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Reviews
Amazon.co.uk Review
Before the popular success of his two
general histories, Europe:
A History, and The
Isles, Norman Davies was best known as a specialist on the history
of Poland. His 1981 two-volume God's Playground remains the best
and most searching study in English of the fluctuating fortunes of that
country. Microcosm, written in collaboration with his researcher
Roger Moorhouse, is an in-depth account of a city now in Poland and
presently called Wroclaw. The city has only been Polish since the Second
World War. Before that it was the very German city of Breslau. And before
that it was, at various times, part of the kingdom of Bohemia, the
Hapsburg Empire and the Prussia of Frederick the Great. In different
centuries it has been known as Wrotizla, as Wretslaw, as Presslaw and as
Bresslau. Its Polish, German and Jewish communities intermingled to
produce both a unique city and one that reflected and embodied all the
different currents that have flowed together over a millennium to create
the story of Central Europe.
Davies and Moorhouse intend their account of what is today Wroclaw to
illustrate the history of one particular city but also to illuminate the
general history of Central Europe through this one microcosm. They don't
always succeed in their aim. At times the task of yoking together the
minutiae of the city's life with its place in a broader history seems an
impossible one. It is likely that the general reader will not be as
interested in, say, lists of great alumni of Breslau's 19th-century
university, as he or she will be in the narrative of Breslau in World War
II. The book works best for the general reader when it most justifies its
title; it works much less well when it seems most like some kind of
official city history.--Nick Rennison --This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Book Description
Description The story of Central Europe is
anything but simple: as a result of invasions and resettlements, the
people of Central Europe have witnessed a profusion of languages,
cultures, religions and nationalities. The two most important waves of
settlement came from the Germans and the Slavs, but Central Europe also
became the great haven for Jews. In the centuries when Jewish people were
persecuted, they naturally congregated in the middle, and the Jewishness
of Central Europe has been one of its defining features. But most
significantly in its recent history, Central Europe has been subjected to
50 years of Fascism and Communism in succession. In order to present a
portrait of Central Europe, from AD 1000 to the present, Norman Davies and
Roger Moorhouse study the history of one of its main cities – Breslau.
Breslau, the traditional capital of Silesia, was one of the great
commercial cities of medieval Europe. It later became the second city of
the kingdom of Bohemia, a major city of the Hapsburg lands, and a
Residenzstadt of the kingdom of Prussia. The third largest German city of
the mid-nineteenth century, Breslau’s population reached one million in
1945. But in May 1945 the city of Breslau was annihilated by the Soviet
Red Army. Much of it was destroyed, thousands of its inhabitants were
killed. Breslau surrendered four days after Berlin and was thus the last
Fortress of the Reich to fall, and, indeed, one of the very last areas in
Germany to surrender. Transferred to Poland after the war, the city has
risen from the ruins of the war and is once again a thriving economic and
cultural centre of the region. The history of Silesia’s main city embodies
all the experiences which have made Central Europe what it is – the rich
mixture of nationalities and cultures; the German settlement and the
reflux of the Slavs; a Jewish presence of exceptional distinction; a
turbulent succession of Imperial rulers; and the shattering exposure to
both Nazis and Stalinists. In short, it is a Central European microcosm.
--This text refers to the Hardcover
edition.
Synopsis
The story of Central Europe is anything but simple.
As the region located between East and West, it has always been endowed
with a rich variety of migrants, and has repeatedly been the scene of
nomadic invasions, mixed settlements and military conquests. It has
witnessed a profusion of languages, religions, nationalities and cultural
transformations. The most important waves of modern settlement have been
Germanic and Slavic, but Central Europe also became a great haven for
Europe's Jews. In recent history, it was subjected to both Fascism and
Communism in succession. The ordeal lasted for fifty years, and the damage
to life and liberty was incalculable. In order to present a portrait of
Central Europe, Norman Davies and Roger Moorhouse have made a case study
of one of its most colourful cities, the former German Breslau, which
became the Polish Wrocllaw after the Second World War. The traditional
capital of the province of Silesia rose to prominence a thousand years ago
as a trading centre and bishopric in Piast Poland. In due course it became
the second city of the kingdom of Bohemia, a major municipality of the
Habsburg lands, and then a Residenzstadt of the kingdom of Prussia. The
third largest city of nineteenth-century Germany, its population reached
one million before the bitter siege by the Soviet Army in 1945 wrought
almost total destruction. Since then Wrocllaw has risen from the ruins of
war and is once again a thriving regional centre. The history of Silesia's
main city is more than a fascinating tale in its own right. It embodies
all the experiences which have made Central Europe what it is - a rich
mixture of nationalities and cultures; the scene of German settlement and
of the reflux of the Slavs; a Jewish presence of exceptional distinction;
a turbulent succession of imperial rulers; and the shattering exposure to
both Nazis and Stalinists. In short, it is a Central European microcosm.
