WW2 refugees II WW2

The "Sail of Hope" commemorative sign for the World War II refugees who crossed the Baltic Sea by boat to the island of Gotland in Sweden in 1944 and 1945. The memorial is located in Osvalki on the dunes between the sea and Ventspils-Liepaja highway, near the public transport stop "Kaijas". It was created by sculptor Ģirts Burvis, who realised it as a sail of hope symbolising the memory of Latvian refugees.

Between autumn 1944 and spring 1945, fearing the renewed Soviet occupation but unwilling to evacuate to a devastated and threatened Germany, some Latvian citizens tried to reach the nearest neutral country, Sweden, by sea. Some of the boats were organised by the Latvian Central Council with the help of the Western Allied countries, which resulted in one of the largest refugee concentration points in Jūrkalnes parish. Besides the boats organised by the Latvian Central Council, other boats were also taken across the sea. It is estimated that about 5000 persons managed to cross the sea. The number of deaths is unknown, as no records were kept of refugees leaving the Kurzeme coast. 

The voyages were dangerous because the refugees were threatened by German patrols on the coast and at sea, sea mines, Soviet aircraft and warships, as well as storms, as the crossings often took place in unsuitable and overloaded cutters and boats without sufficient fuel and food supplies, sea charts and navigational instruments. Departures from Latvia were carried out in secret. The destination of the boats was the island of Gotland, and the journeys most often started on the west coast of Courland (from Jūrkalne to Gotland is 90 nautical miles or about 170 kilometres as the crow flies).

This monument is situated on the water’s edge on Cape Puise. In 1944, around 80,000 people fled westward from the advancing Red Army, many of them by sea. This monument, commemorating that mass flight, was designed by Aivar Simson. The idea originated from Heidi Ivask, who, held in her mother's arms, was one of many who waited for a boat on the beach in Puise. Construction of the monument was led by the Estonian Memento Union.

This house of prayer in situated in the village of Põgari-Sassi near the 1 km marker on the Tuuru-Puise road. On 18 September 1944, the day after the Germans began their retreat, Prime Minister Jüri Uluots, serving as the head of state, swore in the new Government of the Republic of Estonia. The Government adopted a resolution on the restoration of the independence of Estonia and on remaining neutral in the war. The inauguration of the government meant that the Red Army did not ‘liberate’ Estonia from the German occupying forces, but rather occupied an independent nation. The cabinet of Otto Tief held their last meeting at the Põgari Baptist house of prayer on 22 September 1944. This historic meeting is commemorated by a memorial tablet there, unveiled by Prime Minister Mart Laar in 1999. Tief's cabinet members were waiting at the house of prayer for the promised motorboat to be evacuated to Sweden. However, the boat was delayed, arriving on 29 September, and only State Secretary Helmut Maandi fled, carrying a copy of Riigi Teataja confirming the continuity of the Republic of Estonia.

The coast of Mazirbe was an important place in the Second World War, from where the traffic of refugee boats to Sweden took place in 1944.

In 1944, there was an active traffic of refugee boats to the shores of Sweden from Staldzene.

House at Lauku Street 4, Ventspils, where the teacher teacher Valentīne Lasmane (b. Jaunzeme) (1916–2018) lived and worked, who in 1944-1945 worked as LCP liaison and member of Ventspils communication group. Lived in Sweden after World War II. She compiled the testimonies of 130 boat refugees in the publication "Across the Sea 1944/1945." (Stockholm, 1990), but V. Lasmane's own life story can be read in the book "The night is not just for sleeping" (Riga, 2020). In 2000, she was awarded the Order of Three Stars. Died at the age of 102 in 2018 in the Stockholm suburb of Tebia.

House at 4 Katrīnes Street, Ventspils, where archaeologist Valdemārs Ęinters worked.

From October 1944 to May 8, 1945, the representative of the LCP in Kurzeme was archaeologist Valdemārs Ęinters (nicknames "Doctor", "Gardener") (1899–1979). Participant of the Latvian War of Independence, director of the State Historical Museum and docent of the University of Latvia. Awarded the Order of the Lāčplēš War and the Order of the Three Stars. One of the signatories of the LCP memorandum of March 17, 1944. Lived in Sweden after World War II. From 1949 to 1979, chairman of the board of the Latvian National Fund.

1944-1945 in the prison set up in Livonia Oden Castle. In 2010, several members of the LCP Ventspils communication group and the movers of refugee boats were detained.

The road to the "Grīnieku" house in Vārve parish, where in 1944 there was one of the main settlements of boat refugees on the coast of Kurzeme.

Vārves "huts", a place in Ventspils county, which served as a temporary accommodation for Latvian refugees who were waiting for boats from Gotland to arrive in 1944.

The restored "Bambaļi" houses in Ošvalki, Jūrkalne parish, were one of the main places of settlement for boat refugees on the coast of Kurzeme.

"Laukgaļi" in Jūrkalne parish, the writer Kārlis Skalbe's place of residence in October-November 1944, while waiting for the refugee boat to Sweden.

Named ‘Pāvilosta, a Closed Area’, the exhibit in the Pāvilosta Local History Museum is about everyday life in the town of Pāvilosta during the Soviet occupation; specifically, about the executive branch, border area, fishermen’s collective farm, and the cultural and social activities. In addition to the permanent exhibit, there is an interactive and emotionally rich digital exhibit in two languages and an audio-visual installation offering a film about Pāvilosta.

The museum also features a new exhibit named ‘The Golden Sand Grains of Pāvilosta’. The digital installation showcases old events, how Pāvilosta was founded and the most important developments from 1918 to the present day. Military heritage is a point of focus in the War of Independence section, which tells a story about the freedom fighters of Latvia and the time of the Soviet occupation.

Located in Tukums region, Lestene, next to the church.

The construction of the Brothers' Cemetery in Lestene began in 1998. It is the second largest cemetery of soldiers in Latvia, where more than 1,300 Latvian legionnaires are buried together. Only after the restoration of the Republic of Latvia was it possible to bury Latvian soldiers who died in World War II from various places.

The Latvian Legion was a combat unit of the German army, formed mainly from illegally mobilized Latvians. The soldiers perceived their presence in the legion as a struggle for the restoration of Latvia's independence, despite the fact that it took place in the ranks of the German armed forces and that Germany had occupied Latvia. There was no other military force that could delay the return of the Soviet occupation. Latvian legionnaires fought against the Red Army, which had abolished Latvia's independence, destroyed its army and committed crimes against civilians. Between 110,000 and 115,000 soldiers fought in the ranks of the German army, and between 30,000 and 50,000 of them left their lives on the battlefield.

Today in Lestene you can see the Brethren's Cemetery, next to which is Lestene Church. It is an outstanding example of baroque sacred art. In the old church pub you can get acquainted with the exposition dedicated to the history of the Latvian Legion. The central image of the Brothers' Cemetery "Motherland - Mother - Latvia" was created by the sculptor Arta Dumpe. Nearby is Lestene Manor, which belonged to the Latvian Army General Mārtiņš Hartmanis before the Second World War.

Excursions to Lestene Church can be booked at the head of the parish of Lestene Evangelical Lutheran Church Inguna Kokina, phone +371 29993743.