5 | Oral History in Latvia

Belonging and Separation in Roma, Russian and Latvian Life Stories (LV)

Sun, 06 Aug 2017 23:20:55 +0300

An overarching and connecting theme emerging from our interviews relates to differences in connections to the past and future: in other words, whether life stories are backward looking or forward looking. Generalisations are always fragile, but it seems that the life histories of Latvians tend to be anchored in the past whereas the life histories of Russians reach out to the future. Just as the future of Soviet society was constructed around projected plans, so too, individual lives are articulated in terms of future-oriented goals.

We all are the children of our time: Russian life stories in Latvia (LV/RUS)

Mon, 08 Aug 2016 18:32:14 +0300

The Russian community in Latvia has a long history, and it has become rooted in Latvian culture and language. However, due to conflicting politics of memory, relationships between the two communities are ambiguous. Life stories help to overcome the boundaries between one ethnic group and another.

Baltic refugees in Gotland in photographs by David Holmert, 1944-1945 (LV/ENG)

Fri, 21 Aug 2015 00:00:00 +0000

The bloodiest war ever witnessed in the history of the world ended in Europe more than 70 years ago. This war left an impression on the memory of every nation that now forms a part of the collective memory of Europe. For the Baltic countries, this war meant lost nationhood, occupation, a reign of terror and the forceful inclusion of inhabitants in Soviet and Nazi military formations. The national memory also preserves accounts of refugees who were forced to leave Latvia in the final stages of the war. Between 1943 and 1946 the Baltic Sea was braved illegally by some eleven thousand refugees from the Baltic countries – mainly Estonia and Latvia – who landed on the island of Gotland, a county of Sweden.

Memories of these events persist in the life stories of the Baltic peoples as well as the inhabitants of Gotland, where the occasional plaque or signpost still exists as a reminder of the past. Bridging the gap of time, the scenes captured by the camera of David Holmert, a photographer from Gotland, remain unchanged through the ages. This album is dedicated to the memory of Holmert, through whose camera lens visual testimony of the dramatic events of the past is handed down to us. We have supplemented the collection of photographs with fragments of life stories selected by the Latvian Oral History researchers, thereby providing further insight into those events from a contemporaneous individual standpoint.

The editorial committee of this album wishes to express its deepest gratitude to the family of David Holmert, in particular to Ellen Holmert, who has made available her father-in-law’s photographs to Latvian scholars for publication. The inhabitants of Gotland and Sweden have earned our gratitude and respect for granting asylum to the refugees from the east coast of the Baltic Sea, thus writing a prominent page on humanitarianism not only in the history book of the Baltic States, but also that of the collective history of Europe.

Guidelines for interviewing and writing of memories (LV)

Tue, 09 Sep 2014 15:05:04 +0300

Oral History: Dialogue With Society (LV/ENG)

Fri, 09 Aug 2013 15:40:09 +0300

Life Story and Self-Awareness: Oral History in Latvia (LV)

Wed, 08 Aug 2012 18:32:14 +0300

Oral History: Migration and Local Identities (ENG)

Wed, 31 Aug 2011 00:11:16 +0300

Migration—whether collective, individual, voluntary, or involuntary—has been a significant aspect of the Latvian historical expe- rience and of historical experience worldwide. Migration creates a watershed between life as hitherto lived and the new life. Migration affects tradition, life-style, and identities and sets up a mutual exchange in customs and behaviour between the host community and the immigrants. The identity of the new country shapes the new immigrants even as they shape the new country.

The conference and this online proceedings have been dedicated in memory of Prof. Augusts Milts (1928–2008), the scientific director of the National Oral History Project and an important figure in the development of Latvian oral history research.

Augusts Milts, a philosopher and professor of ethics, was invited to organize the People’s Archive (Cilvēkarhīvs) memoirs collection at the Latvian Culture Foundation (Latvijas Kultūras fonds) at the end of the 1980s. When Latvia regained its independence, the People’s Archive was transferred to the National Oral History project at the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology. The project now contains more than 3000 life stories.

