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 18th Letter in the series.  A long break between this letter and the last and how things have changed for both Janis and Kate and the family in Latvia! The family farm had been seized by the Soviet government and turned into a collective farm. It would take about another 50 years before the family could claim part of their hard earned land back - and give it away again to a deserving family as it turned out. Will the Cirksis family ever return to Latvia? Who can say - certainly Janis would never have guessed where life would take him! Again we are confronted with the mystery of ...

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! ...

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...

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 letter has a little bit about farm life, postage times, there is  a brief mention of Peteris - we still do not know what happened to him - and Vera - Janis' ex-girlfriend. No real  revelations  as yet but I have been reading ahead and there are some very interesting things to come! Nica, 24.10.47 We send you sincere greetings, our dear Janis, from your homeland. Dear Janis, I am writing a letter to you again, so that it may bring greetings from your Homeland to you in foreign parts, so that even for a moment it may seem closer to you and more attainable, and so that...

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...

On the 18th of July last year I sent an electronic request to the International Tracing Service (ITS). For those who don't know what the ITS does I will quote from their website: The International Tracing Service (ITS) in Bad Arolsen is a centre for documentation, information and research on Nazi persecution, forced labour and the Holocaust. It documents the fate of millions of victims whose names and memory are to be preserved.  Janis survived WWII and he told me some information about himself and his brother however there are a lot of unanswered questions - questions I can no longer ask him since he has passed away. The ITS will provide information that they have on lost or deceased relatives who were victims of the NAZI regime. I placed the request to find out more information about Janis CIRKSIS and his brother Peteris CIRKSIS. I am told that Peteris was shot by the Germans either in a case of mistaken identity or because he had been a communist - he decided to stay ...