New Books in History Paula Oppermann, "Thunder Cross: Fascist Antisemitism in Twentieth-Century Latvia" (U Wisconsin Press, 2025)
Oct 29, 2025
Paula Oppermann, a prominent Holocaust historian and researcher, delves into her book about the Pērkonkrusts, Latvia’s largest right-wing party in the early 20th century. She discusses the party's roots in European fascism and its distinct antisemitic ideology, which influenced Latvian nationalism. Oppermann reveals how universities fostered anti-Jewish sentiments and the violent mobilization that culminated in the 1932 football-stadium pogrom. She also explores the group's adaptations after being banned, their collaboration with Nazis, and how postwar narratives recast their past.
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Campus Fraternities Fueled Public Antisemitism
- Universities and student fraternities amplified antisemitism through riots, quotas, and organized harassment in the 1920s.
- Campus actions in Latvia mirrored broader European student anti-Jewish movements of 1922.
Magazine Propaganda Centered On Jewish Threat
- The Thundercross magazine focused overwhelmingly on Jews and framed them both as economic exploiter and Bolshevik threat.
- Quantitative analysis shows Jews, not Baltic Germans, dominated their propaganda content.
Football Match Escalated Into Public Pogrom
- On 11 September 1932 a football match turned into a violent anti-Jewish pogrom in central Riga led by university-affiliated fans.
- About 500 rioters marched, smashed windows, and threatened Jewish players and bystanders in daylight.