Migration as a Catalyst for Values

Baiba Bela.
Exile as a Catalyst for Values 8
Aija Lulle.
Home Redefined: Latvians in Guernsey 23
Inta Gale-Carpenter.
Staged History in a Siberian Village 34

Migration and Narration

Maija Hinkle.
Creating a Collective Latvian-American Narrative from Group and Individual Life Story Interviews 55
Tiiu Jaago.
Migration: Stereotypes and Experience from a Folkloristic Viewpoint 69
Ilze Akerberga.
Interpreting the Past in Two Life Story Documentaries: Dzīvesstāsts in Latvia and Museu da Pessoa in Brazil 82
Anu Korb.
The Adaptation of Russian-Born Estonians and the Sharing of Remigration Stories 90
Amy Niang.
Narrating Identity: Oral Tradition between Master Accountand Marginal Histories 105

Migration and Identity

Arta Ankrava.
Negotiation of Latvian Identity in London’s Latvian Community 120
Aivar Jürgenson.
Everlasting Desire for the Center of the World: The Creation of Homeland. An Example of Siberian Estonians 138
Marta Kurkowska-Budzan.
“From Wilderness to Poland”—the Fates and Identity of Kurpie Migrants in Podlasie. Case Study: Przytuły-Las 150
Mara Zirnite.
Curonian Language in Sweden: Saved by Migration 160

Narrating Migration in Nordic Countries

Edmunds Supulis.
The Exile Community as a Social Movement: LatviansinSweden 173
Rutt Hinrikus.
Two Homelands 181
Outi Fingerroos, Riina Haanpää.
Strangers from the East— Narratives of Karelian Exiles and Re-immigrants from Russia Regarding Their Integration in Finland 193

Migration and Totalitarian Regime

Ieva Garda Rozenberga.
Migration and the Totalitarian Regime: Discourse of the Soviet Totalitarian System in Life-StoriesofLatviansinSweden 213
Maruta Pranka.
Migration as Loss of Home 222
Anu Printsmann.
Moral Geography and Life Stories: Estonian “Siberia”inKohtla-Järve 232

ISBN 978-9984-624-79-2

Livonians in Northern Kurzeme (LV)

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 01:00:22 +0300

We didn’t go to Sweden to become Swedes (LV)

Fri, 06 Aug 2010 23:07:00 +0300

Memories of a war boy (LV)

Sat, 01 Sep 2007 00:00:00 +0000

At the very end of Second World War, four thousand Latvian citizens born in 1927 were mobilized as air defense auxiliaries in German army, and 560 born in 1928 applied for themselves. These boys were motivated not only by the terror of the soviet occupation in 1940/1941, but also by the romance and the desire for adventure. Most of the boys of that time had only seen the immediate area. It is hard to determine how many of them survived. When the former air defense auxiliaries from all over the world gathered in Riga in 1994, there were five hundred of them.

Laimonis Upmalis’ experience in one year is enough for a lifetime: on September 19, 1944, a night of horror is experienced in Riga, when 41 dead comrades has to be buried after the Russian bombing. On the way from Riga to Liepaja - next victims. A game of fate is a boat trip from Liepaja to Germany. Then training in Eger (now the Czech city of Cheb) and Austria near the Alps, later - living close to frontline in the Ruhr area by Lake Möhnesee. A day without the danger of alarm and bombing in the Ruhr area could be considered a gift from God.

Life Stories: History, Culture, Society (LV)

Tue, 21 Aug 2007 00:00:00 +0000

Empathy and Healing: Essays in Medical and Narrative Anthropology (ENG)

Sun, 01 Apr 2007 00:00:00 +0000

Oral History Sources of Latvia: History, Culture, Society Through Life Stories (ENG)

Tue, 17 Aug 2004 01:09:58 +0300

I. Life Stories from Latvia

Māra Zirnīte.
A selection of oral history sources for the international conference “The Role of Oral History in Shaping Cultural and Personal Identity” 5

Nicole Nau.
Selected fragments of Latvian life stories 9 Marija Lûse (Arch. No. NMV 1572), prepared for publication by Ieva Garda 31 Alma Dreimane (Arch. No. NMV 374), prepared for publication by Baiba Bela-Krûmiòa 40

Pēteris Ančupāns (Arch. No. NMV 556),
prepared for publication by Māra Zirnīte 61

Ausma Vilma Arāja (Arch. No. NMV 1055),
prepared for publication by Māra Zirnīte 64

