| Uldis Ģērmanis | |
|---|---|
| Born | 4 October 1915 Novaya Ladoga, Russian Empire |
| Died | 19 December 1997 (aged 82) Stockholm, Sweden |
| Alma mater | University of Latvia |
| Occupation | Writer Historian |
Uldis Ģērmanis (4 October 1915 — 19 December 1997) was a Latvian historian, writer and publicist born in Novaya Ladoga, Russian Empire. His father was Jānis Ģermanis, and his family returned to the newly independent Latvia in 1919.[1]
He taught history at the University of Latvia in Riga from 1943 and obtained his Masters degree. During World War II he was mobilised in Latvian Legion and served in 19th. waffen grenadier division of the SS as military reporter. Few days before German capitulation he emigrated to Sweden, where he settled in Solna. In 1974 he received his doctorate in history from the University of Stockholm.
Ģērmanis was since 1935 a lifelong member of the Latvian student fraternity Fraternitas Livonica. His speciality was modern Latvian history, especially of the Soviet Union and the Latvian Riflemen. His ground-breaking work on Jukums Vācietis and the Latvian Riflemen's role in the Bolshevik Revolution paved the way for further research on this subject by other Latvian émigré historians, notably the early works of Andrew Ezergailis.
His book Zili stikli, zaļi ledi (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 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 on their homepage: "It describes the people, powers and events that made Latvia what it is today, and puts it all in a broader European context...", "...it inspired several generations of Latvians to dedicate their lives to the restoration of Latvia's independence in 1991".[2] 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.
Uldis Ģērmanis was elected a member of the Latvian Academy of Sciences in 1992 and awarded the Order of the Three Stars in 1995.[3]