The longed for destination is America

Pēteris Plostiņš was born in 1887 in a small village near  (today Latvian Jelgava) in Courland. A qualified agriculturalist, he worked primarily as an educator at vocational schools for agriculture and also participated in promoting the cultural and social life of the region. At the end of World War II, he fled with his wife and son to the West with long stopovers in Regensburg and Kleinkötz (district of Günzburg, Bavaria), fearing repression and violence by the new Soviet government in his homeland. The last stage of his migration ended tragically: on his way to the United States, he died on the ship in 1951. He was buried at sea during the crossing.

When the Soviet army pushed the German Wehrmacht back from Eastern Europe beginning in 1943/44, there was great fear in the Baltic countries that the German occupation would be replaced by a Soviet occupation. Those who rejected communism therefore tried to flee westward. People who were not in their homeland at the end of the war were called „displaced persons“ (DPs). In western Germany, the occupying powers set up camps for DPs. For many, including Pēteris Plostiņš, these camps were a stopover on the way to emigration, for example, to America. The experience of camp life after 1945, was such that the migration paths of DPs and German refugees touched each other. However, most German refugees spent only a short time in the camp before being sent on to those counties that would take them. Pēteris Plostiņš and many other DPs from the Baltic States lived in camps in West Germany for several years. Here they developed a stable social fabric with their own educational and cultural institutions. In 27, carefully numbered notebooks, Pēteris Plostiņš recorded in daily entries everyday life in the DP camp Kleinkötz, which was located in the American occupied zone of Germany. Unlike reports written after the fact, which reflect on the migration experience after the fact, diary entries often provide a more varied insight into the author's experiences. Pēteris Plostiņš handed over the last five notebooks of his diary from the transit camp in Vegesack (a district in Bremen) to an unknown recipient in early 1951. From there they found their way into the archives of the Latvian Center Münster.2  In 2011, Plostiņš's diary was taken into account for the first time when a book was published by Andris Kadeģis, who had also lived in the Kleinkötz camp as a youth from 1945 to 1950.3

With the advance of the Red Army in 1944/45, many Latvians also fled westward, fearing violence and repression from the Soviet Union. After the end of the war, they were placed in camps in the British, French and American occupation zones in Germany as so-called „displaced persons“.

Among the destinations of the DPs mentioned in the table, the USA had the greatest appeal. For many, emigration to America meant the freedom they longed for5  and was also considered the best starting point for a later return to the Baltic States. The great distance promised safety from extradition of Balts by Soviet powers, which still seemed possible in Europe, especially after the Berlin blockade in 1948. But the route to the USA came with some obstacles, especially for the Baltic DPs. The general suspicion of collaboration of Baltic DPs with the National Socialist regime led to a critical status check of those willing to leave the country by the international refugee organization UNRRA (United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration). Plostiņš also reported on the so-called 'screenings' by U.S. authorities to persuade DPs to return. However, no one wanted to return voluntarily to a Soviet-occupied homeland.

„Šodien 4.I. š.g. mūsu nometnē skrīnē nometnes iemītniekus CIC. Skrīnē tos, kuri saņēmuši afidevītus un grib izbraukt uz U.S.A. Skrīnē diezgan pamatīgi, jo sīki prasa, ko darījis un kādās politiskās organizācijās bijis Latvijā un ko darījis Vācijā. Viens otris arī nevar būt pavisam atklāts, jo iepriekšējos skrīniņos šo to noslēpuši par savu darbību, kaut arī viņi neko noziedzīgu nav darījuši. Amerikāņu slepenai policijai nepatīk, ka viņu skrīniņa dāti nesakrīt ar iepriekšējo skrīniņu dātiem. Skrīniņu datu nesakrišana var būt par iemeslu, ka skrīnējamais netiek uz U.S.A. Skrīnējamie ir nervozi, kas pilnīgi saprotams.“ [Today on Jan. 4 [1950] of this year the CIC [Counter Intelligence Corps, the US counterintelligence service] is screening the inmates of our camp. Screened are those who have received affidavits and want to leave for the USA. The screening is quite thorough, very detailed questions are asked about what one has done, in which political organizations in Latvia one has been involved, and what one has done in Germany. Some cannot answer completely honestly, because in the earlier screenings this or that was concealed, although they had not committed any crimes. The American secret police do not like it when the results of their screenings do not match. Anomalous screening dates can be a reason for denial of emigration to the USA. Those screened are correspondingly nervous, which is completely understandable].6 

In addition, quota regulations governed the number of people leaving the country. It was hoped that relatives, friends or acquaintances already living abroad would provide the affidavit (declaration of support) necessary to leave the country for the USA.7 This was also the case for Pēteris Plostiņš, whose niece was already living in America and from whom he received a food package in the camp in 1950 with cocoa, honey, sugar, chocolate, rice and fat. If it was not possible to obtain the necessary guarantee through personal contacts and connections, they tried to obtain such a certificate from charitable organizations or churches. Despite an affidavit, hopes for a new life in the United States could be quickly dashed by denunciations. As Plostiņš laconically noted, the camp in Kleinkötz was particularly known for this: „Te ir skaidrs, ka notikusi denuncēšana ar ko slavena Kleinkeces nometne.“ [„It is clear that in this case denunciation was what the camp in Kleinkötz is known for.”]8
 
The second largest group (116 persons / families) of those willing to leave the country chose (not always entirely voluntarily) Australia as their new home. The country was willing to accept an unrestricted number of emigrants and enticed them with job opportunities in government services.9

Over the years, a diverse social and cultural life developed in the camp. This included Sunday church services and film screenings. The was great need for entertainment and diversion in the DP camp. Plostiņš describes the film screenings offered in early 1950: „Ja mūsu nometnē ir kino izrādes, tad tām apmeklētāju netrūkst, kaut kino izrādes ir trīs reizes nedēļā - ja nervi notrulinās!” [„When there are cinema screenings in our camp, there is no shortage of visitors, even if the screenings take place three times a week – when nerves are on edge!”]10

One learned about the relief situation, events such as church services, social gatherings, lectures, information evenings on emigration possibilities and other events concerning camp life from the camp's own newspapers. These also provided information about the dissolution of the camp in Kleinkötz on April 1, 1950; for emigration, one month more time was granted, until May 1 of the same year.11 Presumably, in most cases emigration took place by sea, as in the case of the author of the present records.

After many DP camps were disbanded in the early 1950s, many contacts and connections among Latvians in exile remained. Over the years, Latvians in exile built up an extensive cultural life. This was equally true for emigrant Estonians and Lithuanians who left the Baltic States at the end of the war, fearing Soviet rule. In this way, extensive collections were created in various European countries and in North America, which – far away from the Baltic States – provide an insight into Latvian, Estonian and Lithuanian culture, such as the Latvian Center in Münster with a library and archive, the Lithuanian Cultural Institute in Rennhof Castle with an archive and library. The extensive archival material of the Lithuanian DP camps was moved to the USA and is located in the Lithuanian Research and Studies Center in Chicago. The photo collection Hintzer in the Herder Institute gives an insight into life in Estonian DP camps.

Latvian Centre in Münster / Latviešu centrs Minsterē: Latviešu kopības Vācijā arhīvs, Pēteris Plostiņš, Notebooks
Kartenmaterial des Herder-Instituts

English translation: Coady Buckley 
Source selection, analysis, and translations Latvian-German: Agnese Bergholde-Wolf.
Map montage: Laura Gockert
Editing: Christian Lotz

This article is part of the series: „Forced migration: people and their escape routes“