Uldis Ģērmanis () was a Latvian historian, writer and publicist born in Novaya Ladoga,

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...

. His father was Jānis Ģermanis, and his family returned to the newly independent

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

in 1919. He taught history at the

University of Latvia University of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Universitāte, shortened ''LU'') is a state-run university located in Riga, Latvia established in 1919. The ''QS World University Rankings'' places the university between 801st and 1000th globally, seventh ...

in Riga from 1943 and obtained his master's degree. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, he was mobilized to the Latvian Legion and served in the

19th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (2nd Latvian) __NOTOC__ The 19th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (2nd Latvian) (german: 19. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (lettische Nr. 2), lv, 19. SS grenadieru divīzija (latviešu Nr. 2)) was an infantry division of the Waffen-SS during World War ...

as a military reporter. A few days before the German capitulation, he emigrated to Sweden, where he settled in

Solna Solna Municipality ( sv, Solna kommun or , ) is a municipality in Stockholm County in Sweden, located just north of Stockholm City Centre. Its seat is located in the town of Solna, which is a part of the Stockholm urban area. Solna is one of ...

. In 1974, he received his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' ...

in history from the

University of Stockholm Stockholm University ( sv, Stockholms universitet) is a public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, so ...

. Ģērmanis was, since 1935, a lifelong member of the Latvian

student fraternity Fraternities and sororities are social organizations at colleges and universities in North America. Generally, membership in a fraternity or sorority is obtained as an undergraduate student, but continues thereafter for life. Some accept gradua ...

Fraternitas Livonica. His speciality was modern Latvian history, especially of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

and the Latvian Riflemen. His ground-breaking work on and the Latvian Riflemen's role in the

Bolshevik Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mome ...

paved the way for further research on this subject by other Latvian émigré historians, notably the early works of Andrew Ezergailis. His book (Blue glass, green ice; 1968) describes his experience researching the story of Vācietis. Ģērmanis was one of the rare émigré Latvians allowed access to primary sources in the

Latvian SSR The Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic (Latvian SSR), also known as Soviet Latvia or simply Latvia, was a federated republic within the Soviet Union, and formally one of its 16 (later 15) constituent republics. The Latvian Soviet Socialist Rep ...

at the time. In the book, he describes the suspicion he was met with by both the Soviet Latvian authorities, and by his fellow émigrés, who questioned his motives for researching the history of pro-Bolshevik Latvians. In 1958, Ģērmanis living in exile completed "''The Latvian Saga''", which presents Latvian history, but reads like a novel. As the Latvian Embassy in the USA writes: In 2007, the eleventh edition was issued in an English version and the works of Ģērmanis are becoming increasingly popular in his native country as well. His lecture in Toronto, in 1988, about "current events" in the Soviet Union, is considered by many to be the best analysis of the situation at the time. Uldis Ģērmanis was elected a member of the

Latvian Academy of Sciences The Latvian Academy of Sciences ( lv, Latvijas Zinātņu akadēmija) is the official science academy of Latvia and is an association of the country's foremost scientists. The academy was founded as the ''Latvian SSR Academy of Sciences'' ( lv, La ...

in 1992 and awarded the

Order of the Three Stars Order of the Three Stars ( lv, Triju Zvaigžņu ordenis) is the highest civilian order awarded for meritorious service to Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvija ...

in 1995.

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Germanis, Uldis 1915 births 1997 deaths 20th-century Latvian historians Latvian emigrants to Sweden Latvian Waffen-SS personnel Latvian World War II refugees Latvian writers People from Novoladozhsky Uyezd People from Volkhovsky District Stockholm University alumni University of Latvia alumni Academic staff of the University of Latvia