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The protagonists of this book were a cohort of young, talented and exceedingly ambitious people fascinated by the modernity of late 19th century German geographical sciences. During wartime they proved particularly successful in scholarship and in scientifically based national propaganda. Some of them succeeded in influencing the spatial idea of ‘just borders’ that allegedly corresponded best to geographical and ethnical realities. They offered ready-made solutions to questions of the self-determination of nations formulated by US President Wilson. But already during the Paris Peace Conference, geographers moved to concepts of a ‘natural’, ‘biological’ border, to ideas of the subjugation of entire ethnic groups. They now cherished visions of a demographic and geographical utopia of states that were ethnically homogeneous.
During the Nazi era, this Westphalian castle became a key venue for gatherings of high ranking SS leaders. After World War II, rumors about occult SS rituals made the place a pilgrimage site of the extreme right. The northern tower’s ornamental sun wheel design, today known as the “Black Sun,” appears in thrillers, comic books, and in the right-wing music scene. It has morphed into a dubious visual element of today’s pop culture and is now familiar to people throughout the world as a symbol of neofascist and alt-right groups. The lavishly illustrated volume traces facts and fiction about the origins and current reception of the myths related to Wewelsburg Castle and the sun wheel symbol.
The work also offers an opportunity to compare Finland and Lithuania as well as individual minority groups in this respect. Both countries opted for a policy that was quite tolerant by the standards of the time, but not all minorities were treated in the same way. It is evident that changes in political governance also affected the relationship between the majority (titular) population and national minorities.
The “Assembly of Captive European Nations” was a major organisation for Eastern European emigrants in the US since 1954. The cooperation of exiled politicians from nine countries opened up for them new opportunities for lobbying and publications. This book focuses on Estonian contributions to the ACEN. Besides successes, the book reveals troublesome relations with the American authorities, schisms among Europeans and extended national disputes. The ACEN was quickly forgotten after its dissolution in 1972. Based on extensive archival research, this book reflects the ACEN’s aspirations and personalities.
The area constitutes a unique enclave in contemporary Europe, being the only part of Russia separated from the mother country, which determines the taking place therein in the dimension of relations: bilateral, multilateral (e.g. EU - Russia, NATO - Russia, Baltic Sea Region cooperation) as well as regional and local cooperation. The book is a result of many years’ work of scientists from Poland, Russia and Sweden, who have been researching the functioning of the Kaliningrad Region in internal and external dimensions.
“It is a ‘must to read’ volume for all EU-Russia observers and experts.” - Prof. Dr. Piotr Dutkiewicz, Director of the Center for Governance and Public Management, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
“It is an invaluable guide to analysing and understanding contemporary Russia.” - Prof. Dr. Jaroslav Dvorak, Head of the Department of Public Administration and Political Sciences, Klaipėda University, Klaipėda, Lithuania
The post-1945 history of these Latvians includes a description of their lives in ‘displaced person’ camps in post-war Germany, dispersion in the 1949–1951 years, resettlement in new host countries in Europe and overseas, strategies of adaptation to the new circumstances, organizational efforts, acculturation and assimilation, measures of cultural and linguistic preservation, renewal of contacts with the old homeland, generational change and disagreements, political mobilization, changes in personal and group identity, and, after 1991, the inclusion by the Latvian government of the descendants of this post-war population into a formally designated ‘Latvian diaspora’ (Diaspora Law, 2019).