KULTŪRAS PĀRNESES AMBIVALENCES HERDERA INSTITŪTS RĪGĀ UN LATVIJAS UNIVERSITĀTE STARP ZINĀTNES DISKURSIEM UN KULTŪRPOLITIKU, PERSONĪBĀM UN LAIKMETA DINAMIKU

The Herder Institute in Rīga (1921–1939) was a private German university whose role in the history of Latvian statehood and education is still underestimated. Looking at the history of higher education in the territory of former Livonia, the first institutions to draw attention in the context of 20 ^th century intellectual history of Latvia are Tartu University, with its influence spanning many centuries, and the University of Latvia – for the past 100 years. There is no doubt that these universities have played a very important role in both territorial history and the history of national aspirations. The Herder Institute, founded in 1921 and officially recognized in 1927, remains in the shadows from a scholarly perspective relative to these two universities. The reason is not only the relatively short existence of the Herder Institute – only until 1939 – but also the fact that this institution of higher education, as a German private university, seemed focused only on the German minority and the cultural and educational policy objectives of this minority, so there were little connections with the national challenges and the strivings of the Latvian people. Today, however, looking back on the work of the Herder Institute in the 1920s and 30s and studying its archives that bear witness to the developments and disasters of the 20 ^th century, this previously marginal position has to be reconsidered. The Herder Institute in Rīga was not just an institution of German education and culture – the intellectual environment created by the institute was not a closed milieu whose influence reached only German intellectual circles. Despite the sensitive national issue and grievous funding problems, this university aspired to embody a truly European education and to set a prime example for Latvia and the Baltic region. Clearly expressed in the programmatic documentation of the Institute, in official speeches and contacts with the University of Latvia and Latvian state administration, this desire was achieved to a lesser extent than the management of the Institute expected, which intended a gradual maturation into a fully functional academic research and education institution. However, this desire was achieved in some form when Rīga was visited by globally acclaimed scientists and philosophers, responding to an invitation by the Institute. Their lectures and speeches were enriching events for academics and intellectuals in Rīga and Latvia: the hosts and guests had the opportunity to see and hear the physicist Max Plank, philosophers Oswald Spengler and Martin Heidegger, chemist Walther Nernst and many other academic luminaries from the top-tier research and education institutions of the time.