Choose three examples to show the contribution of culture to the growth of nationalism in Europe.
Culture played an important role in the growth of nationalism in Europe:
Romanticism, a cultural movement which sought to develope a particular form of nationalist sentiment.
(i)German philosopher Johann Gottfried claimed that the German culture was to be discovered among the common people through folk songs, folk poetry and folk dances. So collecting and recording these forms of folk culture was essential to the project of nation-building.
(ii)Karol Kurpinski, celebrated the national struggle through his operas and music, turning folk dances like the polonaise and mazurka into nationalist symbols.
(iii)The Grimm brothers also saw French domination as a threat to German culture, and believed that the folktales they had collected were expresions of a pure and authentic German spirit.
