Cafe Europa
Encyclopedia
This article is about the book, for the 2006 Europe Day
event see, Café Europe
Café Europa: Life After Communism is a 1996 book by Slavenka Drakulić
, the noted Croatian
writer. It talks about the experiences of the peoples of Eastern Europe
after the retreat of Communism
and the fall of the Iron Curtain
. While Drakulić notes the liberation of the formerly oppressed, her hard hitting social commentary points out the repercussions and lack of progress since the end of Soviet domination.
Café Europa is also another name for the Elvis Presley's G.I. Blues
movie (1960).
, Drakulić compares her life with those of people living within the Warsaw Pact
countries. She notes that she always felt superior to them, as Josip Broz Tito
's regime permitted both a higher standard of living and greater freedom of movement. Despite these amenities, to Drakulić Yugoslavia was still just a bigger cage.
and Bulgaria
Drakulić sees the degradation of national infrastructure, such as sewage
systems. This decline, she concludes, is due in part to a post-communist
mentality.
society, which they were cut off from for more than 50 years after the Soviet occupation. However, the NATO and European Union
countries do not feel the same way, and "Europe" can be seen as merely a construction in the mind of Eastern Europe. However, Drakulić warns, "We are all Albanians
", and cannot disregard a common heritage.
the vacuum has not been filled by a completely democratic government. President Tudjman rules with an authoritarian grip, and much of the bureaucracy
is full of former apparatchik
s. Despite the more recent communist past, in Drakulić's view Croatia's leaders call upon the memory of the fascist Croatian
state of World War II
.
Europe Day
In Europe, Europe Day is an annual celebration of peace and unity in Europe. There are two separate designations of Europe Day: 5 May for the Council of Europe, and 9 May for the European Union...
event see, Café Europe
Café Europe
This article is about the event, for the Croatian novel see, Café EuropaCafé Europe, Café d'Europe or also Café Europa was a cultural initiative of the Austrian presidency of the European Union, held on Europe Day in 27 cafés of the capitals of the then 25 EU member states and the two countries...
Café Europa: Life After Communism is a 1996 book by Slavenka Drakulić
Slavenka Drakulic
Slavenka Drakulić is a noted Croatian writer and publicist who currently lives in Sweden.Slavenka Drakulić was born in Rijeka, PR Croatia, on July 4, 1949. She graduated in comparative literature and sociology from the University in Zagreb in 1976...
, the noted Croatian
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
writer. It talks about the experiences of the peoples of Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
after the retreat of Communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
and the fall of the Iron Curtain
Iron Curtain
The concept of the Iron Curtain symbolized the ideological fighting and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1989...
. While Drakulić notes the liberation of the formerly oppressed, her hard hitting social commentary points out the repercussions and lack of progress since the end of Soviet domination.
Café Europa is also another name for the Elvis Presley's G.I. Blues
G.I. Blues
G.I. Blues is a 1960 Elvis Presley musical motion picture played as a romantic comedy. It was filmed at Paramount's Hollywood studios, with some pre-production scenery shot on location in Germany before Presley's release from the army. The movie reached #2 on the Variety weekly national box office...
movie (1960).
Yugoslavia
Writing about her life in native communist YugoslaviaYugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
, Drakulić compares her life with those of people living within the Warsaw Pact
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...
countries. She notes that she always felt superior to them, as Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz Tito
Marshal Josip Broz Tito – 4 May 1980) was a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman. While his presidency has been criticized as authoritarian, Tito was a popular public figure both in Yugoslavia and abroad, viewed as a unifying symbol for the nations of the Yugoslav federation...
's regime permitted both a higher standard of living and greater freedom of movement. Despite these amenities, to Drakulić Yugoslavia was still just a bigger cage.
Poverty and deprivation
While visiting Eastern European countries like RomaniaRomania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
and Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
Drakulić sees the degradation of national infrastructure, such as sewage
Sewage
Sewage is water-carried waste, in solution or suspension, that is intended to be removed from a community. Also known as wastewater, it is more than 99% water and is characterized by volume or rate of flow, physical condition, chemical constituents and the bacteriological organisms that it contains...
systems. This decline, she concludes, is due in part to a post-communist
Post-Communism
Post-communism is a name sometimes given to the period of political and economic transformation or "transition" in former Communist states located in parts of Europe and Asia, in which new governments aimed to create free market-oriented capitalist economies with some form of parliamentary...
mentality.
Aspirations to a European identity
According to Drakulić, the newly liberated states of Eastern Europe aspire to rejoin Western EuropeanWest
West is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.West is one of the four cardinal directions or compass points. It is the opposite of east and is perpendicular to north and south.By convention, the left side of a map is west....
society, which they were cut off from for more than 50 years after the Soviet occupation. However, the NATO and European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
countries do not feel the same way, and "Europe" can be seen as merely a construction in the mind of Eastern Europe. However, Drakulić warns, "We are all Albanians
Albanians
Albanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Albania and neighbouring countries. They speak the Albanian language. More than half of all Albanians live in Albania and Kosovo...
", and cannot disregard a common heritage.
Authoritarianism in post-independence Croatia
Despite the removal of communist governments throughout Europe, Drakulić is dismayed to find that in her homeland of CroatiaCroatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
the vacuum has not been filled by a completely democratic government. President Tudjman rules with an authoritarian grip, and much of the bureaucracy
Bureaucracy
A bureaucracy is an organization of non-elected officials of a governmental or organization who implement the rules, laws, and functions of their institution, and are occasionally characterized by officialism and red tape.-Weberian bureaucracy:...
is full of former apparatchik
Apparatchik
Apparatchik is a Russian colloquial term for a full-time, professional functionary of the Communist Party or government; i.e., an agent of the governmental or party "apparat" that held any position of bureaucratic or political responsibility, with the exception of the higher ranks of management...
s. Despite the more recent communist past, in Drakulić's view Croatia's leaders call upon the memory of the fascist Croatian
Independent State of Croatia
The Independent State of Croatia was a World War II puppet state of Nazi Germany, established on a part of Axis-occupied Yugoslavia. The NDH was founded on 10 April 1941, after the invasion of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers. All of Bosnia and Herzegovina was annexed to NDH, together with some parts...
state of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.