The Unity of Europe

She was young, a determined fighter against Nazism in Germany; she was an independent socialist, a tireless writer against hatred and war; and she was an extremely courageous woman. All this would be enough to secure Hilda Monte a prominent place in the history of resistance to barbarism in 20th century Europe. Furthermore, she designed a project for a federal Europe that remains unparalleled. Among the many proposals for the future European peace, this one stands out. She edited her project in October 1943 with the renowned London publisher Victor Gollancz.

Her plea: for European countries to finally put an end to the "old game of sovereignty". Lasting peace and economic development required a genuine "European revolution": solidarity throughout Europe, common federal structures, based on a shared history and the common values of humanism. She was aware that this path would be a difficult one.

Hilda Monte was born in Vienna in 1914, grew up in Berlin and wrote her first newspaper articles against the rise of Hitler when she was 17. In 1933 she witnessed the "seizure of power" in Berlin. Exile in Paris and London followed. But Hilda Monte wanted to do more than just write against Nazism, and so she undertook dangerous trips to Germany. On 17 April 1945, while returning from a mission "on the ground" for the Austrian resistance, which she considered an act of European solidarity, she was shot and killed on the border near Feldkirch. Her treatise "The Unity of Europe", newly published here, is the lasting legacy of an eminent European resistance fighter.

Andreas Wilkens is Professor of Contemporary History at the University of Lorraine in Metz, France.