Ivor Norman Richard Davies (born 8 June 1939) is a Welsh-Polish historian, known for his publications on the history of Europe,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

. He has a special interest in

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...

and

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whi ...

and is

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

Professor at the

Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University ( Polish: ''Uniwersytet Jagielloński'', UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and the 13th oldest university in ...

, professor emeritus at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

, a visiting professor at the Collège d'Europe, and an honorary fellow at

St Antony's College, Oxford St Antony's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1950 as the result of the gift of French merchant Sir Antonin Besse of Aden, St Antony's specialises in international relations, economi ...

. He was granted Polish citizenship in 2014.

Academic career

Davies was born to Richard and Elizabeth Davies in Bolton,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancas ...

. He is of Welsh descent. He studied in Grenoble, France, from 1957 to 1958 and then under A. J. P. Taylor at

Magdalen College Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, where he earned a BA in history in 1962. He was awarded an MA at the

University of Sussex , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...

in 1966 and also studied in

Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part ...

, Italy. Davies intended to study for a PhD in the Soviet Union but was denied an entry visa, so he went to

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula, Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland un ...

, Poland, instead. Davies studied at the

and did research on the

Polish–Soviet War The Polish–Soviet War (Polish–Bolshevik War, Polish–Soviet War, Polish–Russian War 1919–1921) * russian: Советско-польская война (''Sovetsko-polskaya voyna'', Soviet-Polish War), Польский фронт (' ...

. 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''. From 1971, Davies taught Polish history at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies of

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

, where he was professor from 1985 to 1996, when he retired. He subsequently became Supernumerary Fellow at

Wolfson College, Oxford Wolfson College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Located in north Oxford along the River Cherwell, Wolfson is an all-graduate college with around sixty governing body fellows, in addition to both research a ...

, from 1997 to 2006. Throughout his career, Davies has lectured in many countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, China, Poland and in most of the rest of Europe as well.

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...

's history department denied Davies a

tenured Tenure is a category of academic appointment existing in some countries. A tenured post is an indefinite academic appointment that can be terminated only for cause or under extraordinary circumstances, such as financial exigency or program disco ...

faculty position in 1986 (on an 11 against, 10 for and 1 abstaining, vote). The decision was described as "the closest, most acrimonious tenure decision of recent years". After failing to arrange a formal review hearing of the decision, Davies filed a lawsuit against History Professor Harold Kahn and 29 other Stanford professors. This case was dismissed when Davies was unable to depose Kahn. Davies subsequently sought to obtain $3 million in damages from the university, arguing he had been the victim of

discrimination Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of Racial discrimination, r ...

on the grounds of his political views (with the claim being "

defamation Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...

," "

breach of contract Breach of contract is a legal cause of action and a type of civil wrong, in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other part ...

" and "tortious interference" with a business). The court ruled that because of California's right of privacy "even if we assume that... a candidate may be denied tenure for improper" .g., defamatory"reasons, we are of the opinion that the right of a faculty member to discuss with his colleagues the candidate's qualifications thoroughly and candidly, in confidence and without fear of compelled disclosure, is of such paramount value that it ought not to be impaired." The court upheld the university's right to decide on faculty appointments on the basis of any criteria. Davies is a visiting professor at the Collège d'Europe.

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 ''Heart of Europe: A Short History of Poland'' is a book about history of Poland, written by the English historian Norman Davies. It was published by Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the Universi ...

'', 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 The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

"). In 2002, at the suggestion of the city's mayor, Bogdan Zdrojewski, Davies and his former research assistant,

Roger Moorhouse Roger Moorhouse (born 1968) is a British historian and author. Education He was born in Stockport, Cheshire, England and attended Berkhamsted School and the School of Slavonic and East European Studies of the University of London, graduating wi ...

, co-wrote a history of

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, r ...

/ 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 Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...

'', ''

The New York Review of Books ''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of i ...

'' and ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

''. 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 ''The Soviet Story'' is a 2008 documentary film about Soviet Communism and Soviet–German relations before 1941 and after, written and directed by Edvīns Šnore, and sponsored by the far-right Union for Europe of the Nations group in the Euro ...

''.

Awards and distinctions

Davies holds a number of honorary titles and memberships, including honorary doctorates from the universities of the

(since 2003),

Lublin Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of ...

Gdańsk Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...

and

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

(since 2007), memberships in the Polish Academy of Learning (PAU), the

Academia Scientiarum et Artium Europaea The European Academy of Sciences and Arts (EASA, la, Academia Scientiarum et Artium Europaea) is a transnational and interdisciplinary network, connecting about 2,000 recommended scientists and artists worldwide, including 37 Nobel Prize laure ...

