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Das Baltikum
 | Das Baltikum
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History of a European Region
Summary
The Baltic states joined the European Union as part of that organization’s eastward expansion in 2004. The resulting heterogeneity within the EU has been accompanied by corresponding barriers in understanding. The 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe demonstrated that even 15 years after the end of the Cold War we still cannot refer to a common European history. Rather, we are confronted with a plethora of national and individual memories which are sometimes even mutually exclusive. A historically founded understanding of these varying developments is absolutely necessary for successful efforts to expand and unite Europe. In this context, the Baltic serves as a bridge both in history and in the present.
Our history is intended as a handbook for international research, academic teaching and study, as well as for those who make political decisions or are simply interested in historical science.
( contents (PDF, 81.0 kB)) It will inform the reader about the history of the Baltic region in its European context (dates, events, structural make up) as well as reflect on and document the development of research in the field. It is clear that the history of the Baltic in its European context has not yet been written. This is because of both the diverging perspectives and national traditions mentioned above as well as the various interests which have developed out of the crises of the 20th century. In that sense, the projected three-volume history sets out to be an innovative contribution to historical research on the Baltic and Europe with special attention to the methods of the new cultural history.
Thus we are consciously seeking out the participation of colleagues from the Baltic region in order to compliment the view from the outside with the presentation of important perspectives from within the area so as to reflect the heterogeneity of the region.
The Baltic countries as a part of (northeast) European historical space
The Baltic hasn’t only been part of the northeast European historical and cultural region since the 20th century or since Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania joined the EU, NATO, UN, WTO and other international organizations. For centuries it has been considered an integral part of European cultural relations. It was only after the descent of the Iron Curtain across Europe that those relations were forgotten. The Baltic was drawn into the cultural space of western Christianity in the 13th century. It became a center of east-west trade during the Hansa period, the object of power politics rivalries between the great powers of northern and eastern Europe, the theater of national liberation movements in the 19th century and the plaything of 20th century totalitarian empires.
But this region is not to be considered an historical constant. Up to and including the First World War the Lithuanian-Polish territories did not belong to the core of the region, but rather to its more general context. In the last few years and decades – only since the break up of old, encrusted ideas left over from the Cold War – has the northeast European cultural space been appreciated in all its heterogeneity and variety and in all it has in common with the rest of Europe. Only recently has it begun to be studied in all its complexity [ 1 ] , and that implies an ever greater distance to the traditional German and Baltic German historiography of the past 150 to 200 years. The paradigm of the Baltic as a “cultural bulwark” against its eastern neighbors deserves a more differentiated consideration. The orientation towards trans-regional influences and their long-term effects can enhance our understanding of the role of the Baltic as an interface in European history and demonstrates the right, indeed the need to look at the Baltic from a comparative perspective if one wants to portray different and/or similar developments.
Since its integration into the wider European context about 800 years ago, this European historical region has been strongly marked by the experience of foreign domination. Germans, Danes, Poles, Swedes and Russians tried with changing success to conquer and dominate this region – a borderland between east and west, between north and south, as well as a socio-economic bridge – as well as the indigenous population. The most various power interests were crowded into a narrow space to a degree found elsewhere in Europe only in the Balkans. Only in the 20th century have we witnessed the military (1918) and predominantly peaceful (1989/1991) achievement of independence from foreign domination.
State of Research
Varying interruptions, fundamental changes, reforms and revolutions in this historical region of Europe since the late middle ages have led inexorably to very different and diverging historical narratives, competing, mutually interrelated, but rarely complimentary questions of identity and dominance, political, economic, social and mental experiences and traditions – phenomena which in their totality have influenced and continue to influence the development of our European continent.
International research on the Baltic region [ 2 ] has always suffered from a concentration on one’s own region, all too often to the exclusion of Russia, as well as from the tendency to write Baltic history from one's own ethnocentric perspective. [ 3 ] The recent work of Ulrike von Hirschhausen and Mark Hatlie can be considered exceptions to this rule. Their work has focused on the process of modernization in multi-ethnic Riga around the turn of the century and on national perspectives during the confusion of war during the period of 1914–1920 respectively. [ 4 ] For international research on Russian history which has applied itself to the various border areas of that multi-national state, [ 5 ] we are faced with a similar situation: The Baltic periphery has been neglected. An exception is the recent dissertation by Andreas Renner on Russian nationalism during the second half of the 19th century which emphasizes the importance of the conflict between Russian journalists and representatives of the German elite in the Baltic provinces for Russian nation building. But of course Latvians and Estonians play no role whatsoever. [ 6 ]
The lack of perspectives from outside the region: neither Swedish nor Russian has had much at all to offer. [ 7 ] Only from the Poles have there been occasional national historiographical studies. [ 8 ] Estonian historiography, for example, draws on the historical writing of the interwar years to explain its own history from a national angle. This stand juxtaposed to new approaches like that of Jörg Hackmann, [ 9 ] who has critically analyzed the history of the concept of “Baltic” and differentiated between geographic, cultural, political, religious and other meanings.
