STUDIEN zur Ostmitteleuropaforschung 30 Mark R. Hatlie Riga at War 1914-1919 War and Wartime Experience in a Multi-ethnic Metropolis Mark R. Hatlie, Riga at War 1914-1919 War and Wartime Experience in a Multi-ethnic Metropolis STUDIEN ZUR OSTMITTELEUROPAFORSCHUNG Herausgegeben vom Herder-Institut für historische Ostmitteleuropaforschung – Institut der Leibniz-Gemeinschaft 30 Mark R. Hatlie Riga at War 1914-1919 War and Wartime Experience in a Multi-ethnic Metropolis VERLAG HERDER-INSTITUT · MARBURG · 2014 Bibliografi sche Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografi e; detaillierte bibliografi sche Daten sind im Internet über <http://dnb.ddb.de> abrufbar © 2014 by Herder-Institut für historische Ostmitteleuropaforschung – Institut der Leibniz-Gemeinschaft, 35037 Marburg, Gisonenweg 5-7 Printed in Germany Alle Rechte vorbehalten Satz: Herder-Institut für historische Ostmitteleuropaforschung – Institut der Leibniz-Gemeinschaft, 35037 Marburg Druck: KN Digital Printforce GmbH, Ferdinand-Jühlke-Straße 7, 99095 Erfurt Umschlagbilder: links: Parade of Bolsheviks, May 1, 1919 (DSHI 120 BR/BLW 68, see p. 140) rechts: Wounded Cavalryman at the Brethren Cemetery (Photo by Mark Hatlie, 2007) ISBN 978-3-87969-377-1 Contents Acknowledgments ................................................................................................ 1 A Note on Names and Terms ................................................................................ 3 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 4 Historiography and Sources ............................................................................ 11 I The City at War ................................................................................................ 14 1 Riga before the War ..................................................................................... 14 The Tsar Comes to Riga .......................................................................... 14 Imperial Metropolis ................................................................................ 23 2 Wartime ....................................................................................................... 32 A Latvian Funeral ................................................................................... 32 The War Begins ....................................................................................... 34 Refugees .................................................................................................. 41 Mass Evacuation ..................................................................................... 43 Life in the War Zone ............................................................................... 52 The Russian Military in Riga .................................................................. 55 Revolution ............................................................................................... 61 3 German Occupation .................................................................................... 71 The Kaiser’s Birthday ............................................................................. 71 The Fall of Riga ...................................................................................... 73 Occupation Policy ................................................................................... 77 Life under the Occupation ...................................................................... 81 Population Control and the German Military Garrison .......................... 87 German Collapse and Latvian Maneuvering .......................................... 90 4 Red Riga ...................................................................................................... 99 Latvian Bolshevik May Day ................................................................... 99 The Military and Political Situation ........................................................ 103 Bolshevik Policy ..................................................................................... 105 Red Terror ............................................................................................... 113 Alarm in the City .................................................................................... 120 Liberation and ‟White Terror” ................................................................ 124 V Uncertainty and Transition ...................................................................... 133 American Summer .................................................................................. 136 5 The Latvian War of Independence .............................................................. 144 Victory Celebration ................................................................................. 144 The New State ......................................................................................... 145 The Siege of Riga.................................................................................... 147 6 Demographic Change .................................................................................. 151 II Wartime Experience ........................................................................................ 158 1 Riga’s Germans in War and Revolution ...................................................... 158 Loyalty Going into the War .................................................................... 160 Anti-German Policies.............................................................................. 163 Loyalty Tested ......................................................................................... 178 Revolution ............................................................................................... 181 Liberation ................................................................................................ 183 Germany and Germanization .................................................................. 187 The Time of Dread – “Schreckenszeit” .................................................. 195 Religious Life.......................................................................................... 197 The World Turned Upside Down ............................................................ 199 Twenty-second May as a Site of Memory .............................................. 210 The Final Turning Point .......................................................................... 216 Paul Schiemann ....................................................................................... 218 Attitudes about the ‟Other” .................................................................... 221 Conclusions ............................................................................................. 225 2 Riga’s Latvians in War and Revolution ....................................................... 228 The Revolution of 1905 and the War of 1914 ......................................... 230 Death in Battle ........................................................................................ 231 The Brethren Cemetery ........................................................................... 234 Exile ........................................................................................................ 238 Revolution and Politics ........................................................................... 240 Occupation .............................................................................................. 246 Cultural Life ............................................................................................ 248 Communist Resistance ............................................................................ 256 Anna Brigadere ....................................................................................... 262 Statehood................................................................................................. 266 Latvian Riga ............................................................................................ 274 Nation and Church .................................................................................. 281 Conclusions ............................................................................................. 284 3 Riga’s Russians and the War ....................................................................... 286 The Russian Orthodox Church at War .................................................... 290 Revolution ............................................................................................... 302 Occupation .............................................................................................. 303 Re-Building Russian Riga ...................................................................... 306 VI Epilogue ................................................................................................................ 310 Riga’s Memorial Landscape ............................................................................ 313 Zusammenfassung ................................................................................................. 320 Tables and Maps ................................................................................................... 322 Table 1: Chronology of Regimes and Events in Riga, 1914-1919 .................. 322 Table 2: Nationalities of Civilians in Riga by Police District 31 December 1913 ..................................................................................................