, and the International Honorary Council of the European Academy of Diplomacy, and fellowships of the

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars s ...

and the

Royal Historical Society The Royal Historical Society, founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the Histori ...

. Davies received an honorary

DLitt Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...

degree from his alma mater the University of Sussex. Davies is also an

honorary citizen Honorary citizenship is a status bestowed by a city or other government on a foreign or native individual whom it considers to be especially admirable or otherwise worthy of the distinction. The honour usually is symbolic and does not confer an ...

of Polish cities of

, and

, and a member of the committee for the Order of the Smile. Edward Bernard Raczyński, President of the

Polish government-in-exile The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile ( pl, Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na uchodźstwie), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Pola ...

, decorated Davies with the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on foreigners for outstanding achievemen ...

. 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 The Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Order Zasługi Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej) is a Polish order of merit created in 1974, awarded to persons who have rendered great service to Poland. It is granted to foreigners or Poles resident a ...

. 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. Davies has been appointed to the advisory board of the

European Association of History Educators The European Association of History Educators (EuroClio) was established in 1992 with the support of the Council of Europe. The NGO works as a European wide facilitator for innovation and progress in history Education. The organisation contributes ...

—EUROCLIO. In 2008, he was awarded the Order of the Cross of St Mary's Land 3rd Class by the Republic of

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, an ...

. Davies also received

Knight of Freedom Award The Knight of Freedom Award () is a Polish international award conferred annually to "outstanding figures, who promote the values represented by General Casimir Pulaski: freedom, justice, and democracy". History The award was established in 200 ...

in 2006 for his promotion of Polish history and the values represented by General Casimir Pulaski. In 2012, he received the Aleksander Gieysztor Prize for his promotion of Polish cultural heritage abroad. 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.

Political views

Davies disagrees with the

historical policy of the Law and Justice party The program of the Polish Law and Justice (''PiS'') party has chapters on "identity" (''tożsamość'') and " history policy" (''polityka historyczna'', which has sometimes been translated "literally" as "politics of history").

. He stated in 2017 that "PiS wants to politicize history to a degree unseen in the last 25 years". 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'."

Personal life

Davies married Maria Korzeniewicz, a Polish scholar born in Dąbrowa Tarnowska. He lives in Oxford and Kraków, and has two sons. His uncle Donny died in the Munich air disaster.

Books

*1972: '' White Eagle, Red Star: The Polish–Soviet War, 1919–20''. (2004 edition: ) *1977: ''Poland, Past and Present: A Select Bibliography of Works in English''. * 1981: '' God's Playground: A History of Poland.'' Vol. 1: ''The Origins to 1795'', Vol. 2: ''1795 to the Present''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. / *1984: '' Heart of Europe: A Short History of Poland''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. **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. * 1996: '' Europe: A History''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. *1997: ''Auschwitz and the Second World War in Poland: A lecture given at the Representations of Auschwitz international conference at the Jagiellonian University''. Universitas. *1999: ''Red Winds from the North''. Able Publishing. *1999: '' The Isles: A History''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. *2002 (with

): '' Microcosm: Portrait of a Central European City'' London: Jonathan Cape. *2004: '' Rising '44: The Battle for Warsaw''. London: Pan Books. *2006: ''Europe East and West: A Collection of Essays on European History''. Jonathan Cape. *2006: '' Europe at War 1939–1945: No Simple Victory''. Macmillan. *2008: ''To and From. Modern Poland: A Journey Through Postal History''. Rosikon Press. *2011: '' Vanished Kingdoms: The History of Half-Forgotten Europe''. Allen Lane. *2015: '' Trail of Hope: The Anders Army, An Odyssey across Three Continents''. Osprey Publishing. *2017: ''Beneath Another Sky: A Global Journey into History''. Allen Lane

References

External links

Small English homepage at www.normandavies.com

"Review of Europe at War"

* ttp://www.davies.pl/ 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

at ''

'', published 28 August 2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Norman 1939 births Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Living people Historians of Europe Historians of Poland English historians Fellows of Wolfson College, Oxford Academics of the UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Naturalized citizens of Poland People from Bolton Fellows of the British Academy Fellows of the Royal Historical Society Members of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts Jagiellonian University alumni Alumni of the University of Sussex Recipients of the Order of Polonia Restituta Grand Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 3rd Class Recipients of the Gold Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis Knights of the Order of Polonia Restituta People educated at Bolton School English people of Welsh descent Historians of the University of Oxford Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland)