Welcome
to the website dedicated to
oral history in Latvia!

We – researchers at the University of Latvia – created this site to present information about oral history research in Latvia.

Let’s introduce ourselves in a short video!

What can be found here?

Oral history in Latvia

Learn about oral history research centres

Photo and video archive

Take a look at the many events and get to know the researchers and narrators. One picture is worth a thousand words.

Learning resources

How to conduct interviews? How to process and analyse interview? We share our experience and knowledge through training materials.

News

«Is It Easy to Fit In? Challenges and Success Stories of Exiles and the New Diaspora»

At the public information event held on 26 May, researchers from the project «Navigating Post-Exile» presented updates on the project and examined issues related to the experiences, identities, and integration of the Latvian exile community and the new diaspora following the restoration of Latvia’s independence.
May 28, 2026 3 min read

Highlights from the project’s «Navigating Post-Exile» Activities in Daugavpils, Crete, and Cēsis

The first week of May was an especially busy and eventful one for the project’s researchers. They participated in international academic conferences in Daugavpils and Crete, and met with members of the public at a morning discussion event in Cēsis, where they explored topics related to exile, post-exile, identity, and experiences of return.
May 11, 2026 4 min read

Discussion «Which Way Is Return? (Post-)Exile in History, Life Stories, and Literature»

During the week in which we celebrate the Restoration of Independence of the Republic of Latvia, the Cēsis Museum, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Latvia’s Faculty of Humanities, invites everyone to a discussion afternoon exploring the experience of (post-)exile from a range of historical, personal, and literary perspectives.
May 2, 2026 2 min read

Call for Papers for the international conference «From Exile to Post-Exile: Transformations, Transitions, and the Homeland»

The conference will be held on August 27-28, 2026, at the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Latvia. The deadline for submitting proposals is May 15, 2026.
Kristīne Beķere
Last updated on Feb 28, 2025 3 min read

Discussion «Us and Them in PostExile: History, Life Stories, and Literature»

On March 5, the Kuldīga District Museum invites everyone to a discussion afternoon exploring the experiences of the Latvian exile and post-exile communities, focusing on belonging, identity, and the boundaries between «us» and «them»
Feb 26, 2026 1 min read
More Posts

Publications

Home and Sense of Belonging in the Life Stories of First and Second Generations of Latvian Exiles

In the end of Second World War many Latvians found refuge in the western countries defining themselves as an exile community. When Latvia regained its independence, the exile was officially put to an end, however, most part of exiles did not return. Hence, the question arises: how different generations of exile Latvians define their attachment to their homeland and to their host countries?
PDF

Atgriešanās zaudētajā paradīzē: trimdas (diasporas) latviešu dzimtenes apciemojumi

Returning to the lost paradise? Exile (Diaspora) Latvian homeland visits
Project Source Document DOI

Valoda un vardarbība: Franču grupa Padomju Latvijā

Šī raksta temats ir saistīts ar trīspadsmit latviešu inteliģences pārstāvju likteni – 1951. gada janvārī padomju drošības dienests viņus aizturēja, nopratināja un piesprieda dažāda ilguma soda izciešanu padomju darba nometnēs. Visi Franču grupas dalībnieki izdzīvoja un 1956. gadā atgriezās Rīgā. Šajā rakstā atstāstītie notikumi ne tikai atspoguļo pagātnes norises, bet arī retrospektīvi saturiskas pretrunas valodas lietojumā.
PDF Project

Evakuācijas politikas atspoguļojums laikrakstā «Tēvija» (1944-1945)

Raksta mērķis ir izpētīt, kā laika periodā‚ no 1944. gada vidus līdz 1945. gada aprīļa beigām laikrakstā «Tēvija» tika atspoguļota vācu …
PDF Project

20. gadsimta vēsturiskās paaudzes un to identifikācija Latvijas iedzīvotāju dzīvesstāstos

Mēģinām identificēt paaudzes, kas no mutvārdu vēstures perspektīvas ir klātesošas kā kolektīvas balsis Latvijas iedzīvotāju individuālajos dzīvesstāstos, viņu pieredzēs un vērtībās
PDF Project DOI
More Publications

In the making

Development of new publications

:books: Book «A heart without romance: the life story of Dr. Aris Lācis»

In this story, outstanding success alternates with great losses, which do not diminish the importance of Aris Lācis in the history of Latvian surgery and its recognition among colleagues in the world. Human reflection makes the medical story comprehensible to the reader. The publication is being prepared with the support of the Riga City Council (agreement No. DIKS-19-1082 of 14.05.2019).

:books: «Fearless» - a series of life stories in two books»

The heroes - Valentīne Lasmane, Pēteris Jansons, Ēriks Tomsons - contemporaries of the Latvian state, rescued the inhabitants of Latvia fleeing the second Soviet occupation at the end of the Second World War. Through this series, the past engages with the present - the life stories we read take us through 100 years of life, addressing people of all ages. The serie is prepared with the support of Latvian Foundation donors .
The manuscript of the first book «Beyond a Hundred: The Life-story of Valentine Lasmane» was read over by its author in her 102nd year of life. The book contains vivid evidence of Valentine’s last meeting with Kurelians day before their arrest, of reckless journey through Dundaga forests in search for a Jew to be transported across the sea, of a sense of eternity in the sea, of the hardness of the first years of the exile and service to Latvia from a foreign land.
In the second book in the series, «Boat Carriers», carriers of the refugee boats describe risky situations at the sea and the choice between life and death, when throwing things over board was the least loss. Ēriks Tomsons adapted to life abroad only for a short time and then returned to the already occupied Latvia, which ended with a penal labor in Siberia. However, he returned and celebrated his 100th birthday in the homeland. Pēteris Jansons, whose refugee boat crossed the Baltic Sea 28 times, lived in Gotland for the rest of his life.

Projects

Navigating Post-Exile: Transformations and Transitions in the Latvian Exile Community after 1991

The project aims to explore the «post-exile» period of the Latvian exile community formed after World War II, highlighting its …

From past to present: Migration and Integration through Life-stories’ network

The project is preparing lectures on the topical issue of migration, covering various experiences, including a comparison of former …

Critical thinking, innovation, competitiveness and globalisation

The NOH collection of life stories provides material for research on social memory as a platform for discussion on the preservation of …

Narrative perspectives on intergenerational transmission of memory

The goal of the study is to examine narrative perspectives in the intergenerational transmission of memory, at once identifying factors …

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