The Cirksis Family

Janis CIRKSIS was a displaced person (DP) after the Soviet union annexed Latvia and the Baltic states during WWII. This is a continuation in the series of letters that he received from his homeland, translated into English.  To see the other letters in the series click   HERE . For more information on Latvian translations please see the  Latvian Translations  page. This is the 16th Letter in the series.  It is worth noting that in 1949 Kate still believes that Peteris CIRKSIS may still return home. It is a puzzle I am yet ot solve: Where and when did Janis find out his brother's death? I never asked him for any  details  about it. All I was ever told was that Peteris was shot by the Nazis. I had always assumed either he or a family member witnessed this event but it seems not... Nica, 2.2.49 “Let the storm rage, let the north wind howl, Only upwards, upwards will go my road!” Sincere greetings to you, dear brother far away! ...

Mirdzot šķēpiem - Gleaming Spears In this series, I have been posting pages from a hand written song book left to me by my father.  The book is titled  Bakset of Songs: Let our Songs Ring out,  Brussels Prisoner-of-War Camp  December 1945 .  It is also labeled with my father's initials J Č. Click on the following link :  Basket of Songs  to view the rest of the series. Ilze, who has been doing an incredible job of translating the  Letters from Latvia  series has been kind enough to provide a translation of the song titles and a summary of the themes involved. T he songs individually over the coming weeks and where I can, I will link to a performance of the melody. At this time, I won't be posting full translations for most of these songs -the Leters from Lativa series will be taking priority. Song 4 in the book is titled:  Mirdzot šķēpiem  - Gleaming Spears .  Latvian Riflemen enter a town, the girls’ eyes gleam, next...

Janis CIRKSIS was a displaced person (DP) after the Soviet union annexed Latvia and the Baltic states during WWII. This is a continuation in the series of letters that he received from his homeland, translated into English.  To see the other letters in the series click   HERE . For more information on Latvian translations please see the  Latvian Translations  page. The 12th instalment of the Letters from Latvia series is a little soapy. It deals mostly with Janis' breakup with Vera (the girl at home) and his decision to marry Lidija. This appears to be a little less scandalous now that Janis has apparently explained the circumstances of their breakup.  The themes to the letter are interesting but even more interesting to me is the subtext. If we look at this letter, and the other letters more broadly we may notice that Katrine's language is deeply philosophical and somewhat poetic. I can't help but think that...

Laša kundze - Mrs Salmon In this series, I have been posting pages from a hand written song book left to me by my father.  The book is titled  Bakset of Songs: Let our Songs Ring out,  Brussels Prisoner-of-War Camp  December 1945 .  It is also labeled with my father's initials J Č. Click on the following link :  Basket of Songs  to view the rest of the series. Ilze, who has been doing an incredible job of translating the  Letters from Latvia  series has been kind enough to provide a translation of the song titles and a summary of the themes inv olved. T he songs individually over the coming weeks and where I can, I will link to a performance of the melody. At this time, I won't be posting full translations for most of these songs -the Leters from Lativa series will be taking priority. Song 3 in the book is titled: Laša kundze -Mrs Salmon. It is a humorous song. Great excitement in the deep because the eel is going to marry the salm...

Neskumsti meitene - Don't be sad, girl. In this series, I have been posting pages from a hand written song book left to me by my father.  The book is titled Bakset of Songs: Let our Songs Ring out,  Brussels Prisoner-of-War Camp  December 1945 . It is also labeled with my father's initials J Č. Click on the following link : Basket of Songs to view the rest of the series. Ilze, who has been doing an incredible job of translating the  Letters from Latvia  series has been kind enough to provide a translation of the song titles and a summary of the themes inv olved. T he songs individually over the coming weeks and where I can, I will link to a performance of the melody. At this time, I won't be posting full translations for most of these songs -the Leters from Lativa series will be taking priority. Song 2 in the book is titled: Neskumsti meitene - Don't be sad, girl. Don’t be sad, girl, that I have to go away. Remember our times together. If you ar...

