The majority of soldiers and officers of the Soviet Army and the allied armies treated the local population humanely. — Antony Beevor Copy Share Image
The great help of being in the Army is to understand why are the armies clever in what they describe as emotional intelligence, making soldiers come to terms with the death of comrades by certain rituals. — Antony Beevor Copy Share Image
The memory of the Second World War hangs over Europe, an inescapable and irresistible point of reference. Historical parallels are usually misleading and dangerous. — Antony Beevor Copy Share
I believe passionately in preemptive pessimism, especially before a book comes out. I expect the worst both from reviewers and sales, and then, with… — Antony Beevor Copy Share
It is important to understand the continuing, confused fascination with the Second World War. For most of us, the great unspoken question is how… — Antony Beevor Copy Share
I was in Estonia when a professor asked me if I was aware that making any criticism of the Red Army during the war… — Antony Beevor Copy Share
The blurring of fact and fiction has great commercial potential, which is bound to be corrupting in historical terms. — Antony Beevor Copy Share
A blend of fact and fiction has been used in various forms since the dawn of creative writing, starting with sagas and epic poems. — Antony Beevor Copy Share
When my first novel was published, I went in great excitement round bookshops in central London to see if they had stocked it. — Antony Beevor Copy Share
I feel slightly uneasy at the way historians are consulted as if history is going to repeat itself. It never does. — Antony Beevor Copy Share
I'm often reassured in a bizarre - perhaps perverse - way when I find in the archive stuff that contradicts what my assumptions have… — Antony Beevor Copy Share
The duty of a historian is simply to understand and then convey that understanding, no more than that. — Antony Beevor Copy Share
Every country has its own perspective on the Second World War. This is not surprising when experiences and memories are so different. — Antony Beevor Copy Share
There are one or two very good women military historians who use imagination, great study and research; they can put themselves in the boots… — Antony Beevor Copy Share
I think one of the great disasters (in military history) is the way that the Second World War has become the defining reference point… — Antony Beevor Copy Share
