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 20th Letter in the series. A sincere greeting from the shores of the Amber Sea!!! Dear Janis, I want to write a few lines to you today and also send best wishes for your namesday. I think you will receive them in time. Here in your Homeland the spring is really starting now, which as you will remember, is late this year and made us wait quite long for its splendour and warmth. Only this morning can you feel that the buds on the cherry trees are opening, a few petals are showing. Last week the weather warmed up, but is still not really summery. You still can’t sunbathe or swim. I did start going barefoot yesterday tho...

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 19th Letter in the series.  You might notice a little paranoia in this letter - not unfounded I might add. You will note a lack of full names. In this letter, Kate refers to "Uncle P". I believe this refers to Peteris PIRTNIEKS, Janis's uncle who was deported to Siberia - see the post  Postcards from Sibīrija .  Nica, 30.4 (1955) Sincere and loving greetings to you, dear brother, from - me, mum and dad!!! It’s a week now since mum greeted me on my arrival home from work with the words that today is again a very happy day, we have received a letter f...

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. A blanket of snow covers the Čirkšis family farm. Christmas time in Latvia, 1947: The tree decorated is decorated on Christmas eve with candles, the  temperature  is -15 degrees, the church bells are ringing and snow blankets cover the land.  Christmas time in Australia 2013: Christmas decorations are on sale in supermarkets starting in October already! No one would dream of attaching a candle to tree outside let alone inside your house and Christmas is  characterised  by 30 degree +  temperatures  and total  fire bans. Despite all of the d...

This will just be a quick post to highlight a website that I found particularly interesting: The Center for Baltic Heritage I'm not sure why but there seems to be two web addresses for this site so I will link the other one as well...   The Center for Baltic Heritage On their about page they say they stared in 2000 after finding an alarming " lack of material and information" about the soviet occupation of the Baltic states. They state that nearly a decade later "   Individuals, organizations, and regimes continue to perpetuate misinformation rooted in Nazi and Soviet propaganda whether through ignorance or to serve their own purposes ." This is  something  that I have personally experienced while trying to find information on Latvia during WWII. A youtube search of "Latvia WW2" is instructive. One of the links is from a Russian (who will remain nameless so as not to promote links to  misinformation ) is so far removed from the fact...

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...

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 By Janis CIRKSIS Tonight I would like to share with you my experiences and observations about the present life in Latvia. I visited Latvia fo...