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Between Stalin and Hitler

Class War and Race War on the Dvina, 1940-46

By Geoffrey Swain

Published August 14th 2009 by Routledge – 274 pages

Series: BASEES/Routledge Series on Russian and East European Studies

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Description

Covering the horrors that took place in Latvia from the beginning of the Second World War until 1947, this book focuses on the heart of the 20th century: Stalinist industrialization, collectivization and political annihilation; Nazi expansionism and genocide; with local nationalism, local nationalist rivalries, and local anti-Semitism. The author traces the developments in one particular region of Latvia, Daugavpils. There, the dilemma of Hitler or Stalin, the ideological struggle of fascism or communism was more acute than anywhere else in Europe since the population was actively involved in establishing both.

Reviews

'This book asks the difficult question about the link of political polarization and ethnic conflict and therefore makes an important contribution to the research about the second World War.' - Osteuropa

Contents

Preface 1. Introducing Bourgeois Daugavpils 2. Daugavpils during the Terrible Year 3. Genocide 4. Dünaburg under Schwung 5. Dünaburg under Riecken 6. Re-establishing Soviet Daugavpils 7. The Nationalist Partisan War 8. Stalinist Daugavpils Conclusion Bibliographical Note

Author Bio

A graduate of the University of Sussex, Geoffrey Swain studied for his PhD at the London School of Economics under the guidance of Professor Leonard Schapiro.