Austra Lāce (Arch. No. NMV 1099),
prepared for publication by Māra Zirnīte 79

Valērija Sieceniece (Arch. No. NMV 74),
prepared for publication by Māra Zirnīte and Ieva Garda 87

II. Life Stories from the USA

Maija Hinkle.
American Latvian Association’s oral history project “Exile Life Narratives” 104

Māra Lipace (Arch. No. NMV 786),
prepared for publication by Maija Hinkle 109

Irēne Celtniece (Arch. No. NMV 820),
prepared for publication by Maija Hinkle 114

Kļaviņu Juris (Arch. No. NMV 787),
prepared for publication by Maija Hinkle 127

Oskars Hercs(Arch. No. NMV 855),
prepared for publication by Maija Hinkle 142

Elizar Rabinovich (Arch. No. NMV 803),
prepared for publication by Maija Hinkle 149

Kārlis Íuzulis (Arch. No. NMV 815),
prepared for publication by Maija Hinkle 156

Baiba Dumpe (Arch. No. NMV 863),
prepared for publication by Biruta Abuls 187

III. Outline of Latvian History in the 20^th Century

Māra Lazda.
Latvia and its people in the 20th century 207

ISBN 9984-9599-2-9

The life story of a submarine captain (LV)

Sat, 17 Aug 2002 01:14:16 +0300

Mirror: Oral History in Latvia (LV)

Fri, 17 Aug 2001 01:07:05 +0300

The Testimony of Lives: Narrative and Memory in Post-Soviet Latvia (ENG)

Wed, 01 Apr 1998 00:00:00 +0000

5 | Oral History in Latvia

Belonging and Separation in Roma, Russian and Latvian Life Stories (LV)

We all are the children of our time: Russian life stories in Latvia (LV/RUS)

Baltic refugees in Gotland in photographs by David Holmert, 1944-1945 (LV/ENG)

Guidelines for interviewing and writing of memories (LV)

Oral History: Dialogue With Society (LV/ENG)

Life Story and Self-Awareness: Oral History in Latvia (LV)

Oral History: Migration and Local Identities (ENG)

Contents

Migration as a Catalyst for Values

Migration and Narration

Migration and Identity

Narrating Migration in Nordic Countries

Migration and Totalitarian Regime

Livonians in Northern Kurzeme (LV)

We didn’t go to Sweden to become Swedes (LV)

Memories of a war boy (LV)

Life Stories: History, Culture, Society (LV)

Empathy and Healing: Essays in Medical and Narrative Anthropology (ENG)

Oral History Sources of Latvia: History, Culture, Society Through Life Stories (ENG)

Contents

I. Life Stories from Latvia

II. Life Stories from the USA

III. Outline of Latvian History in the 20^th Century

The life story of a submarine captain (LV)

Mirror: Oral History in Latvia (LV)

The Testimony of Lives: Narrative and Memory in Post-Soviet Latvia (ENG)

5 | Oral History in Latvia

Belonging and Separation in Roma, Russian and Latvian Life Stories (LV)

We all are the children of our time: Russian life stories in Latvia (LV/RUS)

Baltic refugees in Gotland in photographs by David Holmert, 1944-1945 (LV/ENG)

Guidelines for interviewing and writing of memories (LV)

Oral History: Dialogue With Society (LV/ENG)

Life Story and Self-Awareness: Oral History in Latvia (LV)

Oral History: Migration and Local Identities (ENG)

Contents

Migration as a Catalyst for Values

Migration and Narration

Migration and Identity

Narrating Migration in Nordic Countries

Migration and Totalitarian Regime

Livonians in Northern Kurzeme (LV)

We didn’t go to Sweden to become Swedes (LV)

Memories of a war boy (LV)

Life Stories: History, Culture, Society (LV)

Empathy and Healing: Essays in Medical and Narrative Anthropology (ENG)

Oral History Sources of Latvia: History, Culture, Society Through Life Stories (ENG)

Contents

I. Life Stories from Latvia

II. Life Stories from the USA

III. Outline of Latvian History in the 20th Century

The life story of a submarine captain (LV)

Mirror: Oral History in Latvia (LV)

The Testimony of Lives: Narrative and Memory in Post-Soviet Latvia (ENG)

III. Outline of Latvian History in the 20^th Century