Valdis O. Lumans
Professor of History
University Address:
Department of History, Political Science, and
Philosophy
University of South Carolina Aiken
Aiken, South Carolina 29801
Phone: (803) 648-6851 ext. 3224
e-mail: vall@usca.edu
Education:
1972-1979 Ph.D., History, December, 1979, Univ. of North Carolina Chapel Hill
1970-1972 M.A., History, June, 1972, Univ. of Florida, Gainesville
1967-1970 U.S. Army, OCS, Viet Nam
1962-1967 B.A., History, December, 1967, Univ. of Florida, Gainesville
Academic Employment:
University of South Carolina-Aiken, Aiken, S.C. Fall, 1981
to Present.
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Visiting Assistant
Professor. Spring, 1981.
North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, N.C., Visiting Assistant
Professor. Fall, 1979 through Spring, 1981.
Scholarship:
Paper, October, 1979: "The Ethnic Germans and the Slovak State." Annual Conference of the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies, New Haven, Conn.
Paper, October, 1980: "The Military Obligation of the Ethnic Germans in Eastern Europe Towards the Third Reich." Duquesne University History Forum, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Paper, November, 1981: "The Historiography of the Russian Revolution." USC-Aiken Faculty Seminar.
Paper, April, 1982: "Nazi Racial Doctrine and Policy: An Interpretation." Annual Meeting of the South Carolina Historical Association, Lander College, Greenwood, S.C.
Article, "Nazi Racial Doctrine and Policy: An Interpretation." The Proceedings of the South Carolina Historical Association, 1982, 64-76.
Article, "The Ethnic German Minority of Slovakia and the Third Reich, 1938-45." Central European History, 15, No.3 (1982), 266-296.
Paper, December, 1982: "An Error in American Foreign Policy: The Association of Third World Nationalism with Communism." USC-Aiken Faculty Seminar.
Paper, March, 1983: "Russian Expansionism: A Historical Perspective." Presented to the Physicians for Social Responsibility, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, Ga.
Paper, November, 1983: "The SS Personnel of the Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle: A Study in the Nature and Composition of the SS." Annual Conference of the Southern Historical Association, Charleston, S.C.
Article, "The Writing of History in the Soviet Union: An Example of Censorship in the Humanities." Social and Behavioral Science, 1983-1984, 65-75.
Paper, April, 1986: "Soviet Interests in Eastern Europe: A Historical Perspective." Presented to the Aiken AAUW, Aiken, S.C.
Paper, March, 1988: "The Camps of the Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle; Another Kind of SS Camp." Presented at the annual meeting of the S.C. Historical Association, Charleston.
USC-Aiken Faculty Seminar, April, 1988, with Dr. Don Blount, "N. G. Chernyshevsky: What Is to Be Done?"
Article, "The Camps of the Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle; Another Kind of SS Camp." The Proceedings of the South Carolina Historical Association, 1988.
Article, "The Military Obligation of the Volksdeutsche of Eastern Europe Towards the Third Reich," East European Quarterly, XXIII, No. 3 (September, 1989), 305-325.
Paper, "The Diplomacy of Resettlement: Eliminating Trouble Spots in the Third Reich's Foreign Relations." Presented at the Annual Conference of the German Studies Association, Milwaukee. October, 1989.
Paper, "The German National Minorities of Europe as Fifth Columns: A Reappraisal." Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Southern Historical Association. Lexington, Kentucky. November, 1989.
Article, "The Nordic Destiny; The Peculiar Role of the German National Minority in North Schleswig in Hitler's Plans and Policies for Denmark." Scandinavian Journal of History, 15 (1991), 109-123.
Book Chapter, "The Diplomacy of Resettlement: Eliminating Trouble Spots in the Third Reich's Foreign Relations," in German Minorities in Poland and Italy During the Second World War: Beiträge aus dem Fachbereich Pädagogik (Hamburg: Bundeswehr Universität Hamburg, 1990), 15-37.
Article, "The SS Personnel of the Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle: A Study in the Nature and Composition of the SS." Social and Behavioral Science, 1990-91.
