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Gotland and the boat refugees through life stories Life story researchers and volunteers from Riga, Latvian University, Tartu and Stockholm universities arrived in Gotland to take part in events planned by the Nordplus network of Baltic and Nordic countries. A photo exhibition and two-day seminar devoted World War II refugees was organised in cooperation with the Gotland-Baltikum society at the Almedalens Library in Visby. The historical photographs on display showed boats full of refugees arriving on the shores of Gotland in 1944-1945, when thousands of people from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania risked their lives to flee in small boats across the sea to escape the Soviet occupation of their homelands. Seeing the 67-year-old photographs brought back memories for the people who made the journey across the sea as well as for their children, grandchildren, and peers. The researcher Baiba Bela, a docent of Latvian University, told the audience about recently published book We didnt go to Sweden to become Swedes”. About interviews conducted last year in Gotland told Maija Runcis, a docent of Stockholm University. Maarja Hollo, a doctoral candidate at the University of Tartu, introduced the audience to life story research of Estonian exiles in Sweden. Juris Zalāns, a specialist at the Latvians Abroad museum and research centre, affirmed that the archive of photos by David Holmert and other photographers from Gotland is a significant addition to the body of Latvian life stories. Pēteris Janson sailed across the Baltic Sea many times in 1944-1945 to bring refugees from Latvia to Gotland. He was forced to live in hiding in the forests of northwestern Latvia for several months until he was able to return to Gotland. There he was reunited with his girlfriend Inga, a native of Gotland who had helped many refugees and boat captains. Now their granddaughter, Marie, has made a film about her grandfather, which was shown at the recent events in Visby. Daiga Siliņa, the daughter of the boat captain Ēriks Tomsons, who now lives in Valmiera, also took part in the events. Tomsons was arrested on the coast of Latvia and sentenced to hard labour in Siberia. Only after surviving this ordeal and returning to Latvia did he establish a family. The daughter first learned of her fathers heroism when she was 23 years old. Tomsons brother also suffered at the hands of the Soviet regime. He was deemed an untrustworthy citizen and therefore unable to pursue his dream of a career in the sciences. The fates of the two brave young men – Jansons and Tomsons – differed dramatically. Jansons remained in Sweden, while Tomsons, weakened by years of hard labour, was only allowed to do menial work upon return to his homeland. A group of interviewers from Latvia and Sweden, together with the organisers of the events Margit Söderberg (director of the Gotland-Baltikum society and Ellen Holmert, visited sites in Gotland associated with the refugee boats: Fårösund, Slite, Katthammarsvik, and Herrvik. Their bus also stopped at Pēteris Jansons house on the east coast of Gotland. In a very moving yet festive moment, Jansons announced his decision to donate to the Latvians Abroad museum his military uniform and letters from his correspondence with his family in Latvia. Memories and the sharing of memories cement our understanding of history. Programme Photo-story |
