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Traces of History
Latvia
Ginta Berzina
Born 1993 in Bauska, Latvia
High-school student (Riga French Lycee)
“The Investment of Three Brothers in Latvian Leather, Last and Footwear Industry” (2010)
Peteris, Davids and Janis Erins were three brothers that owned each leather and shoe enterprises in the first half of the 20th century in Latvia. In fact they were one of the most visible entrepreneurs of middle sized companies in Latvia. Their businesses started having problems around the start of the world economic crisis in 1929. Janis ended his business around 1929/30 and committed suicide. Davids gave up his business in 1931 when his factory burned down. Only Peteris managed to survive somehow only to give up in 1940 when Latvia became part of the Soviet Union. Although their relatives got back some parts of the propriety after 1990, the business couldn’t be put back on tracks again. The research on this project has been conducted by one of the great granddaughters of Davids Erins in memory of the achievements of these three brothers for Latvian economy.
Liva Dzene
Born 1988 in Rezekne, Latvia
High school student (French High school Riga)
"The Brother Cemetery of Riga through the ages" (2006)
The project focuses on the so-called "Brother Cemetery," a central military graveyard in Riga that also serves as a Latvian national symbol. The cemetery is the final resting place of Latvian soldiers killed in World War I, the Latvian war of independence and World War II.
In her work, the student examines the national symbolism of the cemetery's gravestones and monuments and also shows how the cemetery - despite the dominance of Latvian national symbolism - was allocated a special meaning by the onetime Soviet occupiers. While researching source material (newspapers, archive documents), the author very clearly recognised the ideological manipulations of the respective political regimes in Latvia. She analyses how both the Latvian and the Soviet regimes used the cemetery and its symbolism for their respective ideological purposes. Under both regimes, the graveyard was a place of remembrance, but in each case those dead who were considered "ideologically unsuitable" were suppressed from official memory. The Latvian regime used memorial days to honour those who lost their lives in the Latvian wars of independence, while the Soviets focused on those who fell in the "Great Patriotic War".
Liva Dzene won a prize for her work in the Latvian National History Competition of 2006, whose subject was: "The Monument."
Anete Jekabsone
Born 1986 in Riga
Student (International Relations, RSU-Riga)
"Roma in Latvia - history, culture and problems in daily life" (2005)
This project focuses on Roma in Latvia, who live apart from the dominant society. According to the author, ignorance about the daily life and customs of the Roma has led to an abundance of prejudice and stereotypes about them in Latvia. The author hoped to counter those prejudices and general ignorance. In her contribution, Anete Jekabsone compared the daily life of Roma in Latvia in the 1930s and today. Her work highlights the economic and social problems of the Roma then and now, and attempts to develop solutions for the future.
With her project, Anete Jekabsone won third prize in the Latvian National History Competition of 2005: "Neighbours."
Natalija Pantelejeva
Born 1987 in Riga, Latvia
Student (Banking Institution of Higher Education, bachelor programme "Finances")
„The historical development of Maskavas forshtate - a suburb of Riga (1812-1940)" (2006)
Natalija Pantelejeva, former participant in EUSTORY´s Summer Academy "Looking back into the Present: Conflicts in the European Past and their Echoes in the Present" in Berlin 2006, researched about Maskavas forshtate, an old suburb of Riga, first mentioned in documents of the late 13th century.
The author analysed the historical development, the reshaped infrastructure and cultural changes in that certain area, e.g. by using historical maps. She further focused on the suburb's various inhabitants, originating from different countries such as Lithuania, Belarus, Russia, Poland, Ukraine and Germany - she examined their lifestyle, culture, religions and ethnical individualities which mutually formed the unique multicultural character of the community. One of the author's findings is the vast impact of a politic of "Russification", starting in the middle of the 19th century, on the cultural life of Maskavas forshtate.
The young researcher concentrated in her work supplementary on issues in preserving Maskavas forshtate as well as possibilities and projects connected with the protection and future development of the suburb. The author claimed that instead of neglecting the old district, it should be considerer rather a valuable and enriching part of Riga's history.
Natalija Pantelejeva won the second price of the national history competition "History around us" organized by the Latvian History Teachers´ Association in 2006.
