Publisher Description

'A fascinating story' Antony Beevor, SpectatorThe 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. 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 Wroclaw 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. 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 Wroclaw 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.

Notes

In order to present a portrait of Central Europe, in all its historical and cultural complexity, these two authors have made a case study of one of its most colourful cities, the former German Breslau, that became Polish Wroclaw after W.W.II. 32pp b/w illus.

Author Biography

Norman Davies C. M. G., F. B. A. is a Professor Emeritus of the University of London, a Supernumerary Fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford, and the author of several books on Polish and European history, including God's Playground, Europe and The Isles.Roger Moorhouse, who is a Germanist and historian, was chief researcher on Davies's previous books. Since Microcosm he has published two solo books- Killing Hitler and, most recently, Berlin at War. He is a regular contributor to the BBC History Magazine and History Today, a book reviewer for the Independent on Sunday, and an occasional commentator on television and radio

Review

This big, lucidly written and fact-filled book admirably achieves its purpose... Anyone who enjoyed Norman Davies's...The Isles will recognise the same qualities in this book: a gift for broad exposition, a marvellous eye for quirky but revelatory details, and, above all, a willingness to question the categories of traditional history, wherever they may come from. -- Noel Malcolm * Sunday Telegraph *
Absorbing...clear...and persuasive...as even-handed, erudite and enlightening as history can be. * Herald *
Microcosm tells the story of the city across the centuries. While not neglecting ethnic hatred and folly, the book is a hymn to diversity and cultural achievement. * Economist *
The city is fortunate to have found such chroniclers as Davies and Roger Moorhouse. * Sunday Times *

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'A fascinating story' Antony Beevor, Spectator

Kirkus UK Review

Norman Davies's dogged efforts to convince us to stop seeing Europe in terms of 'the artificial division' between East and West resulted in this historical survey of the Silesian city of Wroclaw. That he is neither German nor Polish made him perfect for the part, according to the city's President, who cajoled him into taking on the task. From prehistoric origins as a settlement on the banks of the Oder through Mongol invasions and its days as a major Bohemian city, Wroclaw has attracted cultures and nationalities such as Jews, Slavs and Germans. All are given space here, their stories enhanced by the marvellous illustrations that accompany the text. Central Europe's importance during Germany's 19th-century ascendancy gives way to the effect of the hunger for expansion shared by Third Reich 'lebensraum' and Stalin's view of all points west as potentially his. As a consequence, the mid-20th century could only look bleak for 'the lands between' these two enormous powers. As Breslau, the city was the last bastion of Nazi Germany to fall in 1945, and utter devastation was wreaked on its people. Their sense of panic is empathetically portrayed through newspaper headlines and diary extracts telling of refugees trudging through sub-zero temperatures. They were the lucky ones, for the city struggled through a grim 80-day siege before finally falling to the Soviets four days after Berlin. Wroclaw - one of up to 50 names recorded throughout the city's history - does indeed provide the perfect microcosm of Central Europe. And by bravely throwing their study open to as many perspectives as possible, Davies and his co-author Roger Moorehouse have produced a hefty, detailed piece of research that doubles as a fond tribute to the city, whatever its name might be at this point in history. As absorbing as it is educational. (Kirkus UK)

Review Text

This big, lucidly written and fact-filled book admirably achieves its purpose... Anyone who enjoyed Norman Davies's... The Isles will recognise the same qualities in this book: a gift for broad exposition, a marvellous eye for quirky but revelatory details, and, above all, a willingness to question the categories of traditional history, wherever they may come from.

Review Quote

Praise forEurope: "No history of Europe has been so even-handed in its treatment of east and west." --TLS "A fascinating story." -- Antony Beevor,The Spectator

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'A fascinating story' Antony Beevor, Spectator

Excerpt from Book

ONE Island City: Archaeology and Prehistory to AD 1000 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. Given that the River flows through flood plains for most of its length, it is generally slow and shallow, possessing an average velocity of only 3.6 kilometres per hour and an average depth of only one metre. Along its 854 kilometre course it is joined by numerous left- and right-bank tributaries, including the Mala Panew (Malapane), the Nysa (Glatzer Neisse), the Olawa (Ohlau), the Bystrzyca (Weistritz), the Widawa (Weide), the Barycz (Bartsch), the B

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