The centre of Europe?

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When travelling, it can be astonishing to read in the self-portrayals and tourist advertisements of the three Baltic countries, now once again independent, that they consider themselves to be situated ‘at the centre of Europe’. Indeed, there is more to this than a mere, if striking, geographical attribution.
Firstly, if Europe extends as far as the Ural Mountains – and indeed this in itself is a matter of debate – then the Baltic countries are certainly situated ‘at the centre of Europe’¹.

The Germans, however, believe that they themselves constitute the centre of Europe, and have thus invented the term ‘Eastern Central Europe’ for their easterly neighbours Poland and the Czech Republic. This concept of Central Europe tends to be based on historical and political rather than geographical prerequisites. But on which motives is the clearly highly different use of the term in the three Baltic States based?

Gaining and losing independence

These small countries surprisingly achieved independence after centuries of foreign rule during a weak phase of the two large neighbours Germany and Russia following defeat in World War I; indeed, it was only with assistance from the victorious western powers that they were able to maintain it through the early founding phase. On the other hand, the reinvigoration of Germany and Russia under the totalitarian regimes of Hitler and Stalin fundamentally altered the situation of power-politics in Eastern Central Europe, which culminated in the fact that both dictators reached an understanding regarding their ‘spheres of interest’ in this part of the continent in August 1939, on the eve of World War II, so to speak. The Baltic countries were assimilated into the Soviet Union in the summer of the following year, and there they remained, even after the German defeat of 1945, with the approval of the western powers. In the Baltic countries, especially in Lithuania, many fought as partisans against the Red Army until the mid-1950s in the desperate hope that the western powers would not desert their countries in the light of the intensifying situation of the Cold War (and further provoked by the numerous emigrants). But even when it had come to spectacular uprisings in the satellite states which indeed were still theoretically independent (beginning in the GDR in 1953), the danger of atomic war prevented the West from intervening. In the light of these events, the small Baltic countries had little chance of attracting attention on an international level; they had been, so to speak, ‘written off’².

New opportunities since 1991

Miraculously, it was the collapse of the Soviet Union that bestowed upon them a new opportunity. In the meantime, they have even become members of NATO and the EU, a guaranteed security that they would never have been granted – at least not to such an extent – during the interwar period. The small Baltic States know as a result of their traumatic experiences in the 20th century that they will only survive in the long term if they are perceived to be full members of Europe. Hence the phrase ‘at the centre of Europe’ and their invitations to western tourists to see for themselves how justified this phrase indeed appears to be.
How do the three countries and their capital cities present themselves to historically interested tourists today? And what will the latter learn during the journey or visit about their ‘return to Europe’?
The historic districts of the Baltic metropolises were spared large-scale destruction during both World Wars (despite notable losses, particularly in the year 1944). They were subject to threat during the first decades of the Soviet era, however, due to neglect of building structures and plans for oversized public buildings and new streets, without regard for the constructions already in place. Since regaining independence in 1991, the countries are increasingly restoring their historic districts and historical museums are being restructured. European aspects long since forgotten in the greater western public sphere are thus regaining visibility, especially for German visitors.

1 Geographically, the centre of Europe (if Europe really extends as far as the Ural Mountains) is situated nearby Vilnius. A ‘Park of Europe’ with a pillar and several quaint sculptures has been established there.
2 Significantly, the Baltic region is nearly completely omitted in such widely known books as, for example, Hugh Seton-Watson, The East European revolution (London: Methuen, 1950).
 

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