From evacuated child to global historian: Marjatta Hietala in With Karelian Perseverance

Marjatta Hietala's memoir, With Karelian Perseverance, was published in Finland in 2026 and follows her journey from the daughter of Karelian evacuees to a leading historian and former president of the International Committee of Historical Sciences.

Born in 1943, she recalls a childhood in Kymenlaakso and a career that took her to the universities of Helsinki, Joensuu and Tampere, along with research posts in Berlin, London, Minnesota, New York and Prague. The book maps decades of academic work and travel, naming concrete institutions and moments that shaped her trajectory.

Her research has ranged from nationalism and urbanization to studies of racial hygiene and innovation. The memoir shows how these interests developed across different appointments and notes that a varied publication record sometimes drew criticism rather than praise.

Hietala does not shy away from the gendered barriers she faced. She describes professorship contests as particularly taxing: "Especially heavy have been competitions for professorships, where the candidate is at the mercy of the assessors. Often the evaluator has not been from the candidate's field. If a candidate's output is diverse, they are said to be 'spreading themselves too thin,' as happened in my case." Evaluators from outside a candidate's field, she adds, could make a diverse record a liability.

She also writes about balancing an international career with family life and credits close relationships for support. "My life has been a balance between my scientific career and family. Family has offered love and a breather amid the rush. I have loved my work as a researcher and supervisor," she says.

Gaudeamus lists With Karelian Perseverance for 2026; more details and the table of contents are available on the publisher's website.