At present certain periods of Baltic history are over-represented: There has been a lot of work on the 20th century as well as the second half of the 19th century. Individual historiographies concentrate on language areas, exacerbating the lack of any historiographical intra-Baltic communication. The handbook under consideration here will identify, engage and offset these deficits. It will make an essential, central contribution to yet-unwritten the history of the Baltic, a history which must be understood as part of a larger history of Eastern Europe and Europe in general. The history of the Baltic must be etched into Europe, not as a national history, but as a part of the wider European historical landscape.
There are already various reference works dedicated to eastern European space, but they do not completely fulfill modern scholarly standards. The handbooks on southeastern Europe edited by Klaus-Detlev Grothusen were written from the perspective of the Cold War and reflect classic eastern Europe research with its focus on the multi-ethnic states and individual nations (Hungary, Turkey, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Albania). The handbooks on Russian and Polish history (the latter currently being developed) have a recognizable long-term interest in imperial history and show very little interest in their border areas. The Polish project does, however, dedicate space to Lithuania. Even the leading Cambridge Histories series, which now has more than 10 volumes of regional history (Egypt, Africa, Japan, Chinese Empire, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, Scandinavia, etc.), does not consider eastern Europe or east central Europe, not to mention north eastern or south eastern Europe.
Information about the history of the Baltic region is necessary – today more than ever in light of European and global challenges. “Das Baltikum. Die Geschichte einer europäischen Region” seeks to provide information about different histories and spread information about the history of one’s own nation as well as the history of other peoples and nations in the Baltic and do so not with the interests of the 19th and 20th centuries, from the perspective of one’s own ethnicity, but rather within the framework of modern theoretical and methodological approaches. The international nature of the authors and the interdisciplinary choice of themes form the foundation of a comprehensive illumination of Baltic history in its eastern European and wider European contexts.
Unlike the handbooks on Russia and Poland, the publication under consideration here will not simply serve to synthesize. Rather, it represents international cooperation between German, Baltic and other historians who charting a new course for the research on this area. At the same the project which will be coordinated by editors who are themselves historians of the Baltic region in their own right and who will be in constant touch with the authors.
The individual volumes will not only discuss the current state of research, but will stake out positions on current issues within historical study and break out of the traditional limits of Baltic history and connect to the wider field. That is how national authors will be reflected, and white spots identified. Work will be done from a transnational, regional perspective. That will be the case with analyses and discussions of such themes as that about the unity of the region and its function as a bridge to Russia. Other general themes will be systematically covered, to include the following areas, among others: The Baltic Sea region as a common historical space, conquest and interrupted development, colonialism, the Hanseatic league as an NGO, trade and mission as motives, Europeanization, social differentiation and economic structure, education, Reformation, confessionalization, serfdom, Enlightenment, language and (folk) culture, foreign rule, national awakening, Germanization, Russification, (singing) Revolution, multiculturalism, mental maps, collaboration, totalitarianism, dictatorship, liberation struggle, nation state, historiography and politics, mentalities, minorities, sites of memory and memoirs, oral history, gender research, and post-colonialism.
Schedule
The project, which will be under the auspices of the Nordost-Institut, is to take four years to complete, starting on 1 December, 2007. The editors are Dr. Karsten Brüggemann, Dr. Konrad Maier and Prof. Dr. Ralph Tuchtenhagen.
A conference involving all the authors, a total of about 30 people, is scheduled for the ninth month (if possible in Estonia). All the parameters of the project will be discussed on the basis of the proposed table of contents.
A first workshop for the authors of volume 1 will take place in the 24th month (in Latvia) involving about 10 authors who will present their chapters for discussion and ideas. The final versions of the texts will be submitted to the editors in the 27th month.
A second workshop, for the authors of volume 2, will take place in the 27th month (in Estonia) with about 14 authors who will present their chapters for discussion and ideas. The final versions of the texts will be submitted to the editors in the 30th month.
