Te-aftnar i nationens tjänst

Abstract

The Baltic German women’s movement was deeply involved in the Baltic German national project between 1905 and 1919. By that time the traditional elite position of the Baltic Germans in the Baltic provinces of Imperial Russia was increasingly challenged and questioned, also with violent means. Therefore the Baltic Germans felt threatened, and the women’s organisations saw as their special mission to protect and advocate their own national character. Using Nira Yuval-Davis’s theoretical framework regarding a gendered understanding of national projects, as well as a hermeneutical approach, this article examines the relationship between the Baltic German women’s movement and the Baltic German national project between 1905 and 1919. Three examples are analysed: the establishment of the Frauenbunde in 1905, especially the Deutsche Frauenbund zu Riga; the tea evenings arranged by the Frauenbund; and finally their petition for a German annexation of the Baltic Provinces in 1917. In the endeavour to advocate their own group, the Baltic Germans drew heavily on their 700-year history and their self-image as a civilizing force. The Frauenbund worked hard to stabilise the group, for instance by actively trying to prevent that the poorer segment of the group lost their German-ness and disappeared into the Latvian nation.