As with other years, I’m doing a commemorative post for June 14, 1941. This is the day when tens of thousands of Latvians, Estonians and Lithuanians were deported from their homelands by the Soviets to the far reaches of Siberia.
March 25: Day of Remembrance for Victims of Communist Terror
March 25 is one of several days in the Latvian calendar designated as a day of remembrance for victims of Communist terror. The others are June 14 and the first Sunday in December. As of today, I have now been
January 20: Day of the Barricades
January 20 is a day of remembrance in Latvia, for an event in more recent memory than others – in this case, the time of the barricades, and subsequently, the end of the Soviet Union. Latvia had already declared independence
June 14, 1941
My apologies – this post should have been up yesterday, but my Internet provider had an outage, so thus this post comes to you today. June 14, 1941 is a day that remains emblazoned on the Latvian psyche – this
In Loving Memory
In Loving Memory Marta Emīlija (Līcīte) Jakstāne June 26, 1911 – November 2, 2010 Marta Līcīte, c. 1946 My great aunt passed away last night. She was 99 years old. She was born on June 13 (O.S.)/June 26 (N.S.), 1911,
Latvian Cemetery Culture
The title of this post may seem a bit odd to most readers – how is there a culture revolving around cemeteries? In Latvia, cemeteries (“kapi” or “kapsētas”) are a very important part of life. Great care is taken to
Day of Remembrance – Jewish Victims of the Holocaust
This post should have been up yesterday, but I was out of town for most of the day and returned with a splitting headache, so I hope you’ll accept the post today instead. On July 4, 1941, numerous synagogues across
Day of Remembrance – Occupation Day
As mentioned in my June 14 Day of Remembrance post a few days ago, June 17 is the day that Latvia was invaded by the Soviet Union in 1940. It is an official remembrance day, and is also one that
June 14 – Day of Remembrance
Sorry things have been a bit quiet here, I’ve been busy! But in a week’s time I will be concluding my day job so that I can be on my way to Latvia for the summer, and then when I
Tombstone Tuesday – Alma Kalniņa
When the Soviets invaded Latvia during the Second World War, they deported and/or murdered thousands of people from all walks of life. One of these people was Alma Kalniņa. Her grave marker is in the town cemetery of Jēkabpils. She