Janis CIRKSIS was a displaced person (DP) after the Soviet union annexed Latvia and the Baltic states during WWII. This is a continuation in the series of letters that he received from his homeland, translated into English.  To see the other letters in the series click   HERE . For more information on Latvian translations please see the  Latvian Translations  page. Just a quick post today to keep the letters coming. Again, in this letter are many names of the people who lived near my grandparent's farm in Latvia at the time. It could prove useful to others searching for  their  family origins.  Of particular note to me personally, is the mention of Peteris CIRKSIS by my grandmother Katrine CIRKSIS (she shared her name with her daughter, Janis' sister). It is difficult to tell at this point if she has been informed of Peteris' fate however it appears that there is still hope that he is still alive. She also mentions a lighthouse which may turn out t...

Peteris Čirksis as a young man As some of you will know, for about a year now I have been trying to discover what happened to my lost uncle Peteris Čirkšis. As with many things in my family history, I neglected to ask questions of my family members while I had to opportunity. Perhaps I was too young to care about history, perhaps like most young people, I thought I knew everything already. But also I think I was probably too young to know what questions to ask. So what do I know about Peteris? I know he was the son of a farmer who was able to acquire a small patch of land after the Latvian war of independence.  He was born in 1922 in Nīca near Liepājas, Latvia and died in 1941 at the hands of the NAZIs. These are the facts. But who was he really? The only account I have of Peteris' life comes from what I remember my father telling me about him. But memory is a fragile thing, second hand memory is even worse. As a researcher what I want is confirmed and verified fact...

While I have been making regular posts on this blog thanks to the Letters from Latvia series , I have also had a few other pots on the boil. I thought that this week I would take the time to post an update on the progress of my other projects. Yesterday I finally received another letter from the ITS regarding the fate of my uncle Peteris Čirkšis. You may remember from my last post on the topic  The International Tracing Service: Following the bread crumbs  that the ITS had replie d that they  "could not investigate any details within [their] documents" and that the Latvian Red Cross might be able to help. I filled out  their   questionnaire for the Red Cross and sent it back to Germany.   For some reason, I had been thinking that I might  receive  a response from them yesterday and when I got home from work, I went straight to my desk to check for it. To my excitement, the letter was there!  Finally , I thought I will be able to answer so...

Note: This is part two of a two part series, to view the first part click HERE .  The following is from a speech which Janis CIRKSIS delivered detailing his experience as a Latvian returning home after 50 years of Soviet occupation. It was written in around 1997 so most likely a lot has changed since then. It is a deeply personal account of his experience and by no means is it intended to be indicative of a more general experience. Having said that, it does express many of the daily struggles of Latvians as they tried to reestablish their independence after 50 years of occupation. The original document is written in a script font and thus I have had to transcribe it manually.  In order to publish something this week, I have decided to break it (arbitrarily) into 2 halves. As per usual, I would love to hear from you. In particular  How do you think life in Latvia has changed since 1997? Life after 50 years in Latvia: Part 2 One of my younger day lady friends, a r...

Janis CIRKSIS was a displaced person (DP) after the Soviet union annexed Latvia and the Baltic states during WWII. This is a continuation in the series of letters that he received from his homeland, translated into English. To see the other letters in the series click   HERE One obvious problem with this series of translations is that we only get half of the story - because I don't have a copy of the letters that Janis sent to Latvia. Perhaps they are out there somewhere but unless someone comes forward with them, I will have to speculate as their content. It appears that Janis left a girl behind. We often hear of soldiers getting a 'dear john' letter in which their sweetheart has found another man. In this case John (Janis in Latvian) has written to tell his family to tell them he has married while abroad - leaving an awkward situation at home, with his girlfriend still waiting for him. On the bottom of this letter Janis' mother writes a short note, it is quite app...

Just a quick post today. One of the Latvian genealogy blogs that I follow has launched a competition! If you would like to win a 2013 calendar from the "Latvians Abroad - Museum and Research Centre" you can find details on   Discovering Latvian Roots . The competition requires you to "describe something passed down to you by your Latvian ancestors - be it a physical object, a song, a recipe, a photograph – that makes you feel connected to your Latvian heritage, and why". While they are probably not the oldest things passed down to me, I recalled two carved wooden plates that have been in our family since before I was born. I don't know exactly where they came from, they may have been carved in Australia for all I know but there is something about them that makes me think they are Latvian in style at the very least. You be the judge: One of two carved wooden plates past down to me from my father. I don't know who carved them, when or where. I'm...