.<ref>Hilde Szabo: ''Die Berliner Mauer begann im Burgenland zu bröckeln'' (The Berlin Wall began to crumble in Burgenland – German), in Wiener Zeitung 16 August 1999; Otmar Lahodynsky: ''Paneuropäisches Picknick: Die Generalprobe für den Mauerfall'' (Pan-European picnic: the dress rehearsal for the fall of the Berlin Wall – German), in: ''Profil'' 9 August 2014.</ref><ref>Ludwig Greven "Und dann ging das Tor auf", in Die Zeit, 19 August 2014.</ref> It was the largest escape movement from East Germany since the Berlin Wall was built in 1961. After the picnic, which was based on an idea by [[Otto von Habsburg]] to test the reaction of the USSR and Mikhail Gorbachev to an opening of the border, tens of thousands of media-informed East Germans set off for Hungary.<ref>Miklós Németh in Interview, Austrian TV – ORF "Report", 25 June 2019.</ref> The leadership of the GDR in East Berlin did not dare to completely block the borders of their own country and the USSR did not respond at all. 
This broke the bracket of the Eastern Bloc and Central Europe subsequently became free from communism.<ref>Otmar Lahodynsky "Eiserner Vorhang: Picknick an der Grenze" (Iron curtain: picnic at the border – German), in Profil 13 June 2019.</ref><ref>Thomas Roser: DDR-Massenflucht: Ein Picknick hebt die Welt aus den Angeln (German – Mass exodus of the GDR: A picnic clears the world) in: Die Presse 16 August 2018.</ref><ref>Andreas Rödder, Deutschland einig Vaterland – Die Geschichte der Wiedervereinigung (2009).</ref>

===Roles===
According to American professor [[Ronald Tiersky]], the 1991 summit held in [[Visegrád]] attended by the [[Czechoslovakia|Czechoslovak]], Hungarian and Polish presidents was hailed at the time as a major breakthrough in Central European cooperation, but the [[Visegrád Group]] became a vehicle for coordinating Central Europe's road to the European Union, while development of closer ties within the region languished.{{sfn|Tiersky|2004|p=472}}

{{multiple image | direction=vertical | width=220
| image1=Floristic regions in Europe (english).png
| caption1=The European floristic regions
| image2=Carpathian Basin-Pannonian Basin.jpg
| caption2=The [[Pannonian Plain]], between the [[Alps]] (west), the [[Carpathians]] (north and east), and the [[Dinaric Alps]] (southwest)
| image3=Mapcarpat2.png
| caption3=[[Carpathian Mountains|Carpathian]] countries (north-west to south-east): [[Czech Republic|CZ]], [[Austria|AT]], [[Poland|PL]], [[Slovakia|SK]], [[Hungary|HU]], [[Ukraine|UA]], [[Romania|RO]], [[Serbia|RS]]
}}

American professor [[Peter J. Katzenstein]] described Central Europe as a way station in a Europeanization process that marks the transformation process of the [[Visegrád Group]] countries in different, though comparable ways.{{sfn|Katzenstein|1997|p=6}} According to him, in Germany's contemporary public discourse "Central European identity" refers to the civilizational divide between Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy.{{sfn|Katzenstein|1997|p=6}} He argued that there is no precise way to define Central Europe and that the region may even include Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia and Serbia.{{sfn|Katzenstein|1997|p=4}}