In essence, the tragedy of the Warsaw Rising resulted from a systemic breakdown of the Grand Alliance.

The essence of tragedy is to know the end.

The historical profession is nowhere famous for its tolerance, but there are not many countries where historians can expect to pay for their opinions with penal servitude or the firing squad.

Europe's fragmentation puts the wider historical picture beyond reach.

It is important to remember that John Paul II was not an American or a Frenchman.

People don't see very often their death coming... Look at the French Revolution: The king of France was thinking in the 1780s, 'We're doing rather better than my father in the 1770s.'