A third workshop, for the authors of volume 3, will take place in the 30th month (in Lithuania) with about 16 authors who will present their chapters for discussion and ideas. The final versions of the texts will be submitted to the editors in the 33rd month.
The following 15 months will be used for the final preparation of the texts (formal, linguistic and content standardization in communication with the authors, the production of printer's copies, coordination with the printer, etc.) by the editors. At that point, additional thematic editors might be brought in. During the final year the volumes will be published and the project brought to a conclusion.
Publication and Publicity
During the entire period a web page will be maintained where descriptions of the contents, the goals of the project as well as current information, bibliographical summaries and excerpts will be available for viewing.
The Hiersemann Verlag in Stuttgart, the publisher of the handbook of Russian history (Handbuch der Geschichte Rußlands), has expressed interest in the project.
Authors
The project has made it a priority to win over an international, interdisciplinary team of authors. There are 17 authors from Germany, 21 from the Baltic states (10 from Estonia, 7 from Latvia and 4 from Lithuania) and 7 from other countries (Russia, Poland, Sweden, USA and Great Britain).
The editors will coordinate and execute the organization and publishing of the volume.
Fußnoten
Klicken Sie auf die Fußnote, um zu der entsprechenden Stelle im Text zurückzukehren.
1) We mention here the research of Klaus Zernack (for example Stand und Aufgaben beziehungsgeschichtlicher Forschung in Nordosteuropa, in: Geschichtsbild in den Ostseeländern 1990. Stockholm 1991, pp. 99-106; and Der europäische Nordosten als Geschichtsraum, in: Bibliotheca Baltica. Symposium vom 15. bis 17. Juni 1992 in der Bibliothek der Hansestadt Lübeck im Rahmen der Initiative ARS BALTICA, ed. by Jörg Fligge and Robert Schweitzer. München 1994, pp. 26-34; Im Zentrum Nordosteuropas, in: Journal of Baltic Studies XXXIII [2002], Nr. 4, pp. 369-383), of Stefan Troebst (z.B. Nordosteuropa: Begriff – Traditionen – Strukturen, in: Mare Balticum [1996], pp. 7-14; Nordosteuropa: Geschichtsregion mit Zukunft, in: Nordeuropa Forum 1 [1999], pp. 53-69) or Jörg Hackmann (for example Not only „Hansa“. Images of History in the Baltic Sea Region, in: Mare Balticum [1996], pp. 23-35; The Baltic World and the Power of History, in: Anthropological Journal on European Cultures 5 [1996], H. 2, pp. 9-33; Ethnos oder Region? Probleme der baltischen Historiographie im 20. Jahrhundert, in: Zeitschrift für Ostmitteleuropa-Forschung 50 [2001], pp. 531-556; From „Object“ to „Subject“. The Contribution of Small Nations to Region-building in North Eastern Europe, in: Journal of Baltic Studies XXXIII [2002], Nr. 4, pp. 412-430; Past Politics in North-Eastern Europe: The Role of History in Post-Cold War Identity Politics, in: Post-cold War Identity Politics. Northern and Baltic Experiences, ed. by Marko Lehti and David J. Smith. London 2003, pp. 78-100; together with Robert Schweitzer: Introduction: North Eastern Europe as a Historical Region, in: Journal of Baltic Studies XXXIII [2002], Nr. 4, pp. 361-368) and Ralph Tuchtenhagen (Nordosteuropa. Begriff und Raumabgrenzung, in: Studienhandbuch Östliches Europa. Bd. 1: Geschichte Ostmittel- und Südosteuropas, hrsg. v. Harald Roth. Köln 1999, pp. 73-80; The best [and the worst] of several worlds: The shifting historiographical concept of northeastern Europe, in: European Review of History/Revue européenne d’Histoire 10 [2003], H. 2: Geschichtsregionen, hrsg. v. Stefan Troebst, pp. 362-374; Zentralstaat und Provinz im frühneuzeitlichen Nordosteuropa [im Druck]). 2) See work that has concentrated on political and administrative history: Michael Haltzel, Der Abbau der ständischen Selbstverwaltung in den Ostseeprovinzen Rußlands 1855-1905. Marburg 1977 (Marburger Ostforschungen. 