Norman Davies
Norman Davies | |
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Born | Ivor Norman Richard Davies 8 June 1939 , Lancashire, England |
Citizenship |
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Spouses |
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Children | 2 |
Relatives | School of Slavonic and East European Studies |
Main interests | History of Poland |
Ivor Norman Richard Davies
Academic career
Davies was born to Richard and Elizabeth Davies in Bolton, Lancashire. He is of Welsh descent. He studied in Grenoble, France, from 1957 to 1958 and then under A. J. P. Taylor at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he earned a BA in history in 1962. He was awarded an MA at the University of Sussex in 1966 and also studied in Perugia, Italy. Davies intended to study for a PhD in the Soviet Union but was denied an entry visa, so he went to Kraków, Poland, instead. Davies studied at the Jagiellonian University and did research on the Polish–Soviet War. As this war was denied in the official communist Polish historiography of that time, he was obliged to change the title of his dissertation to The British Foreign Policy towards Poland, 1919–20. After he obtained his PhD in Kraków in 1968, the English text was published in 1972 under the title White Eagle, Red Star. The Polish–Soviet War 1919–20.[3]
From 1971, Davies taught Polish history at the
Davies is a visiting professor at the Collège d'Europe.[8]
Work
Davies' first book, White Eagle, Red Star: The Polish-Soviet War, 1919–20 was published in 1972.
His 1981 book God's Playground, a comprehensive overview of Polish history, was published officially in Poland only after the fall of communism. In 1984, Davies published Heart of Europe, a briefer, more essay-like history of Poland, in which the chapters are arranged in reverse chronological order.
In the 1990s, Davies published Europe: A History (1996) and The Isles: A History (1999), about Europe and the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, respectively. Each book is a narrative interlarded with numerous sidepanel discussions of microtopics.
In 2000, Davies' Polish publishers Znak published a collection of his essays and articles under the title Smok wawelski nad Tamizą ("The Wawel Dragon on the Thames").
In 2002, at the suggestion of the city's mayor, Bogdan Zdrojewski, Davies and his former research assistant, Roger Moorhouse, co-wrote a history of Wrocław / Breslau, a Silesian city. Titled Microcosm: Portrait of a Central European City, the book was published simultaneously in English, Polish and German, and was later translated into Czech, French and Italian.
Davies also writes essays and articles for the mass media. Among others, he has worked for the BBC as well as British and American magazines and newspapers, such as The Times, The New York Review of Books and The Independent. In Poland, his articles appeared in the liberal Catholic weekly Tygodnik Powszechny.
Davies' book Rising '44. The Battle for Warsaw describes the Warsaw Uprising. It was followed by Europe at War 1939–1945: No Simple Victory (2006). In 2008 Davies participated in the documentary film The Soviet Story.[9]
Awards and distinctions
Davies holds a number of honorary titles and memberships, including
Edward Bernard Raczyński, President of the Polish government-in-exile, decorated Davies with the Order of Polonia Restituta. On 22 December 1998 President of Poland Aleksander Kwaśniewski awarded him the Grand Cross (1st class) of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland. Finally, on 11 November 2012, Davies was decorated with the Order of the White Eagle, Poland's highest civilian award.
In 2001, Davies was made a companion of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George for service to Central European history.[15]
Davies has been appointed to the advisory board of the European Association of History Educators—EUROCLIO. In 2008, he was awarded the Order of the Cross of St Mary's Land 3rd Class by the Republic of Estonia.
