ATHENS – The centrality of Germany to Europe and, more widely, to world affairs has been amply, and often bloodily, demonstrated over many centuries. Indeed, Germany’s strategic position at the heart of Europe, as well as its huge economic and military potential, made it first a prize to be sought, and then, following Otto von Bismarck’s completion of German unification in 1871, a nation-state to be feared.
雅典—欧洲，以及更广泛的世界事务德国中心论已经在几百年的历史中印证了多次，且往往是血淋淋的教训。事实上，德国处于欧洲的战略中心，又具有巨大的经济和军事潜力，这使它成为列强垂涎的肥肉，继而在1871年俾斯麦完成德国统一后又成为可怕的民族国家。俾斯麦身后留下的德国一直主导着欧洲政治，直到二战结束。