One of the few things that can be said for certain about Europe’s prehistoric peoples is that they all came from somewhere else. Norman Davies Read Quote
In 1945, when the Second World War technically ends in Poland, the incoming Soviet army liberates some groups of people but begins to oppress the general population, in some ways more harshly than it had happened before. Norman Davies Read Quote
The question is whether a confident Europe will be a rival for North America – or whether they will work together and become a more unified bloc. Norman Davies Read Quote
Fifty years would seem to be time enough to prepare a definitive history of the Second World War. In an age of instant data-gathering, one might think that the historians could have arrived at a consensus for interpreting the main events of the war. In reality, no such consensus exists. Norman Davies Read Quote
Traditionally, historians thought in terms of invasions: the Celts took over the islands, then the Romans, then the Anglo-Saxons. It now seems much more likely that the resident population doesn’t change as much as thought. The people stay put but are reculturalized by some new dominant culture. Norman Davies Read Quote
All political institutions will end sooner or later. The question is when and how. Norman Davies Read Quote
In the long run, Europe will certainly move toward unification. But it will be a process of push and pull, and there will be resistance. Norman Davies Read Quote
Bulgaria was the only Axis country to deflect insistent German demands for the deportation of its Jews. Norman Davies Read Quote
It’s the historian’s job not to ridicule the myths, but to show the difference between myth and reality. Norman Davies Read Quote
