The Power of the Mediator: Masaryk as a Networker between East and West

The article focusses on the discursive and social prerequisites of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk’s stature as a European intellectual in the time frame 1875 – 1918. By drawing on his heretofore unpublished letter correspondence and medial activities, the authors discern the way in which Masaryk used the differences of languages but also in social status to reach the position as an arbiter between German intellectuals, on the one hand, and the Czech and Russian intellectuals, on the other. By catering to certain topics such as Marxism, anti-clericalism, anti-Semitism, and finally the interest of German intellectuals in the Slavic and especially Russian intellectual world in general, Masaryk gradually increased his influence as an expert. The authors also examine the way in which he influenced translations between Czech and German by virtue of his status.