Index: jackrabbit-core/src/main/java/org/apache/jackrabbit/core/version/InternalVersionManagerBase.java
===================================================================
--- jackrabbit-core/src/main/java/org/apache/jackrabbit/core/version/InternalVersionManagerBase.java	(revision 1186115)
+++ jackrabbit-core/src/main/java/org/apache/jackrabbit/core/version/InternalVersionManagerBase.java	(working copy)
@@ -154,7 +154,17 @@
                 if (history == null) {
                     throw new InconsistentVersioningState("Unexpected failure to get child node " + name + " on parent node" + parent.getNodeId());
                 }
-                return getVersionHistory(history.getNodeId());
+                try {
+                    return getVersionHistory(history.getNodeId());
+                }
+                catch (RuntimeException ex) {
+//                    // workaround: if fetching the VHR fails with a runtime exception
+//                    // we log it and throw a distinct exception providing more details
+//                    String message = "getting the version history with node id " + history.getNodeId() + " failed with " + ex.getMessage();
+//                    log.error(message, ex);
+//                    throw new InconsistentVersioningState(message, history.getNodeId(), ex);
+throw ex;
+                }
             } else {
                 throw new ItemNotFoundException("Version history of node " + id + " not found.");
             }