The years between the two wars presented a curious paradox in the
heartland of Europe - Austria, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and
Poland. This area was characterized both by a particularly rich
cultural florescence and an especially by an acute apocalyptic
perspective. The course adopts an interdisciplinary approach and
links the political threats hanging over the area with the scientific,
scholarly and artistic achievements of the period. Special emphasis is
laid on the role of the Jews in the crosspollination of the
intellectual climate. The issue of human values is explored in an
integrative picture of these years. The authors read present a
delightful smorgasbord of geniuses like Freud, Hasek, Musil, Th. Mann,
S. Zweig, K Capek, Kafka, Witkacy and Schulz.