Preili Museum of History and Applied Arts (Latvia), Grodno State Museum of the History of Religion (Belarus) and Panevezys Local Lore Museum (Lithuania) joint virtual exhibition – migration. Preili Museum of History and Applied Arts  The collection of the Preili Museum of History and Applied Arts reflects the theme of migration both directly and indirectly, as not only people have migrated and moved, but also objects, technologies and new ideas. Objects obtained during archaeological excavations from prehistory confirm the connections of Latgale residents with other territories, for example, the cowrie shells in the museum collection, which were obtained during the excavations in the 11th century Bučki burial ground, have travelled here from the distant Indian Ocean coast. People of different nationalities who settled here during the last centuries have made a great contribution to the development of Preili with their traditions and culture, especially Old Believers and Jews. But mostly in the museum collection the migration of people, objects and ideas which took place in the end of the 19th century and during the 20th century is reflected. For many, it has been voluntary – due to different circumstances and reasons people have decided to leave their homes in search of work, education and even adventure, some of them witnessing and participating in important world events, as well as accepting and adapting new ideas and cultures from elsewhere. However, the middle of the 20th century is also marked by forced migration and its tragic consequences – especially the deportations in 1941 and 1949 by the Soviet occupation authorities.  A nurse Sholastika Vailaine and Tekla Drukalska in St.Petersburg in 1911. When Latvian territory was in the Russian Empire, Latgale was part of the Vitebsk gubernia, and with the construction of the St. Petersburg-Warsaw railway, many Latgalians went to work in the country’s capital, St. Petersburg, where there was always a demand for factory workers, domestic workers and other professionals. Here, Latgalians could also get a good education. Priests, engineers, teachers, doctors, students, workers, officers – this was the Latgalian intelligentsia in St. Petersburg at the beginning of the 20th century. The Latgalian intelligentsia of St. Petersburg began to shape its cultural life by publishing newspapers and books in the Latgalian language. The rise of Latgale culture also began here – the so-called Latgale national awakening. The Latgalian Musical Society had become an important centre of the Latgalian awakening movement in St. Petersburg, while the first Latgalian newspaper “Gaisma” played an important role in disseminating ideas. Here worked members of the national movement Francis Trasuns, Francis Kemps, Nikodems Rancāns and others. The photo shows the nurse Sholastika Valaine (born in Daugavpils district Kapini parish Madelāni village in 1897) with Tekla Drukaļska during work time in St.Petersburg. Unlike Tekla, Sholastika did not return to Latvia, but connected her later life with St. Petersburg (Leningrad from 1924 to 1991) and medicine – in 1930 she graduated from the Leningrad State Institute of Medical Sciences. As the captain of the medical service and the head of the laboratory of Evacuation Hospital no. 56 she has received the Order of the Red Star and the medal “За оборону Ленинграда” for her work during the Leningrad blockade. Both husband and son died in the war. Therefore, this medal went to her nephew Bronislavs Drukaļskis in Aglona Parish, who donated it together with photographs of S. Valaine to the Preili Museum of History and Applied Arts. A postcard sent by Spanish civil war witness Peteris Aleksandrovics on 25 January 1939 from Falmouth to his sister in Latvia The seemingly distant events of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) are also echoed in the collection of the Preiļi Museum, specifically in 5 postcards sent by Pēteris Aleksandrovičs in the period from 1937 to 1939 to his sister Monika who lived in Livani. According to historians, about 150-200 Latvian citizens took part in the Spanish Civil War. In 1937 February, Latvia declared its neutrality in this conflict, and the involvement of its citizens in this conflict was illegal, so supporters and volunteers had to look for alternative ways to get to the Pyrenees. Little is known about Peteris Aleksandrovičs, mostly only fragmentary and indirect information, which indicates his possible involvement in the events of the Spanish civil war and open sympathy for the Republican side. It is believed that Aleksandrovičs was a sailor and worked on one of the merchant ships, because in the period from 1935 to 1947 he sent letters to his sister from various European port cities – Blyth, Falmouth, Hull in Great Britain, Antwerp (Netherlands), Rouen (France), Gibraltar and even from the Honningsvåg in Norway beyond the Arctic Circle. In a letter sent from Rouen and dated 12 October 1937 Aleksandrovičs writes that he will go to Spain tomorrow and ask his sister to pray for his wandering soul. In a letter sent from Gibraltar at the end of 1938, he writes about an injury on his way to Valencia, but on January 1939 describes the bombing of the port of Valencia, which he eyewitnessed unhurt. In February 1939, Aleksandrovičs left Spain and went to work in Italy. The last surviving letter sent by Aleksandrovich to his sister Monica comes from New York on 1947 February 23. There is no information of his further fate. Graphics by Aleksandrs Karpovs “Black Hole, Deportations – 14 June 1941 – History Accuses” 1993, paper, etching. The middle of the 20th century – the Second World War and the subsequent Soviet occupation – was marked by drastic changes in the composition of the Latvian population caused also by the migration. It was influenced by the forced deportations to Siberia by the Soviet authorities in 1941 (more than 15 400 people from Latvia were deported) and in 1949 (more than 42 000 Latvians), as well as emigration to the West – by the beginning of the war ~ 50,000 Baltic Germans had left Latvia, but in the last year of the Second World War (1944–1945) when the Eastern Front entered the territory … Continue reading Virtual exibition “Migration”