Esteemed
Historian and Author
Modris Eksteins fled Soviet
occupation of Latvia, 1944, living in refugee camps in the British zone
of occupation in Germany, 1945-1949. The family left Europe, 1949, migrating,
first, to Winnipeg, when Modris was five years old, resettling in Toronto
shortly there after. When Modris entered Trinity College, University of
Toronto, 1961, he began a long and serious commitment to understanding
the causes that profoundly destroyed so much of eastern Europe’s rich culture
and heritage by the end of World War II. A Rhodes Scholar, Professor Modris
Eksteins graduated from Oxford University with a doctoral degree in History,
1970, and has taught at the University of Toronto ever since. One of his
books, Rites of Spring: The Great War and the Birth of the Modern Age,
won the Trillium Award, 1990, and has been translated into seven languages.
His most recent book, Walking Since Daybreak: A Story of Eastern Europe,
World War II, and the Heart of Our Century, is necessary reading for anyone
interested in the cultural history of the 20th century. In this view Professor
Eksteins, left, stands with Richard von Weizsäcker after the former
President, Federal Republic of Germany, was granted the degree of Doctor
of Laws, honoriscausa, by the University of Toronto. [Photo, courtesy Frost
Photography via Dr. Modris Eksteins]
