Mid-Atlantic Gardening: Photos & recipes from the VA (southern) swap, 1 by Gitagal

Gitagal wrote:
Nisi--this could be a long story--but I will make it as short as possible...

We fled Latvia in 1944--as the last ship was leaving for other places....
Leaving the about-to-be-occupied-again Country once more was imminent...

Because my Mom's father (already long deseased) was a captain and the harbor
Headmaster of Ventspils, my city of birth, someone came and told my Mom that we
better get on this last ship which, was leaving in 2 hours, or we will never get out.
And, so we did...I cannot even imagine how my Mom and GM felt....
just locking the doors, and leaving their whole life behind....

This meant nothing to the Soviets, and after leaving one's home , they just
broke in and pilfered everything..So did some of my Mom's neighbors....
Lets be more positive--better the neighbors have something--than the Soviets....

My Mom was then 38, my Grand mom was 54. We kids were 9--7--and 5.
I was the middle one--7 yrs. old.

Anyway--we took the ship (it was bombed by the Soviets as we were leaving--
(I DO remember that!) and safely arrived in Bremenhaven, Germany.
From this day on--We all became "wards" of sorts....

It was not just us--It was tens of thousands of other refugees from other Countries,
that did the same thing...
Many of them spent days traveling by horse and buggy from inland just to get to
a Port City to leave.....We were lucky--as we lived a few blocks from the Ventspils Harbor....

.Leaving one's homelands--to keep, preserve, and carry on their
cultures, language, history, and raise their yet-to-be-born children in this environment
was a HUGE responsibility from then on. What IF these countries never existed again????
SO! We all grew up with this "burden" ingrained into our souls....It was our "Mantra"....

So, for the next 7 years--we were DP's (Displaced Persons). We had no say about where we lived--
or for how long. It was, to me, the scatterbrain of the family--kind of an "interesting" life...

There were WW II organizations that were responsible for taking care of many of the refugees....
One was UNRA (United nations Relief Association) and also the "Lutheran Relief" org.
The later took care of most of the immigration procedures....looked after us, etc...

Eventually--Germany just could not keep all these tens of thousands of DP's,
so, after 6 or 7 yrs. people had to start thinking of where they were going to go on to.

There were rules and regulations
.
You had to have a sponsor--someone who would be responsible for these families
for one year. Ours was my Aunt's Family--as they had emigrated a year earlier.
The Lutheran Relief also helped a lot. Clothing, food, understanding the NEW ways, etc...

We arrived at the NY Harbor on Labor Day weekend, 1951. I was then 14--hence I still
carry a slight accent when I speak.
Being it was a Holiday--the harbor was "closed" and our ship sat outside the harbor for
2 more days....much to our delight. Looking at the Statue of Liberty the whole time.....

When we finally docked--we were "processed" and then met by the Lutheran Relief workers.
They gave our Mom $10. She bough 5 bananas--one for each of us.

Then we boarded the train to Baltimore--and I have been here ever since.
We lived with my Aunt's family--which included my Aunt's Family of 8, another
single man, they had 'adopted" in the war, and the 5 of us.
ALL in this shabby, ready to fall down house--for one year....

BTW--I was placed in the 9th grade of a Jr. High on the 3rd day in this country.
NO speak-a de English at all........Took about 3 years till I was fluent in the English language.
YES! I speak 2 languages--fluently--and have passable knowledge of 2 others.
German and Estonian. My Ex. is Estonian--and we spent 25 yrs. deeply involved
in the Estonian culture here in Baltimore....Festivals...folk dancing...playing an instrument, etc...
I keep the remnants of the German language in my brain by listening to old German tapes.....
Love them to death.....that kind of music is so gone!!!! NOT to me!

I think, IF you want to know more about all this, there is always the Computer....
Just Google anything....Even just Latvia or Estonia or Lithuania....(The baltic Countries).
It will get you there....with all kinds of more detailed information....

SO! It was 50 years later that the Soviet powers fell. The Berlin Wall was torn down,
and the occupied Countries simply declared that they were FREE! SO--THERE!!!!

The 3 small Baltic Countries were instrumental in this movement.....Peaceful Dissent.
YES! it cost many lives--but the powerful Soviet regime was toppled....
This took place around 1989-1991.
Still--I am just an immigrant--like many others....I have great compassion for others
trying to better their lives likewise.....and will never look negatively on any of them....

I hope someone does not consider this a "political" topic.
I just wanted to capsule the events of my life--since someone asked...

I do not wish to carry on any Q&A on all this. This would be serious "off topic".
Information is out there....Just go get it!

Gita

DP School chums.....I am on the right.....