vi PREFACE TO THE ORIGINAL EDITION OF VOLUME 2
contrast, may be said to have experienced defeat in victory, in that the re-
establishment of the state has failed to eliminate many of the humiliations and
oppressions of the past.
Yet Poland's interminable defeats must always be viewed in proportion. In
1797, the Partitioning Powers, who had just destroyed the old Republic,
solemnly swore to banish the very name of 'Poland' from the record. There have
been several moments - after the insurrections of 1830 and 1863, and, above all,
during the Nazi-Soviet Pact of 1939-41 - when it appeared that their oath might
be fulfilled. But nowadays anyone can see that Poland does exist both in body
and soul. This country seems to be inseparable from the catastrophes and crises,
on which, paradoxically, it thrives. Poland is permanently on the brink of col-
lapse. But somehow, Poland has never failed to revive, and, in spheres perhaps
more important than the political and economic, to flourish.
The final preparation of a large typescript further increases an author's
indebtedness to collaborators and patrons. In this regard, I wish to acknowledge
the assistance of Mr. Ken Wass of University College, London, who undertook
the technical drawing of most of my maps and diagrams: of Andrzej Suchcitz
and Marek Siemaszko, who compiled the index: of the Publications Committee
of the School of Slavonic and East European Studies: and especially of the De
Brzezie Lanckororiski Foundation, which provided a generous subsidy.Wolvercote, 3 May 1979.Norman Davies.