37); Russification in the Baltic Provinces and Finnland, 1855-1914, ed. by Michael H. Haltzel and Edward C. Thaden. Princeton 1981; Edward C. Thaden, Russia’s Western Borderlands, 1710-1870. Princeton 1984; Finland and the Baltic Provinces in the Russian Empire. Special Issue, ed. by Toivo U. Raun and Edward C. Thaden, in: Journal of Baltic Studies XV (1984), pp. 87-227. 3) This is the case for newer work in German (Baltische Länder, ed. by Gert v. Pistohlkors. Berlin 1994; Michael Garleff, Die baltischen Länder. Estland, Lettland, Litauen vom Mittelalter bis zur Gegenwart. Regensburg 2001) as well as for work in English done by Baltic exiles: Toivo U. Raun, Estonia and the Estonians. 2. ed., Stanford 1991; Andrejs Plakans, The Latvians. A Short Story. Stanford 1995 (see the review in: Zeitschrift für Ostmitteleuropa-Forschung 47 [1998], pp. 603f.). This one-sided perspective can also be found in Anders Henriksson, The Tsar’s Loyal Germans. The Riga German Community: Social Change and the Nationality Question 1855-1905. Boulder 1983, as well as in the excellent study by Heide W. Whelan, Adapting to Modernity. Family, Caste and Capitalism Among the Baltic German Nobility. Köln (u.a.) 1999 (see the review of Karsten Brüggemann in: Das Historisch-politische Buch 47 [1999], p. 519). 4) Ulrike von Hirschhausen, Die Wahrnehmung des Wandels: Migration, soziale Mobilität und Mentalitäten in Riga 1867-1914, in: Zeitschrift für Ostmitteleuropa-Forschung 48 (1999), pp. 475-523; also Stand, Nation und Reich: Die Gleichzeitigkeit des Ungleichzeitigen im lokalen Raum Ostmitteleuropas. Das Beispiel Riga 1860-1914, in: Nationalismen im Vergleich, ed. together with Jörn Leonhard. Göttingen 2001, pp. 372-397; also Die Grenzen der Gemeinsamkeit. Deutsche, Letten, Russen und Juden in Riga 1860-1914. Göttingen 2006; Mark R. Hatlie, Die Welt steht kopf. Die Kriegserfahrung der Deutschen in Riga 1914-1919, in: Jahrbuch des baltischen Deutschtums 49 (2002), pp. 175-202; also Flags and Bayonets. Mass Celebrations in Riga, 1910-1920, in: Zeitschrift für Ostmitteleuropa-Forschung 49 (2002), pp. 475-499. 5) For the Polish-Lithuanian context see Theodore R. Weeks, Nation and State in Late Imperial Russia. Nationalism and Russification on the Western Frontier, 1863-1914. De Kalb/Ill. 1996. On Finland see Robert Schweitzer, Autonomie und Autokratie: Die Stellung des Großfürstentums Finnland im russischen Reich in der zweiten Hälfte des 19. Jahrhunderts (1863-1899). Gießen 1978 (Marburger Abhandlungen zur Geschichte und Kultur Osteuropas. 19) as well as by the same author The Rise and Fall of the Russo-Finnish Consensus: the History of the „Second“ Committee on Finnish Affairs in St. Petersburg (1857-1891). Helsinki 1996 (Hallintohistoriallisia tutkimuksia. 23). 6) Andreas Renner, Russischer Nationalismus und Öffentlichkeit im Zarenreich 1855-1875. Köln (et.al.) 2000 (Beiträge zur Geschichte Osteuropas. 31). 7) An exception ist Russian historiography on Poland-Lithuania. For a summary: Zapadnye okrainy Rossijskoj imperii, hrsg. v. Michail Dolbilov u. Aleksej Miller. Moskva 2006. 8) Jan Lewandowski, Estonia. Warszawa 2001; also Historia Estonii. Wroclaw 2002. 9) Jörg Hackmann, Was bedeutet „baltisch“? Zum semantischen Wandel des Begriffs im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert. Ein Beitrag zur Erforschung von mental maps, in: Buch und Bildung im Baltikum. Festschrift für Paul Kaegbein zum 80. Geburtstag, ed. by Heinrich Bosse, Otto-Heinrich Elias and Robert Schweitzer. Münster 2005 (Schriften der Baltischen Historischen Kommission. 13), pp. 15-39; see also Karsten Brüggemann, Leaving the „Baltic“ States and „Welcome to Estonia“: Re-Regionalizing Estonian Identity, in: European Review of History 10 (2003), pp. 343-360 (Topical issue: Geschichtsregionen: Concept and Critique, ed. by Stefan Troebst).
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