Biography
My grandparents came to the United States in 1949 and I myself grew up around the Latvian exile enclave of Rockville, Maryland. As a child and teenager, between 1993 and 1998, I lived in Moscow and Rīga, where my interest in my family’s background was kindled. It couldn't be understood without knowing about the Second World War, and my course toward a Ph.D. in Modern German History was set. I received my Bachelor's Degree in History and German from Stetson University in 2004, and went to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to study under Professor Christopher Browning for my Master's Degree and my Doctorate, which I earned in 2013. Between 2013 and 2018, I was an Adjunct at Rollins College, Stetson University, and the University of Central Florida. After publishing my book, Nazi Collaborators on Trial During the Cold War: Viktors Arajs and the Latvian Auxiliary Security Police, I was appointed Assistant Professor of History at Florida Southern College, beginning in Fall 2018.
Interests
I have a wonderful cat and grow peppers. The cat and the peppers are on friendly terms.
Education
Doctor of Philosophy, earned under the supervision of Professor Christopher Browning, Modern German History concentration / Eastern European History and Gender Studies subfields, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, March 2013
Master of Arts, History. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, May 2008
Bachelor of Arts, History Major, German Minor. Stetson University, May 2004
Publications and Exhibitions
Nazi Collaborators on Trial during the Cold War: Viktors Arājs and the Latvian Auxiliary Security Police. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017. ISBN: 978-3319576718.
Review of: Anton Weiss-Wendt. On the Margins: Essays on the History of Jews in Estonia. Budapest and New York: Central European University Press, 2017. Pp. 312. Yad Vashem Studies. Volume 45:2, December 2017.
“Justice Behind Propaganda: Soviet Prosecutions of the Men of the Arajs Kommando.” Latvijas Vēstures Institūta Žurnāls. 2015: Issue 4 (97). December 2015.
Review of: Patrick Montague. Chełmno and the Holocaust: The History of Hitler’s First Death Camp. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2012. Pp. 291. (Fall 2014, H-Net)
“The Pursuit, Prosecution, and Punishment of the Latvian War Criminal Viktors Arājs.” Yad Vashem Studies. Volume 40:2, December 2012.