Paper, August 13, 1990, "Main Themes of East European History and How They Relate to the Present Situation in the Region." Presented to the Journal Club, Augusta, Ga.
Book: Himmler's Auxiliaries: The Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle and the German National Minorities of Europe, 1933-1945. Chapel Hill: Univ. of North Carolina Press, 1993. Received the Charles E. Smith Award for 1994, presented by the European Section of the Southern Historical Association, as the best book in European History published by a southern press. Reviewed in twelve periodicals, including the Times (London) Literary Supplement, American Historical Review, and Historische Zeitschrift.
Paper, "Where the Heck Is Herzegovina?: A Historical Background to the Bosnian Civil War," International Studies Lecture Series, USC-Aiken, February 17, 1994.
Article, "A Reassessment of the Presumed Fifth Column Role of the German National Minorities of Europe." Essays in European History, Vol. II (1996), 191-212.
Paper, “Why Didn’t We See It Coming? Predicting the Soviet Future: An Exercise in Futility,” Presented at the Annual Meeting of the South Carolina Historical Association, March 8, 1997.
Article, “Why Didn’t We See It Coming? Predicting the Soviet Future: An Exercise in Futility.” The Proceedings of the South Carolina Historical Association, 1998, 69-77. Rewritten for publication; peer reviewed by editorial board.
Paper, “The Volksdeutsche Minorities of Europe: Legacies of the Great War, Potential for Future Strife.” Presented at the Conference on the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, at Armstrong Atlantic State University, Savannah, Ga., March 26, 1999.
Faculty Symposium, “Kosovo,” USC Aiken, April 12, 1999.
Paper, “The Ideological Significance of the Resettlement of Ethnic Germans.” Presented at the Annual Meeting of the South Carolina Historical Association, March 4, 2000.
Chapter, "Werner Lorenz: Chef der Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle," in Smelser, Ronald and Enrico Syring, Die SS: Elite unter dem Totenkopf; 30 Lebenslaufe. Paderborn: Verlag Ferdinand Schöningh, 2000.
Paper, “The Ethnic Germans and the Third Reich: A Lesson in Ethnicity.” Presented to the Academy of Life-Long Learning, USC Aiken, April 2001.
Paper, “Terrorism: A Historical Perspective.” Presented to the Aiken International Association, USC Aiken, October 5, 2001.
Paper, “Solidarity and Beyond: The Historical Context.” Presented at the Symposium on Polish Culture through its Poster Artists, USC Aiken, October 15, 2001.
Chapter, "Reassessment of Volksdeutsche and Jews in the Volhynia-Galicia-Narew Resettlement.” The Impact of Nazism: New Perspectives on the Third Reich and Its Legacy. Edited by Alan E. Steinweis and Daniel E. Rogers. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2003. 81-100.
Paper, “Expert Witness: The Volksdeutsche, Waffen-SS, Denaturalization and Extradition.” Presented at the USCA-Augusta State History-Political Science Forum, Augusta State U., Augusta, Ga., February 4, 2005.
Paper, “The Disintegration of the Latvian Legion and the End of the War for Latvia, 1944-1945,” Siena College Conference on World War II, Siena College, Loudonville, NY, June 2, 2005.
Book Review: Karel C. Berkhoff, Harvest of Despair: Life and Death in Ukraine under Nazi Rule (Cambridge: Harvard-Belknap, 2004) in Central European History, vol. 39, no. 1 (2006), 160-63.
Book Review: Wendy Lower, Nazi Empire-Building and the Holocaust in Ukraine (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2005) in Central European History. (Publication in 2006).
Paper: “A Small State in a Big War: Writing the History of Latvia in World War II; The Principal Issues,” Annual Meeting of the South Carolina Historical Association, Columbia, S.C., March 4, 2006.
Paper: Featured speaker at New York Military Affairs Symposium, “The Latvian Army in World War II,” New York, April 7, 2006.
Book Review: Mariana Hausleitner and Harald Roth, eds., Der Einfluss der Faschismus auf Minderheiten in Ostmittel-und Südosteuropa (Munchen: IKGS Verlag, 2006) in Central European History. (Publication 2007).
