Life and study have persuaded me of the openness of history. There is no inevitability in history. Thinking about what might have happened, what could have happened, is a necessary element in trying to understand what did happen. And if, as I believe, individual acts of decency and courage make a difference, then they need to be recorded and remembered.

Five Germanys I Have Known (ed. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007) - ISBN: 9781466819221