Wordless Wednesday – Winter Wonderland, c. 1946

My great-aunt Marta Jakstāne (born Līcīte) in a winter storm in Copenhagen, Denmark, c. 1946.

Wordless Wednesday – Fishwife Statue, Copenhagen

My grandfather Aleksandrs Francis with the Fishwife Statue in Copenhagen, Denmark, c. 1945-1948.

Fishwife Statue. Taken by me, November 2009.

Birthday Gift for Aleksandrs Francis – September 24, 1945

My grandfather Aleksandrs Francis was born on September 24th, 1920. The first twenty years of his life were, by all accounts, relatively normal for a middle-class Latvian youth growing up in the 20s and 30s. He attended an agricultural high school, followed by a degree in agronomy from the Jelgava Academy of Agriculture.

Then in 1940, [...]

Wordless Wednesday - Where is This?

Can anyone help identify the building in this photograph? I’m pretty sure it is in Denmark, since it is a photo of my grandmother from her collection of Displaced Persons camp photographs, c. 1945-1949. However, I haven’t been able to turn up any results. Also possible that it could be in northern Germany around Hamburg [...]

International Tracing Service

I first read about the International Tracing Service about a year ago when searching for more information about post-World War Two Displaced Persons Camps. According to their website, their history starts in London in 1943, as a tracing bureau for people missing due to war. After the war, they continued to work to identify and [...]

“Fearless Females” – March 13

I know this was yesterday’s blogging prompt, but I don’t have much to say in terms of my female ancestors and newsmaking, since it was my male ancestors who were the newsmakers, but I do on moments of strength.

Today’s prompt: Share a story where a female ancestor showed courage or strength in a difficult situation.

When [...]

Tombstone Tuesday - Latvian DPs, 1948

My “Tombstone Tuesday” submission isn’t the tombstone for one person, but rather, a memorial to many.

I am currently in Copenhagen, Denmark, and one of my main reasons for coming here was to visit this memorial (click on the image to view a larger one):

It is the memorial to Latvians who died in exile in Denmark [...]