Book: Latvia in World War II. New York: Fordham University Press, 2006. Part of series, The Global, Human, Ethical Dimension of World War II, No. 11, edited by Kurt Piehler, Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Article: “A Small State in a Big War: Writing the History of Latvia in World War II; The Principal Issues,” Proceedings of the 2006 Meeting of the South Carolina Historical Association. March, 2007. 53-70. Expanded for publication and peer reviewed by editorial board.
Book Review: Commission of the Historians of Latvia, The Hidden and Forbidden History of Latvia under Soviet and Nazi Occupations, 1940-1991 (Riga: Institute of the History of Latvia, 2005) in European History Quarterly. (Publication 2007).
Paper: “Latvia in World War II: A Summary.” Aiken International Association, Aiken, S.C. November 1, 2006.
Book Review: Richard J. Evans, The Third Reich in Power (London: Penguin Books, 2006) in European History Quarterly. (Publication 2007).
Book Review: Alex J. Kay, Exploitation, Resettlement, Mass Murder: Political and Economic Planning for German Occupation Policy in the Soviet Union, 1940-1941 (New York: Berghan Books, 2006), Central European History. (Publication 2008)
Seminar Participant: “Sources of and Limits of German Power in a Wider Europe: Germany and Latvia in the European Union,” Studienforum Berlin, Berlin and Riga, June 29-July 10, 2007.
Works in Progress:
Research Project in Progress: “The Essence of National Socialism: Promoting the Volk, or Anti-Semitism, as Reflected in the Nazi Party Newspaper, Völkischer Beobachter, Prior to the Beer Hall Putsch.”
Research Project in Progress: “How to Build an Army: The Latvian Army; Parade Ground or Battlefield, 1918-1939.”
Research Project in Progress: Translating and editing the diary of Olgerts Lumans during his years in a DP (Displaced Persons) Camp in post-war Germany.
Invited to contribute chapter on “The Ethnic Germans and the Waffen-SS,” in a proposed book, Scraping the Barrel, a study of incompetent and sub-par military units in World War II to be edited by Sanders Marble and published by Fordham University Press.
Preliminary organizational work and planning stage of new book on World War II in the Baltic region and northwestern Russia, focusing on all three Baltic States, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania.
Scholarly Consultation: (Volksdeutsche Waffen-SS Extradition Cases)
Expert Witness: The United States vs. Schiffer, 1995-1996.
Expert Witness: The United States vs. Breyer, 1993, 2001-2003.
Consultant: The United States vs. Friedrich. 2003.
Expert Witness: The United States vs. Wittje. 2004-05.
Expert Witness: The United States vs. Kumpf, 2004-05
Expert Witness: The United States vs. Geiser, 2005-06
Awards and Grants:
University of North Carolina Teaching Fellowship, Spring, 1977.
University of North Carolina Travel Grant, Fall, 1979.
USC-Aiken Teacher of the Year Award, 1982-1983.
University of South Carolina Faculty Exchange Grant, July-August, 1985.
National Endowment for the Humanities, Coherence Grant from the Division of
Education, April, 1985-May, 1987.
USC-Aiken Faculty Service Award, 1986-1987
University of South Carolina Faculty Exchange Grant, May-June, 1990.
USC-Aiken Faculty Excellence in Scholarship Award, 1989-1990.
USC-Aiken Faculty Community Service Award, 1990-1991.
USC-Aiken Faculty Alumni Award, 1992-1993.
USC-Aiken Faculty Research Sabbatical, Spring, 2003
Cleora Toole Murray Chair in History, 2003-2006, 2006-2009.
Rotary Centennial Service Award for Professional Excellence, 2005.
University of South Carolina, Carolina Trustee Professorship, 2007.
Classes Taught:
Western Civilization, Ancient Times to 1650.
Western Civilization, 1650 to Present.
Introduction to Non-Western Civilizations.
World Civilizations, Ancient Times to 1750.
World Civilizations, 1750 to Present.
Modern Germany.
Modern Russia and Soviet Union.
Modern Eastern Europe.
Modern Europe (Western).
Early Modern Europe.
East Asia.