About the Author
Norman Davies is Professor Emeritus of the
University of London, a Senior Member of Wolfson College, Oxford, and the
author of several books on European history, including God’s Playground
and Europe.Roger Moorhouse was the researcher for Davies’ Europe and The
Isles. --This text refers to the Hardcover
edition.
Excerpted from Microcosm: A Portrait of a Central European
City by Norman Davies, Roger Moorhouse. Copyright © 2003. Reprinted by
permission. All rights reserved.
The City was the offspring of the
River and the Plain. It was conceived at a point where people moving up
and down the River met others who were following trails across the plain.
Historians do not usually recognise events for which there is no
definitive evidence, but it is reasonable to deduce that some time long
before recorded history a small settlement came into being at the river
crossing. In fact, there are many circumstantial indications to suggest
that the site was repeatedly, if not permanently, occupied from very
remote times. There is also good reason to assume that the first settlers
were not connected in any way with the Slavonic and Germanic peoples who
would later dominate. The earliest trace of Stone Age habitation, about
half an hour's stroll from the left bank of the river, has been dated to
more than 300,000 years ago. The first substantial prehistoric settlement,
which has been identified on the right bank of the river, dates from the
eighth century bc. Two rich prehistoric hoards have played an important
role in scholarly ruminations. One of them, from the first century bc,
discovered about five kilometres to the south-west, contained no less than
2.75 tonnes of Baltic amber. The other, discovered about three kilometres
to the north-east, came from a princely gravesite of the fourth century ad
.It containe dan extraordinary collection of utensils and jewellery
fashioned in gold, silver, bronze and fine glass.
Archaeologists have
drawn very conflicting conclusions from the fragmentary information that
is available. Yet most would agree that a marked decline in human activity
occurred around the middle of the first millennium of our era. In the
region as a whole, the population fell to perhaps one-quarter of the
preceding level. According to a recent opinion, life on the middle reaches
of the River 'virtually stopped'. If this is correct, one must accept that
the new wave of settlers who began to make their presence felt in the
sixth to seventh centuries ad had little in common with their many
predecessors. Equally, the urban community, which henceforth was to enjoy
an unbroken history, could not be seen as a simple continuation of earlier
settlements on the same site. It would not be out of place to talk of a
new beginning.
*
Historical geography underlines two crucial
factors in the early stages of development. The first relates to the
intersection of the two ancient trade routes - one on the east-west axis
of the Plain linking Western Europe with the Black Sea, the other
following the north-south alignment of the River from the watershed of the
Danube Basin to the Baltic. The second factor relates to a much more
specific and local feature. Immediately upstream of a long, marshy and
impassable stretch of the River, a cluster of perhaps a dozen riverine
islands provided a natural crossing point and refuge for the graziers and
fishermen who frequented the riverbanks. Of course, it is impossible to
say whether the crossing point was manned by an unbroken series of
ferrymen from the days of the amber hoard to those of the earliest
medieval dwellings. But it is not inconceivable. What is certain is that
the riverine islands would have proved more attractive than other
locations in the vicinity. It is!
the islands that lent this place its
most outstanding characteristic. (The siting of Paris on the islands of
the Seine is but one of many parallels to prove the point.)
The
presence of the nearby mountains exercised a powerful influence. Subalpine
in character, the highest ridge in the 'Giant Mountains' rises to a height
of 1,602 metres at the peak of 'Snowy Head', some 100 kilometres to the
south-west. Icebound for half the year, it forms a formidable barrier that
can only be crossed with ease through one or two passes. At the same time,
it encourages life-giving falls of rain and snow on the Plain below.
Importantly, too, the rocks of the mountains contain an unusual variety of
valuable minerals. Deposits of iron, which first attracted the Celts, are
matched by a rich coal basin, and by numerous mines yielding lead, tin,
copper, gold and silver. In addition, there are several famous mineral
springs, whose waters have brought in a continuous stream of visitors,
from nature worshippers in prehistoric times to modern health tourists.
All these attractions are situated within eighty kilometres, or two to
three days' walk, of the City, which naturally became the focus for
related trade and transport. At a similar distance to the north lies a
lower range of limestone heights, the 'Cats Hills', which became an
important source of high-quality stone in the age of permanent building.
Most interesting of all is a curiously isolated peak, which rises
magnificently from the surrounding plain less than forty kilometres from
the City, and which lent its name to the province. A holy mountain and a
cult centre from the earliest times, it added a sense of the sacred to the
district over which it presides.
The Great Northern Plain, Europe's
largest geographical feature, stretches from the oceanic seaboard to the
heart of Eurasia, a distance of many thousands of kilometres, broken only
by rolling hills and broad rivers. One of those rivers, the Odra (or
Oder), rises in the mountains of Central Europe at a height of 640 metres,
initially flowing north-east through the Moravian Gate, before turning
north-west and forming the main artery of the province of Silesia. On
approaching the Baltic Sea, it adopts a northerly course, crossing the
lowest and flattest expanse of the Plain and finally reaching the coast
through the arms and lagoons of its delta.
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