German man or Latvian Dvina? National self-perceptions and identities of Hugo Wittrock and Harry Marnitz in Riga 1941–1943/44

Abstract

ABSTRACTTaking the concept of national indifference of Tara Zahra as a starting point, the article examines the national self-perception of two Baltic German officials within the Nazi administration in occupied Riga during the Second World War on the basis of their memoirs. While Hugo Wittrock, who had lived most of his prewar years in independent Latvia, was more inclined toward a conservative German nationalism, Harry Marnitz, who had become a Nazi member already in 1926, depicted himself as an admirer of the Latvian culture. Both enthusiastically described the nature as the crucial part of their beloved homeland.