In Thunder Cross, Paula A. Oppermann presents a compelling history of Latvia during the first half of the twentieth century, examining it through the lens of Latvian nationalism, antisemitism, and fascism. At the heart of the monograph is the Thunder Cross (Pērkonkrusts), the largest and most important fascist organization in modern Latvia, despite its opposition to the authoritarian dictatorship from 1934 to 1940 headed by Kārlis Ulmanis. This is the first comprehensive study of the political group that was founded in the early 1930s and henceforth often banned, dissolved, and recreated under new names, and its leading protagonists. It spans from the Thunder Cross's roots in the early twentieth century and its heyday in the 1930s and 1940s to its afterlife in the Cold War period. The book is based on Oppermann's dissertation at the University of Glasgow, for which she was awarded the 2023 George L. Mosse First Book Prize.

Conceptually, Oppermann draws primarily on literature on fascism, antisemitism, and the Holocaust. In the introduction, she firmly places the Thunder Cross within the broader "family of fascists" (5), drawing on Roger Griffin's definition of fascism as revolutionary ultra-nationalism and Michael Mann's concept of radical nation-statism. She also considers more recent trends in fascism studies, such as the so-called transnational turn, by examining the transfer of ideas and interactions with other European fascist regimes and movements. This transnational perspective is particularly fruitful in the context of the Thunder Cross's complex relationship with Nazi Germany, given that the movement promoted a form of ethnic Latvian nationalism that opposed the Baltic Germans, who had belonged to the elite of the small country for centuries.

However, Oppermann makes it crystal clear that it was not the local Baltic Germans, but "Jewish-Bolshevism" that constituted the main enemy of the Latvian fascists, who "frequently terrorized Jews, both physically and psychologically" (9) in the 1930s and early 1940s. Their "redemptive antisemitism", a concept developed by Saul Friedländer which highlights the belief in a Jewish world conspiracy as the dominant aspect of a worldview, distinguished the Thunder Cross from the authoritarian Ulmanis regime (that some historians have described as fascist as well). Furthermore, antisemitism as a core tenet of fascist politics enabled collaboration with the Nazis during World War II. Consequently, the Thunder Cross became the "ideal partner" (141) for Nazi Germany in organizing the Holocaust in occupied Latvia.

Latvia had for centuries been dominated by the Russian Empire before becoming independent in 1918. Latvian fascism was rooted in völkisch antisemitism that emerged in the nineteenth century. Political antisemitism became more widespread in the 1920s and was expressed by so-called harbingers of fascism, such as the Latvian National Youth Union founded in 1920. In addition to this important context, the first chapter introduces a couple of key figures who would shape Latvian fascism, such as Ādolfs Šilde and the Thunder Cross leader Gustavs Ādolfs Celmiņš, illustrating how and why these people became involved in fascist activism.

The following three chapters discuss the foundation and evolution of the Thunder Cross in the 1930s. They examine the group's key ideas as expressed in the main periodicals, summarized as "antisemitism, resentment against minorities and foreigners, anti-German sentiment, antisocialism/social democracy, anti-Republicanism or antiliberalism" (56). The book also discusses fascist practices, such as political mobilization and violent actions. A notable example is a football match in September 1932 that escalated into a riot and pogrom against Jews.

A particular strength of the book is its nuanced analysis of the complex relationship between the Thunder Cross movement and the Ulmanis dictatorship, which was established after a coup d'état in May 1934. The new regime banned the Latvian fascist movement and temporarily imprisoned many of its leaders. Oppermann convincingly argues that Thunder Cross leader Celmiņš and Ulmanis shared similar goals for an ethnically homogeneous Latvian state, as well as a rejection of democracy, capitalism, and socialism. However, contrary to the authoritarian regime's integrative rhetoric, "racism and antisemitism were the core" of fascist politics, and "aggression against minorities" (98) thus constituted the main difference between the regime and the Thunder Cross.

As a historian of fascist internationalism in the 1930s, I find Chapter 5 particularly fascinating. It shows that "Thunder Cross members were interested in, influenced by, and involved with fascist movements all over Europe" (119). Latvian fascists dreamed of pan-Baltic regionalism, yet they failed to establish sustained cooperation with far-right forces in Lithuania, Estonia, and Finland. Furthermore, when Thunder Cross leader Celmiņš went into political exile in Italy in the late 1930s, Mussolini's regime did not receive him enthusiastically. Nevertheless, like many other fascist ideologues of the time, Celmiņš envisioned an antisemitic "Fascist International" and a "New Europe" based on völkisch principles. Celmiņš also traveled to Bucharest to meet Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, the leader of the equally antisemitic Iron Guard in Romania, and he gave lectures for the National Front in Switzerland before being expelled by the Swiss authorities for his fascist activism. Thus, the chapter offers fascinating insights into the contradictory nature of fascism as an international phenomenon, shaped on the one hand by cooperation and ideological allegiances across borders, and on the other hand by failures and sometimes even a surprising lack of interest among potential partners.

The final chapter delves into the rapidly changing dynamics and violence of World War II and the theme of collaboration during the Holocaust. Oppermann asserts that German forces in Latvia "were the driving force and decision makers" in the murder of Jews and prisoners of war, as well as other horrendous crimes against civilians, yet "Latvian men and women served directly in the genocide and in the German administrative and military apparatus" (140). Some so-called self-defense groups in part consisting of Latvian fascists killed Jews themselves, such as in Tukum. In this context, the Nazis could count on the antisemitism of the Thunder Cross, which reemerged as a political organization in the early phase of German occupation.

However, the relationship between the German Nazis and the Latvian fascists remained ambivalent during the German occupation of Latvia from 1941 to 1944. The Thunder Cross was dissolved as a political organization once again when the German civil administration took over from the Wehrmacht. Nevertheless, at least 14 leading Thunder Cross members gained positions in the new puppet government called "Latvian Self-Administration." Others, however, joined the resistance movement, and the former leader Celmiņš ended up as prisoner in the German Flossenbürg concentration camp.

Moving beyond the typical investigation period of most works on historical fascism, which end in 1945, the final chapter also traces the postwar careers of leading Latvian fascists in exile, including Celmiņš, who at some point opened a Pepsi factory in Mexico. Many continued to speak out against Bolshevism while denying their involvement in the Thunder Cross organization or the genocide of Jews. Rather than providing a mere summary, the conclusion of the book would have benefited from a broader comparative perspective including other fascist movements, such as the Finnish Lapua Movement and the Norwegian Nasjonal Samling, which dealt with similar themes of anti-communism, antisemitism, and collaboration in Northern Europe. This would have revealed the specificities and commonalities of the Thunder Cross as part of the fascist "party family" more systematically. Nevertheless, the monograph masterfully explores a variety of topics, including fascist ideology, violence, mass mobilization, radicalization, gender roles, fascism's relationship to religion, and wartime collaboration during the Holocaust. The book's excellent analysis of these themes makes it of topical interest not only to historians working on Latvia or the Baltic region, but also to anyone interested in modern political history and the concerning rise of the far right today.

Martin Hamre