The people of Central Europe cannot be separated from European history; they cannot exist outside it; but they represent the wrong side of this history; they are its victims and outsiders.

In a moment of historic peril and uncertainty in mainland Europe, Milan Kundera makes the case for Central Europe as the nucleus of European values and as a lightning rod for its potential dangers.

For the countries that make up this region where democracy is under continued threat from Russian oppression, language and culture play an active role in affirming national identity. And each of these countries – Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia – has been historically overlooked by the major powers of Western Europe. But Kundera cautions that this blindness puts Europe’s cultural and political independence at risk, a warning that feels increasingly relevant to our current moment, and our future.