Karl Kraus, the famous and prolific Austrian journalist and satirist, once wrote: "There is only one thing worse than the shame of war: the shame of people who no longer want to know about it."
As so often, Kraus (1874-1936), who documented the glory days and fall of the Habsburg Empire like no other, hit the nail on the head: if you do not remember what war is, you will not be able anymore to recognise it and see it coming. Nor can you avert it.
The Habsburgs made that mistake i...
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Already a member? Login hereCaroline de Gruyter is a Europe correspondent and columnist for the Dutch newspaper NRC. She is also a columnist for Foreign Policy and De Standaard. This piece is adapted from a column for NRC.
Caroline de Gruyter is a Europe correspondent and columnist for the Dutch newspaper NRC. She is also a columnist for Foreign Policy and De Standaard. This piece is adapted from a column for NRC.