Western Michigan University ScholarWorks at WMU Dissertations Graduate College 1-2011 The Gendered Plight of Terror: Annexation and Exile in Latvia 1940-1950 Irene Elksnis Geisler Western Michigan University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations Part of the European History Commons Recommended Citation Geisler, Irene Elksnis, "The Gendered Plight of Terror: Annexation and Exile in Latvia 1940-1950" (2011). Dissertations. 409. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations/409 This Dissertation-Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate College at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. THE GENDERED PLIGHT OF TERROR: ANNEXATION AND EXILE IN LATVIA 1940-1950 by Irene Elksnis Geisler A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of The Graduate College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of History Advisor: Marion W. Gray, Ph.D. Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, Michigan June 2011 THE GENDERED PLIGHT OF TERROR: ANNEXATION AND EXILE IN LATVIA 1940-1950 Irene Elksnis Geisler, Ph.D. Western Michigan University, 2011 Drawing on methodologies employed in Oral History and Memory scholarship, this qualitative study utilizes the lens of gender to explore narratives contesting time-honored notions of violence, war and peace. It examines Latvia's history through the voices of women from 1940 to 1950. This project seeks to interpret Latvian history based on the experiences of those who survived invasion, exile and deportation. It positions the narratives of women at the center rather than at the margins of historical analysis.