Das Neue Europa Mit Dem Dauernden Frieden. Die Unionisierung Mitteleuropas. [The New Europe With Lasting Peace. The Central European Union.]
- ️Cornell University Library
- ️Fri Apr 14 2017
P.A.M.'s "Guide" begins (p.3) by challenging Versailles: "Does anyone really seriously believe that the consequences of the peace negotiations so far have secured eternal peace? Does anyone really seriously believe that the revenge of the individual peoples has been satisfied by the consequences of the present peace negotiations?" He then assures readers that "In my project, the national states are surely torn apart, but they are, as it were, brought under one roof by creating sub-regions in which all nations are fused by or with time, a new human nature emerges from all the good and noble sides of every present nation, in which racial hatred does not prevail as before, but the love of the people prevails, and thus bestows happiness and blessings on all those who are counted as a unitary nation." And he expressly notes that the discussion to follow is "explained" by the accompanying map.
As the map shows, the future United States ("Einheitsstaates") are composed of 24 "Kantons," each a long, narrow, pie-shaped slice named after a prominent European city within it, which is to be the capital of the Canton. P.7. The "wedge-shaped division" was adopted "only in order to create the most concessionary and fairest part of the whole territory of Central Europe," so that traditional disputes among European peoples "were solved and buried forever." P.10. "The cantonal tips meet in a point at the Union's capital, St. Stephen's" Cathedral in Vienna. The inset map at the bottom left suggests that the capital itself ("Unionshauptstadt ") will be called "Saint Stephen," and is intended to be a large area surrounding metropolitan Vienna (also referred to as the Garden State). The selection of Vienna as the capital is not explained apart from the P.A.M.'s personal view: "This I think of myself as a large, wide garden city, hygienically designed and expanded." P.10.
The Cantons cut across cultural and ethnic lines as well as traditional State borders. "Throughout the Union, only four Nations are recognized: Romans, Germans, Slavs and Magyars. Each of these Nations, with the exception of the latter, is divided into different peoples, all belonging to the same tribe of the Nation. The Romans are found in France, Italy, Rumania – Germans in Prussia, Bavaria, Holland, Saxony, Austria, the Tyrol, etc. - The Slavs in Poland, Czechoslovakia, Moravia, Ruthenia, Croatia, Serbia, etc." P.14. The four Nations are shown in different colors on the map, and each of the Cantons includes people from at least two Nations; the Canton of Brussels, for example, includes Romans, Germans and Slavs.
The supporting Guide contains extensive detail on scores of other aspects of the new Union. On colonies, for example, "All colonies of the countries within the Union will be jointly owned. As it is better to have everything connected, area exchanges were necessary," with eventual financial compensation. (A separate map is of colonies is provided, ID #2104.02, showing that most of Africa has become a Colony Owned by the Union.") Details are provided as to colonies of England, The Netherlands, Italy, Portugal, Spain, etc. Pp.13-14. The President of the Union is to serve a three-year term, and the position is to be rotated among the four Nations. All those over 20 may vote - except for married women. P.14. "Esperanto, the modern world language" should become the common language of the Union. "Immediately after the creation of the Unified State, all teachers must attend courses aimed at the rapid and thorough learning of this universal language. . . . Half of the available teaching time would have to be used for the basic Esperanto study, the other half for the subjects and the mother tongue." (Religion, on the other hand, "is to be given in the mother tongue for the time being.") P.4. Other details include the flags of the Union, several of which are shown on the map.
The mysterious author/mapmaker appears to have had concerns as to how his work would be received. "To many a reader this work may appear as the result of over-excited imagination; someday, though late, the knowledge of truth will gain the upper hand, and perhaps many things which have been stimulated by me here will be realized. This would be the most beautiful reward of my quite selfless, long, and elaborate intellectual work." P.3. Choosing to remain anonymous for the moment, he added a note at the end of his Guide: "I have informed a Notary of my name, profession and role as author and editor of this work of peace, and it will be announced only when the four principal Nations in the Union have expressed their judgment publicly." P.24.
OCLC lists only 13 copies, and most identify the author only as P.A.M. or as the Port Autonome de Marseille. But it seems highly unlikely that a French port authority would commit the time and resources necessary to produce this work, and even more unlikely that if it had done so, it would have published its report in German - and centered its proposed new European State in Vienna! In fact, the author was hiding in plain sight. The foot of the title page says Self Published by the Author ("Selbstverlag des Verfassers") and Printed by Otto Maas' Sons ("Druck von Otto Maas' Söhne"), a well-known Viennese publisher. Otto's son, known as P.A. Maas, is listed by several European institutions as the elusive P.A.M. To this date, however, he has not been named by the appointed Notary - the four Nations having not yet “expressed their judgment publicly” on his proposal.
For other maps in the collection of proposed utopian governments, Search > "Utopian".
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