On the Idea of “European Unity”

On the Idea of “European Unity”

The three political fathers of the idea of a United Europe—Robert Schuman, Konrad Adenauer, and Alcide de Gasperi—had each experienced excesses of nationalism that made them sense the urgency of devising a political solution for nationalistic confrontations. Schuman was a Lorrainer, de Gasperi came from the Trentino, and Adenauer was a Rhinelander. The Lorrainer came from a province that had become German in 1870, had reverted to being French in 1918, became German again in 1940 and, finally, French once more in 1944. De Gasperi had represented his province in the Austrian Diet under Franz Josef, and subsequently was elected to the Italian Parliament. Adenauer was also well placed to recognize the difficulties created by the fact of ...