Nagyívű esszéjében a szerző sorra veszi, hogy mely történelmi mulasztások és baklövések vezettek oda, hogy Európa egyik kimagasló kultúrnemzete két világháború kirobbantója lett. A leegyszerűsítő magyarázatokat cáfolva írja le a fasizmus és a hitlerizmus létrejöttének okait, ennek kapcsán ismerteti a demokráciákat mindenkor - tehát napjainkban is - fenyegető veszélyeket.
István Bibó was a Hungarian lawyer, civil servant, politician and political theorist.
During the Hungarian Revolution he acted as the Minister of State for the Hungarian National Government. When the Soviets invaded to crush the rebellious government, he was the last Minister left at his post in the Hungarian Parliament building in Budapest. Rather than evacuate, he stayed in the building and wrote his famous proclamation, "For Freedom and Truth", as he awaited arrest.
Bibó was arrested on 23 May 1957 and sentenced to life imprisonment on 2 August 1958 but released in the 1963 amnesty.
Bibó received a law degree from the Franz Joseph University and later taught there. He also received a PhD from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, in Geneva.