ABSTRACT
Europe was an important category in the political considerations of all political camps in interwar Germany. German socialists wanted to reinvigorate Europe through unification, because they considered peace and prosperity the prerequisites for overcoming capitalism eventually. German socialists expected their unnamed ideal of Europe, a peacefully cooperating continent, to bring them closer to achieving their central aim: overcoming capitalism. German conservatives also rejected the Treaty of Versailles and felt threatened by the United States in the West and the Soviet Union in the East, but for them, the problem lay deeper. German right-wing thinkers interpreted the status quo as a continuation of the World War. German liberals and democrats advocated the creation of Paneuropa or ‘United States of Europe’ as the only adequate response to the rise of other large economic and political entities. Amongst German liberals and democrats, there was disagreement on how to unite Europe.
