Geschichtswissenschaft für den Ostseeraum? Der Conventus primus historicorum Balticorum 1937 in Riga

In August 1937, a historical conference named Conventus primus historicorum Balticorum was held in Riga, the capitol of Lettland, a country which was strongly influenced by its dictatorial leader, President Kārlis Ulmanis, who had come into power in 1935. In this context, this article first examines the attempts to institutionalise research on the history of the Baltic Sea region on a transnational level. Second, it analyses the different concepts the conference’s hosts had concerning the history of the Baltic Sea region in general. In this context, it also investigates the question of whether Ulmanis’ politics of exploiting history for his political aims played an important role in this conference. The main question is whether it is really appropriate to speak of a history of the Baltic Sea region as such, as suggested by the conference’s title, or whether the conference’s focus was dominated by national approaches.