BERLIN – It has been 20 years since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, which for many historians marked the real end of the “short twentieth century” – a century that, beginning in 1914, was characterized by protracted ideological conflicts among communism, fascism, and liberal democracy, until the latter seemed to have emerged fully victorious. But something strange happened on the way to the End of History: we seem desperate to learn from the recent past, but are very unsure about what the lessons are.
柏林——苏联解体迄今已经20年了，对很多历史学家来讲，苏联的解体标志着“短暂的二十世纪”从真正意义上的结束——这个世纪始于1914年，其特色是共产主义、法西斯主义和自由民主之间旷日持久的思想冲突，最后似乎以自由民主大获全胜而告结束。但在历史终结的过程中似乎出了些问题：我们迫不及待地想从近代史中吸取经验，但却根本不清楚到底应该吸取什么。