It is impossible in the space of a short essay to do full justice to the life and work of John Hiden, whose untimely passing on 10 August 2012 has deprived us of one of the leading lights in Baltic Studies. Professor of European History at the University of Bradford, where he worked for more than 32 years, John was also Senior Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Glasgow from 2003. In the course of his career he forged contacts and enduring friendships across Europe, North America and beyond that are too numerous to list here. It suffices to say that nearly everyone who has worked in our field since the 1980s will have known John Hiden personally, heard him speak at conferences or familiarised themselves with at least some of his extensive published works on Baltic themes. Many more people across the world will know John as a leading authority on German history, where he authored many more works on aspects of the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich….
It was fitting that the University of Bradford and University of Glasgow, should collaborate to produce a co-edited Festschrift (Forgotten Pages in Baltic History) in honour of John’s career, which was presented at the Latvian Embassy in London in October 2011. It meant a great deal to John that his wife Juliet and children Hugo and Jessica as well as other family members were able to join him on this occasion, alongside many other friends and colleagues from down the years. He will be missed enormously by everyone who knew him and had the privilege of working with him.
David Smith University of Uppsala and University of Glasgow
(Read the full text: Hiden In Memoriam.pdf)