Between the Seas by Justus H. Ulbricht

about the possibility of cooperation between European Regions (short draft of a study and individual project initiatives) and part of the papers presented for discussion at the first HERMES meeting in Weimar, 25. April 2004

The CADSES region created by the guidelines of the European Community is a constructed area, whose coincidence should not seduce into searching for a common, one-dimension 'identity' of the participating countries and regions. Future co-operations must be aware of the social and cultural diversity of the partners and try to approach without being too demanding with regard to political identities.

On the other hand, it makes sense to show certain historical and present cultural relationships between the CADSES countries and regions, to extend existing co-operations and to reactivate possibly hidden of even deliberately forgotten cultural relationships.

The study shall work out and describe exemplary these cultural-historical backgrounds and contexts. In this connection, aspects of a future cooperation between the project partners can be developed, and concrete co-operations can be planned. The scientific-historical part of the study will describe the whole range of past and present cultural relationships, but only very few of them shall result in concrete project ideas – otherwise the initiatives and cooperation projects run the risk of going into detail too much.

The study wants to be a critical contribution to the debate about the 'cultural identity' of Europe, which has been under discussion for some years now and which often operates with very superficial ideas of Europe and its allegedly 'common roots'.

1. Where is Europe...what is Europe?

At the beginning of the project, the notion of identity shall be discussed, which has been in the centre of the political debates about the 'nature' of Europe for years. From the philosophical point of view, identity should be seen as the unit of both the identical and non-identical; thus, recognizing unity also in contradiction and not to understand identity as a substratum and a notion of substance.

Gaining an identity in any case requires being ready and able to learn for both the individual and the society. If Europe – as often said – shall 'grow together', this organically-medical metaphor refers to a process of common learning and education. This is the point of the study and of the whole project, since detailed knowledge of each other should not be limited to commonly studying the literatures and scientific disciplines of the partners, but it lives on the direct contact between persons, projects and cultural institutions. Thus, norms and values of a European ethos and structures of a European civil society can only be developed, criticized and practices in a process of common learning.

2. What unites the partners of the CADSES region?

The study will try to describe the cultural 'heritage' which unites us and also the ways of reception of a mutual cultural influence of the different cultures, which will be done by research and investigation work, but above all by the mutual exchange between the partners. This work shall identify those traditions and to make this knowledge public with the help of the media, which seem to be particularly qualified to develop new and sustainable contacts between nations and cultures and to fill co-operations with cultural life.

First of all, it is the discussion about Europe itself that puts into connection all European nations with each other, although this topic is discussed under very different conditions in the respective nations of regions. The tendency of the unification of European countries is often contradicted with the tendency of self-determination. It can be observed that national or regional qualities are especially pointed out in view of tendencies of standardization or if other, more powerful nations are felt to be dominant. Insofar, the idea of Europe, the process of European unification, nationalism and regional consciousness are brothers and sisters.

The names of “Napolean” and “Hitler” stand – in a very different way – for the experience of injustice and “un”-culture that people and nations especially in the South East and East of Europe may have made with the so-called “Western culture” during the past 200 years. The name of “Stalin” stands for catastrophic and traumatic experiences in the East of Europe at the “age of extremes”. Longer ago, the Ottoman Empire and its influence on the centre of Europe and the history of spreading Christianity played a special role. Christian culture in Europe promised at all times a common ground, however, opposition and deviation, which were tolerated or persecuted, also belong to the religious history of our imaginary continent.

Whatever is important about the “Christian heritage” of our European cultures, its predecessors and “companions” are of essential influence, too: the tradition of the Jewish culture(s) and the tradition of the classical antiquity. These cultural traditions met in the cultural phenomenon of the Renaissance, which developed as a cultural style at the threshold to the modern times all over Europe and which fundamentally characterised and changed nations (if they existed already), local and regional cultures as well as individuals. It is true that European Enlightenment is a “child of Western Europe”, but it had already arrived in the “East” and in the “South” of Europe, where it also fell on fertile ground. The “Weimar Classics” came from Germany, but it inspired many other national literatures. Last but not least, the “classical modern age” of the period around the year 1900 also belongs to the cultural traditions of many of the project partners, but it developed very differently in the individual countries with regard to aesthetical, political of every-day aspects.