Davies also received Knight of Freedom Award in 2006 for his promotion of Polish history and the values represented by General Casimir Pulaski.[16][17]
In 2012, he received the Aleksander Gieysztor Prize for his promotion of Polish cultural heritage abroad.[14]
In 2019 he was accepted by Swedish Academy to the list of literature Nobel Prize candidates. The information was announced during author's meeting in Gniezno, Poland.[18]
Political views
Davies disagrees with the
Davies himself argues that "Holocaust scholars need have no fears that rational comparisons might threaten that uniqueness. Quite the opposite." and that "one needs to re-construct mentally the fuller picture in order to comprehend the true enormity of Poland's wartime cataclysm, and then to say with absolute conviction 'Never Again'."[20][21]
Personal life
Davies married Maria Korzeniewicz, a Polish scholar born in Dąbrowa Tarnowska. He lives in Oxford and Kraków, and has two sons.[22] His uncle Donny died in the Munich air disaster.[23]
Davies was initially a member of the
Books
- 1972: ISBN 0-7126-0694-7)
- 1977: Poland, Past and Present: A Select Bibliography of Works in English. ISBN 0-89250-011-5
- 1981: ISBN 0-19-925340-4
- 1984: ISBN 0-19-285152-7
- 2001: Heart of Europe: The Past in Poland's Present. Oxford University Press, USA; New edition ISBN 0-19-280126-0
- 2001: Heart of Europe: The Past in Poland's Present. Oxford University Press, USA; New edition
- 1991: Jews in Eastern Poland and the USSR, 1939–46. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 0-312-06200-1
- 1996: ISBN 0-19-820171-0
- 1997: Auschwitz and the Second World War in Poland: A lecture given at the Representations of Auschwitz international conference at the Jagiellonian University. Universitas. ISBN 83-7052-935-6
- 1999: Red Winds from the North. Able Publishing. ISBN 0-907616-45-3
- 1999: ISBN 0-19-513442-7
- 2002 (with ISBN 0-224-06243-3
- 2004: ISBN 0-333-90568-7
- 2006: Europe East and West: A Collection of Essays on European History. Jonathan Cape. ISBN 0-224-06924-1
- 2006: ISBN 0-333-69285-3
- 2008: To and From. Modern Poland: A Journey Through Postal History. Rosikon Press. ISBN 978-83-88848-64-3
- 2011: ISBN 978-1-84614-338-0
- 2015: ISBN 978-1-47281-603-0
- 2017: Beneath Another Sky: A Global Journey into History. Allen Lane
References
- doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U13039. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ "Norman Davies gets Polish citizenship". Oficjalna strona Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej. 9 July 2014.
- ^ Daniel Snowman, "Norman Davies" History Today, Volume 55, Issue 7, July 2005 pp. 36–38.
- ^ Applebaum, Anne (May 1997). "Against the old clichés – Review of Europe: A History by Norman Davies". The New Criterion. New York. Archived from the original on 9 September 2008. Retrieved 2 August 2008.
- ^ a b "The Stanford Daily Archives". archives.stanforddaily.com.
- ^ "State appellate court upholds Stanford in Davies case". Stanford University News Service. Stanford University. 5 September 1991. Archived from the original on 30 June 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2008.
Davies's works have been criticized at Stanford and elsewhere, by such experts as Lucy S. Dawidowicz (author of The War Against the Jews: 1933–1945) who said they felt Davies minimized historic anti-Semitism in Poland and tended to blame Polish Jews for their fate in the Holocaust. Davies' supporters contend that Poles suffered as much as Jews did in the war and could have done very little to save any of the 3 million Jews living in Poland at the time of the Nazi invasion in 1939. Davies had sought $3 million in damages from the university for what he called fraud, misrepresentation, breach of contract, discrimination and defamation.
- ^ "Kahn v. Superior Court (Davies) (1987)". Retrieved 27 April 2018.
- Collège d'EuropeBrochure
- ^ "The Soviet Story". Archived from the original on 18 January 2016. Retrieved 3 August 2008.
- ^ "Gesamtliste der Mitglieder". European Academy of Sciences and Arts, Salzburg. Archived from the original on 10 October 2007. Retrieved 3 August 2008.
- ^ "Europejska Akademia Dyplomacji :: European Academy of Diplomacy :: Diplomats.pl :: DYPLOMACJA - Professor Norman Davies". Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
- ^ "Fellows of the Royal Historical Society, D – F". Archived from the original (MSWord) on 19 December 2008. Retrieved 3 August 2008.
- ^ "The Sussex Lectures : Events : News : University of Sussex". www.sussex.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 7 June 2009.
- ^ a b "Poland honours historian Norman Davies". Polskie Radio dla Zagranicy.
- ^ United Kingdom 2001 New Year Honours List: "No. 56070". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 2000. pp. 3–3.
- ^ "Fundacja im. Kazimierza Pułaskiego". Archived from the original on 4 March 2012. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
- ^ "Kazimierz Pulaski – Polish patriot and United States army officer". Encyclopædia Britannica. 3 April 2024.
- ^ "Norman Davies na liście do Nagrody Nobla".
- ^ Ciobanu, Claudia (15 May 2017). "Poland's WWII museum under political bombardment". Politico Europe.
- ^ Davies, Norman (1 May 2005). "Russia, the missing link in Britain's VE Day mythology". The Sunday Times.
- ^ Norman Davies, lecture, University of Cincinnati Department of History and the Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education, Cincinnati, OH. 26 April 2005.
- ^ Davies, Norman, Biography, archived from the original on 9 July 2021, retrieved 21 March 2016.