The Holocaust
Independent Studies
Faculty Service and Activities at USC-Aiken:
USC-Aiken International Exchange Coordinator, 1981-86
Social & Behavioral Sciences Club Faculty Advisor, 1981-85.
USC-Aiken Teacher Education Committee, 1981-94.
USC-Aiken Secondary Education Task Force, 1996-2007.
USC-Aiken Scholastic Standing & Petitions Comm., 1982-85.
USC-Aiken Honors, Awards & Scholarship Comm., 1982-84; Chair, 1984-85.
USC-Aiken Library Committee, 1983-84.
USC-Aiken New Courses & Curriculum Comm., 1984-86; 1997-99.
Chair, Ad Hoc Comm. for Part-Time Faculty Policy, 1982-83.
Chair, Ad Hoc Comm. to Write USC-Aiken Student Honor Code, 1982-84
Editor, The Proceedings of the South Carolina Historical Association, 1982-86.
Editor, Polis, Department Newsletter, 2004-2007.
USC-Aiken Representative to the South Carolina Scholar's Forum, 1983-1986.
USC-Aiken Student Retention Task Force, 1983-84.
USC-Aiken Financial Aid Appeals Committee, 1984-86.
NEH Coherence Grant Committee, 1983-86.
Co-Director, USC-A, NEH Humanities Focus Program, 1984-86.
Organizer, South Carolina Historical Assoc. Annual Meeting, 1984.
Twenty-nine USC-Aiken Faculty Search Committees, 1981-2007.
Secretary-Treasurer S.C. Historical Assoc., 1984-87.
Executive Board, S.C. Historical Assoc., 1982-1990.
USC-Aiken Faculty Advisory Committee, 1985-87; 1989-92; Chair, 1993-96.
USC-Aiken Representative to USC System Teacher of the Year Committee, 1985-1987.
USC Aiken Junior Writing Portfolio Reader, 2001-02.
Vice-Chancellor Search Committee, 1987-88.
Vice-Chancellor Search Committee, 2001-02.
Four-Year Campus Representative to the USC Board of Trustees Academic Affairs and
Faculty Liaison Committee, 1988-89.
USC-Aiken Self-Study Steering Committee, 1988-89.
USC Aiken Self Study Instit. Effectiveness Subcommittee, 1999-2001.
USC System Academic Policy Coordinating Committee, 1988-89.
Parliamentarian, USC-Aiken Faculty Assembly, 1990-93, 1995-98, 2001-02.
Vice-President, Program Chair, SCHA, 1990-1991.
USC-A Representative, SC Conference of Univ. Faculty Chairs, 1992-2006.
Executive Council, SC Conference of Univ. Faculty Chairs, 1996-97, 1998-2000.
USC UNIV 101 Workshop, 1999.
USC System Task Force: Review of USC Library System, 1992-1993.
USC System Academic Advisory Committee, 1993-94.
USC-Aiken Chancellor’s Cabinet, 1992-2003
College Council, Coll. of Humanities & Social Sciences, 1993-2007.
USC-Aiken Academic Council, 1993-2007
USC-Aiken Ad Hoc Teaching Evaluation Comm., 1994-95.
USC-Aiken Ad Hoc First Year Experience Comm., 1998-2001; Chair, 1998-99.
USC-Aiken First Year Advisor, 2001-2007.
USC-Aiken Enrollment Planning Committee, 1994-2007.
USC-Aiken Students at Risk Sub-Committee, 2004-2007.
USC-Aiken Ad Hoc Committee on USC System, 1995-96.
USC-Aiken Graduate Advisory Council. 1996-7.
USC-Aiken Campus Master Plan Committee, 1997-2007.
USC-Aiken Sabbatical Selection Committee, Chair, 2005-06.
USC-Aiken General Education Review Task Force, 2006-07.
Chair, USC-Aiken Faculty Assembly, 1986-89. (3 terms).
President, South Carolina Historical Association, 1991-1992.
Chair, Department of History, Political Science, and Philosophy, 1985-2007.
Academic Program Review
Chair, Georgia Board of Regents Review, History and Political Science Programs, Georgia
Southwestern State University, Americus, Ga. March, 2004.