Latvijas kultūrtelpa (1930–1939) vācbaltiešu pēcteču atmiņās

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to reveal the Latvian cultural space of the 1930s, how it appears in present-day reminiscences of Baltic Germans, people with German heritage residing in Latvia, or their descendants. The data consists of extended interviews recorded as a part of the Latvian Academy of Culture project “Latvija – Heimatland” (2017–2019). One of the project objectives is to register and explore the reminiscences of this social group. The article analyses the accounts of 22 people residing in Latvia and 14 in Germany. These are accounts of events experienced either by themselves or their family members. It covers a time when the community of Latvians and Germans residing in Latvia was polarised by national interests, and the decade ended with Baltic Germans emigrating, followed by the Soviet occupation of Latvia. The Latvian cultural space of the 1930s is indirectly described by quotes from the respondents that relate to the resettlement in 1939 (Umsiedlung in German). The reminiscences illuminate cultural space components such as social practices, symbols, languages, and their use, traditions, and cuisine. The individual memories of Baltic Germans and their descendants significantly contribute to how the Latvian cultural space of the 1930s is already seen through collective memory, which includes monuments, written work, and art. They outline the lifestyle of this specific minority group, diversity of cultures, and interaction between them in Latvia, as well as a theme of Latvia as the lost motherland.