Peter Baldwin has never been content to remain in the classroom. A research professor of history at UCLA for twenty-five years, Baldwin has balanced his time as an academic with a prolific career as an author and philanthropist. From his first book, The Politics of Social Solidarity: Class Bases of the European Welfare State, 1875–1975 (1990), to his more recent works Fighting the First Wave: Why the Coronavirus Was Tackled So Differently Across the Globe (2021) and Athena Unbound: Why and How Scholarly Knowledge Should Be Free for All (2023), Baldwin has studied connections—tracing how geopolitical forces and the shifting tectonics of power have been influenced by social movements, public health and epidemics, and proprietary knowledge.
Throughout his three decades in the classroom, Baldwin has seen his students’ interest in world history shift away from Europe to new global powers such as China and Latin America, and back again to Eastern Europe due to the conflict between Russia and the Ukraine. Throughout his career, he’s tailored his lectures and insights to the present moment: “I’ve always tried to do something historical that illuminated current interests.”
His curiosity for untold histories is shared by the Wende, which is not an accident. The museum’s founder, Justin Jampol, first met Baldwin at UCLA when he was an eighteen-year-old undergraduate. After immersing himself in one of the professor’s seminar courses, the two stayed in touch, with Jampol’s former teacher providing key guidance to the young historian-in-training.
While completing his graduate degree at Oxford, Jampol was already assembling what would become the Wende’s collection and archiving the material culture of the former East Germany, everyday items that were rapidly disappearing after reunification with the West. The only problem? As the collection grew in richness and depth, it was taking up too much space—literally. After filling up innumerable closets at Oxford and several storage units, Jampol needed to create a better solution for these items, one that would allow them to be utilized by researchers and the public.
The Wende was borne out of necessity, one inspired by Baldwin’s dedication to archives and accessibility. “His commitment to and use of archives is legendary,” Jampol reflects. “Peter understands the impact of original and primary sources of information. He knows they are the building blocks of history.” After months of fruitless efforts to secure funding for his growing collection, Jampol contacted his former professor for advice. Baldwin saw the value of this unusual collection, and to Jampol’s surprise provided the Wende with its first donation. “Nobody had helped out at all,” the Wende’s founder remembers, “And this was the sign from the universe. If Peter thought this was possible, I did too. It changed my life.”
That initial personal contribution to keep the collection together has grown over the years into a permanent endowment from the Arcadia Fund, one that is now being matched by other likeminded donors. When reflecting on his role in the museum’s history, Baldwin’s modestly defers all credit to his former student. But the historian proudly reflects: “The Wende is a remarkable institution. It’s remained one of our favorite projects.” To Jampol, Baldwin remains both an inspiration driving the spirit of the museum’s programming and collection practices, as well as a foundational part of its own history. “Peter is a historian’s historian,” reflects Jampol, “It has always been about the work, and ensuring that future generations have the benefit of the groundwork he has laid. In part of our commitment as historians to document the story of ‘what happened,’ I in turn wanted to make clear the vital role he played in the Wende’s mission and future.”
Baldwin and his wife, Lisbet Rausing, a natural science historian, remain committed to preserving endangered culture and fostering open access through the Arcadia Fund, a charity organization they co-founded in 2001. To honor his dedication to accessible knowledge and culture and his invaluable role in shaping the Wende, in 2023 the museum’s board of trustees created the Peter Baldwin UCLA History Fellowship, giving doctoral students the opportunity to combine historical methodologies with on-the-job training in archives, collections, digitization, and public programming. “This fellowship is a full-circle moment for us,” says Jampol. “The museum was built on the foundation that Peter laid. Having an endowment in his name will allow the beauty of the role he’s played in our lives to continue through others in our field.”