Jorge Semprun: a European intellectual

This paper will articulate the idea of Europe that Semprun proposes in "What it means to me to be "European" (Semprun 2006: 277-285) based on two scenarios, Vienna and Weimar, which constitute a determining cultural space: that of Mitteleuropa. It should not be forgotten that the cultural concept of Mitteleuropa has been contradictory since the Second World War. On the one hand, it participates in the notion of a cosmopolitan, plurinational and intellectual cultural space; on the other hand, it cannot be forgotten that this spirit (Geist) ended up transformed into National Socialist doctrine. In this sense, Semprun starts from an idea of Europe based on German-Jewish culture, faithful to a tradition rooted in fin-de-siecle Vienna and which found its consolidation in the Weimar Republic. Thus, to the philosophy of fin-de-siecle Vienna we should add the Marxist element, vital for understanding the double semi-Prussian aspect. Weimar, in addition, will contribute a decisive and radical fact: Buchenwald.