In Latvian Soldiers of World War II: Fighting for the Homeland in Nazi and Soviet Service (Oxford University Press, 2026), Harry C. Merritt explores the wartime experiences and postwar legacies of the almost 200,000 Latvian residents who fought on either side of the ideological divide. To mark its recent publication, Peripheral Histories? editor Siobhán Hearne spoke with Harry about researching and writing Latvian wartime history. PH: What motivated you to write this book?

Stanisław Edward Boridczenko Writing from the Margins In much of Eastern Europe, as elsewhere, contemporary national histories have traditionally been written from the perspective of elites, with a few notable exceptions. Political leaders, generals, and intellectuals dominate most national narratives, while the lives of ordinary people often appear only in passing. Within such an approach, the countless smaller stories of those outside the ruling classes are usually trea