Apart from the traditional lines of the European cultures, the particular role of the “German culture” respective of cultural aspects in the partner countries and regions will be part of the project. Experience shows that this is a quite delicte subject because especially the Southeastern and Eastern Europe, the long-lasting experience of a peaceful existence of German and other cultures was dramatically and traumatically overlapped by the national socialist dictatorship and its policy of war and extermination. In addition, there is a present fear of Germany's economic dominance.

In view of this background, it seems all the more important to discuss present aspects of a “German culture for Europe” together with the partners. This is not to reset up a cultural dominance of Germany, but the main aspect will be the perception of German culture from inside and outside the country.

The search for a “home” is a European topic, too, particularly since our century saw and still sees migration movements of unknown dimensions. In a novel of the 1930s, the writer Ivan Goll called on of his figures “Mitropäer” (a word combined of “Mitropa” and European), a traveller who is at home in many cultures (which means perhaps nowhere) and who passes most of his time in trains - “Mitropa” was already at that time the name of the dining car society of the German railway. Perhaps we could imagine a “Migropean” - a person who knows where he comes from (and, above all, where he wants to go), who knows to live in many different places, being open-minded and experienced ...and not arrogant and conceited in a feeling of his own cultural superiority.

3. What to do?

The study and the contacts developed during this work shall serve to create a pool of knowledge which will contain important information about the different countries that will be made available to all the partners involved. This also includes the exchange on information sources in the media, potential cooperation partners, specialists and cultural circles in which an intensive contact between partner countries of regions is already being practised.

A programme guideline for the year 2004/2005 shall be worked out very soon, which will define the most important topics and the forms of cooperation between the partners.

In cooperation with the participating partners, a concept for a “Week of Europe” shall be developed, which will be held in different places at the end of the first project phase.

It is also planned to develop a “List of European Places of Memory” in the CADSES region, which can be maintained (and managed) together and to think about didactic and pedagogical approaches to present these “Places” (this part of the project can be prepared in the planned study). In this connection, it could also be possible to further develop the cooperation between existing national memorials, also using the means of the participating media partners.

As a long term objective, “CADSES shops” could be founded in towns of the participating countries, which could become centres of cultural exchange not only within the project, but also beyond it.

Teacher training seminars, student exchange programmes and university partnerships shall be developed and realised already in the course of the project, and it is one of the tasks of the study to describe the contents of such partnerships and to identify them clearly. The question for the “identity of Europe” is always at the same time the question of its borders. The list of topics could then be a basis to plan conferences, workshops and publications as well as a basis for a common pedagogical work (this list of topics should, of course, refer to the general topic of “European Civil Society” or common European traditions). It is especially planned to bring together e.g. ethnologists as well as persons and institutions who are responsible for the training of multipliers (training teachers, adults or journalists).

A further aim could be to develop a textbook of ethics, which could be used ín schools or at universities in all participating countries. But it remains to define basic manners and values of a European civil society.

People working practically in the field of art and culture should also be involved: first of all museum staff, gallery owners and members of theatre companies. Not to forget librarians and the libraries themselves, because they are the “warehouses” of European culture where books and users from many countries meet – thus, libraries are an ideal place to organise cultural exchange (and the arts should enter the libraries, too).

In the project, special emphasis shall be pout on the development of specific tourist offers The project could further develop already existing national roads (“Thuringian Porcelain Road”, “Road of Classics”, “Road of the Romanesque” and others) and the “Roads of Europe” or the “European hiking trails” to develop connecting roads which are based on a special topic and its touristic and pedagogical marketing. Ideas are e.g. multinational “Road of Classics” or a “Road of Bauhaus”, a connection of old pilgrim roads or roads formerly used by merchants, explorers or wanderers.

Another idea which is closely linked to the connection of places, routes and roads are education seminars for groups which could be developed by the participating institutes. The motto “Meet and cooperate” shall be the guideline to develop seminar programmes which especially refer to the reception and the influence of national cultures in the other countries.

Finally, we would like to point out that the scientific approach to the aspects of cultural relationships between the participating partners should always keep in mind those concerns which can be included in concrete, clear and manageable projects in the field of culture, media or education.

Frithjof Reinhardt, Justus H. Ulbricht

Weimar, 24 April 2004

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Between the Seas by Justus H. Ulbricht