‘1918 European dreams of modernity’

In the history of Europe, 1918 is primarily associated with the end of the First World War. But in Central and Eastern Europe 1918 also meant the rapid disintegration of the Russian, Habsburg, German and Ottoman empires and the birth of nine new states (Austria, Hungary, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland), wishing to build modern societies.

One hundred years on, BOZAR is revisiting this largely unknown page of European history. We examine 1918, not just as an important date in national calendars, but also as a powerful symbol of the explosion of creativity and of the social, artistic and political aspirations of many people who wanted to build a better future. Today remembering 1918 means recollecting and critically engaging with the many visions of modernity that produced, not only the most tragic twists in European history, but which simultaneously continue to inspire a better vision of Europe’s future.