ABSTRACT
In the literature there is a generally accepted narrative, a received opinion, concerning the idea of Europe around the time of Great War, particularly when related to culture. In the decades preceding the First World War such manifestations of the idea of Europe were few and far between: the strength of nationalism meant that there was relatively little room for schemes to unite Europe. ‘The idea of belonging to a European community was pushed into the background.’ The Interbellum period, despite being labelled by some as a time of ‘The Nation Supreme’, was virtually saturated with schemes and designs to bring Europe together in some kind of political or diplomatic union to promote peace. Some research into articles and commentaries on the complex development of ideas about Europe in the neutral state of the Netherlands during and after the First World War has revealed two platforms for intellectuals struggling with the multi-layered nature of feeling and expression about European civilisation.