- ^ "Norman Davies: "Podejrzewaliśmy Niemców"" (in Polish). Wawrzyn Info. 6 February 2015.
- ^ Howie-Willis, Ian (2012). "Norman Davies official website". Friends. Archived from the original on 26 September 2015. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
- ^ Bilska, Małgorzata (23 May 2018). "Prof. Norman Davies: Jestem zwolennikiem istnienia Opatrzności". Interview (in Polish). Aleteia. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
- ^ Wróbel, Jan [in Polish] (1 May 2021). "Wieczny podział. Kiedy ludzie normalni trafili na ciemną stronę mocy" (in Polish). Forsal.pl. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
- ^ Beneath Another Sky, A Global Journey into History by Norman Davies. www.penguin.co.uk. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
Further reading
- Berger, Stefan. "Rising Like a Phoenix… The Renaissance of National History Writing in Germany and Britain Since the 1980s." in Nationalizing the Past (Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2010) pp. 426–451. online[dead link]
- Schwarz, Benjamin (December 2002), "God's Playground: A History of Poland", Atlantic Monthly (review): 127.
- Snowman, Daniel "Norman Davies" pp. 36–38 from History Today, Volume 55, Issue 7, July 2005.
- Taylor, Gilbert (15 December 1997), "A History of Europe", Booklist: 682.
- America, 18 December 1982, p. 394.
- American Historical Review, April 1991, p. 520.
- American Scholar, Fall, 1997, p. 624.
- Booklist, 15 September 1996, p. 214; 1 February 2000, p. 1006; 1 May 2004, Jay Freeman, review of Rising '44: The Battle of Warsaw, p. 1538.
- Commentary, March 1987, p. 66.
- Current History, November 1984, p. 385.
- Economist, 6 March 1982, p. 104; 10 February 1990, p. 92; 16 November 1996, p. S3; 4 December 1999, p. 8; 27 April 2002, "What's in a Name: Central European History."
- History Today, May 1983, p. 54; March 2000, Robert Pearce, "The Isles: A History," p. 55.
- Kirkus Reviews, 15 March 2004, review of Rising '44, p. 256.
- Library Journal, 15 March 1997, p. 73; 1 February 2000, p. 100.
- Nation, 21 November 1987, p. 584.
- National Review, 5 June 2000, John Derbyshire, "Disunited Kingdom"; 17 May 2004, David Pryce-Jones, "Remember Them," p. 46.
- New Republic, 15 November 1982, p. 25; 22 September 1997, p. 36.
- New Statesman, 21 May 1982, p. 21; 31 August 1984, p. 26.
- New Statesman & Society, 20 December 1996, Norman Davies, "How I Conquered Europe," pp. 36–38; 17 October 1997, David Herman, review of Europe: A History, pp. 30–32; 15 May 1998, Michael Pinto-Duschinsky, "The Hunted, Not the Hunters," p. 35. 15 November 1999, Alistair Moffat, "Jobs and Foxes Will Flee to England," p. 35; 13 December 1999, Geoffrey Wheatcroft, "Forging Our History," p. 57.
- New York Review of Books, 29 September 1983, p. 18; 15 May 1997, p. 30.
- New York Times Book Review, 5 December 1982, p. 52; 4 March 1984, p. 34; 23 December 1984, p. 5; 22 June 1986, p. 34; 7 December 1986, p. 84; 1 December 1996, p. 15.
- Observer (London, England), 10 October 1999, Andrew Marr, "A History Lesson for Wee Willie," p. 29.
- Publishers Weekly, 26 August 1996, p. 83; 24 November 1997, "A History of Europe," p. 64; 24 January 2000, p. 301.
- Sunday Times (London, England), 17 October 1999, Niall Ferguson, "Breaking up Is Hard to Do if You're British," p. NR4.
- Times (London, England), 30 October 1999, Richard Morrison, "Britain Dies as Mr. Tough Rewrites the Past," p. 21.
- Wilson Library Bulletin, October 1986, p. 68.[clarification needed]
- World and I, August 2004, Richard M. Watt, "The Warsaw Insurrection: How Polish Capital Ferociously Resisted World War II Occupiers."*
External links
- Small English homepage at www.normandavies.com
- "Review of Europe at War"
- Britain and the Warsaw Rising. Essay, 2004. Archived 14 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- Official press release on the case of Davies vs. Stanford University Archived 16 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- A Polish site about Norman Davies (in Polish), includes a gallery and parts of translated text
- Commonwealth of Diverse Cultures: Poland's Heritage
- BBC Interview with audio and transcript
- "We must not forget the real causes of the war" at The Independent, published 28 August 2009