About the Corner House

“(..) They took me into one of those rooms with tiled walls and a tiled floor. And I was so nervous, mostly because I was met there by a corpulent Russian woman, I dare say, because her face and clothes… She was in uniform with a blue cap and a red star and that green “gymnast’s coat”. I can see it all before my eyes. A household robe tied around her and a knife in her mouth and her hands at her sides. Any person is psychologically shocked when they see that. You are afraid, you don’t know what will be done to you and what will happen. She says: “Razgevaisya”, I take off my coat, “Razgevaisya”, I take it off further, “Razgevaisya” and until you have nothing left. “Open your mouth, crouch down, bend down”. Then all the rubber bands are off, zippers, buttons, off, the laces of your boots are off, your hair buckles out. Everything is slipping down on me and I'm holding on. (..)”

“And then they took me further to cell no. 28, on the first floor. They opened the door and let me in. There are 5 women sitting there with their bags, undressed - in bras and panties. I say “Good evening” and ask if there is a sauna here. They laugh at me and answer that there is a cell here. The heat is so high that you can’t wear clothes there. Among them was Dr. Vernere from Liepāja. She was 7 months pregnant. She immediately told me: “You know, there are so many of us here, everyone has their own case and we don’t tell each other anything about our cases. You don’t talk to anyone about your case and don’t hold out any hopes. They will promise you, perhaps, that you will be released if you hand someone over. No one gets out of here. The only thing you can do is protect those people who are still outside. Don’t hand them over, don’t name them. That is your only option. (..)”

“(..) At night you have to sleep on your back, the light in your eyes, nothing should be put on your eyes. If you turn to your side, they come and wake you up. They have to see your eyes. I think I'll survive this night somehow, but the next one, nothing. One, two, three…” (..)

“(..) Water was only given to one of the cellmates, because she was 7 months pregnant. When she gave a glass of water to the others, the guard snatched it out of her hands and poured it out. In the morning, they gave her hot water to drink, but since it was boiled in the same pot where canned fish soup was cooked, it smelled bad. (..)”