This archival project explores the hidden role of post-World War II migrants from the Baltic states and Eastern Europe in shaping US-Soviet relations through soft power. The talk focuses primarily on cultural “proxy battles” such as international hockey tournaments and political institutions like the Captive Nations Committee, which often stood in for open military conflict and shaped public opinion in the United States.

About the speaker

Vincent Kancans

Vincent Kancans is a PhD Candidate in Germanic Studies with a minor in Moving Image Studies at the University of Minnesota. His dissertation is a media history of magnetic tape’s invention, mass adoption, decline, and recent revival. More broadly, he researches the ways that ordinary citizens use technical media to challenge state and corporate power structures. He is the recipient of the 2024-2025 American Latvian Association Fellowship.

Event details

What: Baltic Americans and US Soft Power During the Cold War
When: Monday, May 5, 2025 | 5-6 p.m. Central
Where: Online via Zoom webinar

This event is co-sponsored by the Immigration History Research Center Archives of the University of Minnesota Libraries.