Norman Davies honored in Wrocław, Poland
Hello,
The article below was taken from thenews.pl and was also posted on the Polish American Forum by a forum contributor named Tom. I am adding this article to Al’s Polish-American Genealogy Research, because I am currently reading (God’s Playground) that written by Norman Davies. If you’d like to learn more about the history of Poland start with one of the best books written, Norman Davies’ God’s Playground.
Wroclaw salutes Professor Davies
02.07.2009 09:36
The eminent British historian Norman Davies, who celebrated his 70th birthday on 8 June, was given a standing ovation at a meeting in his honour at the Town Hall in Wroclaw.
Polish historian Adolf Juzwenko described him as ‘a historian of great stature who, while probing deeply into the history of Poland, came to the conclusion that it should be studied by the whole world as well’. He said that Davies’ book God’s Playground. A History of Poland exerted an impact on the developments in Poland following the imposition of martial law in December 1981.
“The book was launched in Oxford a day after the declaration of martial law and foreign ministers in Western Europe recommended it to their ambassadors as obligatory reading,” he said.
During the meeting, the President of Wroclaw Rafal Dutkiewicz sang a song for Norman Davies and the ‘Cantilena’ Men’s Choir performed a selection of Welsh songs for him. He was also named the Biggest Personality in the Promotion of the Wroclaw Region.
One of Norman Davies’ books – Microcosm. Portrait of a Central European City – deals with the history of Wroclaw and written together with Roger Moorhouse. His other bestsellers include White Eagle, Red Star. The Polish-Soviet War 1919-1920 and Rising 44. The Battle for Warsaw.
Norman Davies was a professor at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies at University College, London, for many years. After an early retirement, he devoted himself exclusively to writing books. Most of them are on Polish history, which has been his main interest since the late 1960s. In 1973 he received a doctorate from the Jagiellonian University in Krakow.
Norman Davies holds the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland. He has received honorary doctorates from the universities in Warsaw, Krakow, Gdansk and Lublin and is the honorary citizen of Warsaw, Krakow, Wroclaw and Lublin. He lives with Oxford with his Polish wife. They have two sons, Daniel and Christian. (mk/pg)
Wroclaw salutes Professor Davies. (2009, July 2). Polskie radio: thenews.pl. Retreived July 4, 2009, from http://www.polskieradio.pl/thenews/News/?id=111253
Best Regards,
Al
