181The second part of his address was devoted to the present and the future. It is
important to remember the context in which the speech was given. The Warsaw
Pact was still in place and so was the Soviet Union whose Red Army was stationed
in Czechoslovakia and Poland. On the other hand, Germany was already on the
path towards reunification and the border issue between Poland and Germany
was not yet fully settled.
Central Europe awakensDespite these confusing circumstances, Havel projected two things. First, there
will not be a united Europe without a unified Germany. Second, some kind of
Central European co-operation is needed in order to succeed in changing Europe.
Havel stated: “For the first time in history, we have
a real opportunity to fill the great political vacuum that
appeared in Central Europe after the collapse of the
Habsburg Empire with something genuinely mean-
ingful. We have an opportunity to transform Central
Europe from what has been a mainly historical and
spiritual phenomenon into a political phenomenon. We
have an opportunity to take this wreath of European
states – so recently colonised by the Soviet Union and
now attempting to build a relationship with the nations of the Soviet Union based
on equality – and fashion it into a special body. Then we can approach the richer
nations of Western Europe, not as poor failures or helpless, recently amnestied
prisoners, but as countries that can make a genuine contribution. What we have to
offer are spiritual and moral impulses, courageous peace initiatives, under-exploited
creative potential, and the special ethos created by our freshly won freedom. We
can offer the inspiration to consider swift and daring solutions.”
I would argue that we cannot divide the two parts of Havel’s Warsaw speech,
as they fit together as a whole. He praises Poland for its great contribution to the
“awakening” of Central Europe. However, he points out that the mission is not com-
plete, that much more has to be done and that this effort is not limited to Central
Europeans. “We have awakened, and now we must arouse those in the West who
have slept through our awakening,” he said. Adding, “The more coordinated our
approach, the better we will be able to achieve our ends.”
The history which followed is well known. The Visegrad Group was established in
1991; both countries entered N ATO (also thanks to mutual co-operation) in 1999;
and joined the European Union in 2004. The Visegrad Group survived the era of a
Havel believed that
Central European
co-operation is
needed in order
to succeed in
changing Europe.Czech-Polish relations, Vít Dostál Poles and Czechs across generations