We admire your strength, but we do not envy you: Johan Huizinga’s image of America in the context of the interwar crisis of civilization.

Abstract

The thesis examines the Dutch historian Johan Huizinga’s (1872-1945) image of America within the context of the so-called crisis of civilization during the Interbellum period. The underlying theoretical framework is that there is a European tradition of seeing America as a mirror of Europe. European observers of America were often, directly or indirectly, commenting on developments in Europe. During the Interbellum, this often took the form of seeing in America the future of Europe. The aim of the thesis is to analyze Johan Huizinga’s image of America and place it in a European context by comparing it with what Menno ter Braak (1902-1940), Oswald Spengler (1880-1936) and José Ortega Y Gasset (1883-1955) have written about America. The conclusion drawn from the analysis and comparison is that Johan Huizinga had a relatively nuanced image of America in which both the negative and positive aspects were recognized. Huizinga disapproved of the developments in America that he thought would also occur in Europe, but he was careful to also point out original and positive American qualities. Huizinga’s position in the cultural pessimism of the Interbellum is characterized as that of a sharp and careful observer.