Mitteleuropa

work by Naumann

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June 30, 2026

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Mitteleuropa was a concept developed by Friedrich Naumann, a German political theorist and liberal reformer. Published in 1915, Naumann's book Mitteleuropa envisioned a postwar German-dominated economic and cultural sphere in central Europe. This region was vaguely defined as encompassing countries east of France and west of Russia. Naumann's ideas combined liberalism with imperialism, advocating for German strength and influence. While he opposed extreme territorial annexation during World War I, his vision for Mitteleuropa aimed to establish German hegemony in the region.12

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Friedrich Naumann
…occupied territories, but his book Mitteleuropa (1915) provided the vision of a postwar German cultural and economic imperium in central Europe. In 1919 he cofounded the Democratic Party, for which he served as party leader until his death. He was a man of considerable intelligence and great personal integrity whose…
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…occupied territories, but his book Mitteleuropa (1915) provided the vision of a postwar German cultural and economic imperium in central Europe. In 1919 he cofounded the Democratic Party, for which he served as party leader until his death. He was a man of considerable intelligence and great personal integrity whose…
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20th-century international relations
War aims of the belligerents
…the Balkans, was popularized as Mitteleuropa in a 1915 best-seller by Friedrich Naumann. How committed Germany’s civilian leadership was to this hegemonic plan is disputed: Bethmann favored abandoning much of it in hopes of a negotiated peace. But a war-aims majority held the balance in the Reichstag until 1917 and…
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…the Balkans, was popularized as Mitteleuropa in a 1915 best-seller by Friedrich Naumann. How committed Germany’s civilian leadership was to this hegemonic plan is disputed: Bethmann favored abandoning much of it in hopes of a negotiated peace. But a war-aims majority held the balance in the Reichstag until 1917 and…
Read More