The Collection was started in 1993, as soon as the Museum was established. By the start of 2023, the Collection had registered more than 75,000 items. Wishing to preserve the memory of the occupation period, people have donated personal items and shared their stories. Museum specialists have recorded nearly 2500 video testimonies – one of the largest collections dedicated to this topic in Europe. These testimonies and the donated artefacts add personal experience to history through the life story of each person. The memories do not talk only of suffering, but also of endurance, selflessness, and resistance.
Donating artefacts to the Museum
If you have any documents, photos or other objects related to the occupation periods and you would like to donate them to the Museum, please contact the Head of Collections, Taiga Kokneviča at taiga.koknevica@okupacijasmuzejs.lv, +371 67 229 248.
About the Museum
OCCUPATION MUSEUM ASSOCIATION OF LATVIA
The Occupation Museum Association of Latvia (LOMB) is the legal owner and administrator of the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia. The Association is registered in the Latvian State Registry of Associations and Foundations and operates in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Latvia and the Statutes of the Association. It is the successor to the Occupation Museum Foundation (OMF), which operated from 1993 until 2006, when it was re-registered according to a new Law on Public Organisations in Latvia. In its Statutes the Association is defined as “a charitable, non-profit association whose aim is to administer and support the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia.” the Association’s highest decision-making body is the member meeting that also elects the Association’s Executive Board.
The Museum, as a structural unit of the Association, operates according to the Association’s Statutes and the By-laws of the Museum that have been approved by the Association members. The By-laws define “the Museum’s mission, objectives, tasks, structures, the functions of its officials and other employees, financial security, rights and obligations.”
History of the Museum and Formation of the Collection
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Museum Collection
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Audio visual Archive
The Audiovisual Archive contains:
• Video testimonies
• Audio testimonies and audio recordings of various events
• Video recordings of commemorative events
• Film materials (16mm; 8mm)
• Video testimony auxiliary collection – scanned photos of people whose video testimonies we have recorded.
Our collection consists of nearly 2500 video testimonies (more than 4500 hours of recordings). The number of recorded video testimonies continues to grow, as the recording of people’s life stories is ongoing.
The Audiovisual Archive was founded by Andrejs Edvīns Feldmanis in 1994, shortly after the foundation of the Museum. During first two years of operation, specialists collected audio testimonies and audio reports, but since 1996 recordings have been made in video format.
Video testimony is the narrative or life story of a person whose life was dramatically influenced by the Soviet and/or Nazi occupation policies, recorded as a historical source.
Video testimonies cover such topics as the Soviet mass deportations of 1941 and 1949, the Holocaust, Latvian soldiers during the Second World War, the national resistance movements, survivors of the Gulag, Latvians in exile, eyewitnesses of various historical events, veterans of the war in Afghanistan, and other topics.
You can view video testimony segments and documentaries based on video testimonies on the YouTube channel of the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia: @occupationmuseum.
Video testimonies have been recorded not only of Latvians, but also of Russians, Germans, Jews, Lithuanians, Estonians, and people of other nationalities. Most video testimonies are recorded in Latvian, but some are in Russian, German, English, and a few other languages. Likewise, video testimonies have been recorded not only in Latvia, but archive specialists have also been on expeditions abroad, recording testimonies from Great Britain, Krasnoyarsk Oblast in Russia, Germany, the USA, and Canada.
Donating audiovisual materials to the Museum and arranging historical witnesses for interviews
If you own and wish to donate to the Museum audio, video, film, or visual materials depicting the occupation periods, or if you know someone who could provide a video testimony and tell about their experiences during the years of occupation, please contact the Audiovisual Archive of the Museum by calling +371 66 116757 or by e-mail to evita.feldentale@okupacijasmuzejs.lv. -
History of the Museum
The Museum of the Occupation of Latvia is a state accredited private museum, founded in 1993. It is maintained and managed by a public charitable organisation – the Occupation Museum Association of Latvia (LOMB).
In 2006, the Latvian Parliament passed a law that regulates the relationship between the State and LOMB, provides State financial support for the Museum and strengthens the Museum’s right to use the building and its adherent land. In 2022, the Museum received about 12% of its yearly operational budget from the State, the other funds came from donations of supporters and visitor tickets. Very significant support for the Museum comes from Latvians living abroad – both organisations and individual donors.
A visit to the Museum is a part of the diplomatic protocol of Latvia and the Museum welcomes numerous foreign leaders, diplomats, and other persons on official state visits. -
1993
- In February1993, history professor Paulis Lazda of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (USA) submitted a proposal to the Latvian Ministry of Culture. He proposed to establish a museum in Riga that would present the history of occupied Latvia, 1940 to 1991, as precisely as possible. He also stipulated that the new museum would not encumber the Latvian State budget – funds would come from voluntary donations. The proposal was formally accepted, and the already vacated Latvian Red Riflemen Museum in the centre of Riga was made available for the first exhibition. To implement the proposal, 11 persons (Paulis Lazda, Rūsiņš Albertiņš, Andris Kolbergs, Gundega Michele, Vija Muzikante, Ivars Muzikants, Richards Pētersons, Gunārs Priedītis, Jānis Stradiņš, Leons Taivāns, Anna Zoldnere) established a non-profit organisation – “Latvia during 50 Years of Occupation” Museum Foundation (OMF); it was registered in May. The mission of the Foundation was to establish, maintain, and administer the Museum.
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Intense preparation followed, involving Latvians who had recently returned to Latvia from the USA and Australia, and others who had lived through the occupation period in Latvia. The arrangement of the exhibition was planned by the interior designer Anna Zoldnere. Texts, docu-ment copies, and photos were provided by volunteers. The Museum received its first financial donations from Latvians living overseas.
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The exhibition was opened on 1 July. After a short introduction about Latvia at the end of 1930s, it described the year that followed the occupation of the Republic of Latvia by the Soviet Union on 17 June 1940, when Soviet tanks entered Riga.
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Anna Zoldnere became the Museum’s first employee and under her guidance as the director, the exhibition remained open until September. Then work started on the preparation of exhibits describing the next occupation period – occupation by National Socialist Germany including the Holocaust. A second employee, Brigita Radziņa, joined Zoldnere as archivist at the end of the year.
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1994
- On 14 June, the president of Latvia, Guntis Ulmanis, opened the exhibition presenting the period of National Socialist German occupation of Latvia from mid-1941 to 1944/45, including the Holocaust. In the exhibition hall, a Gulag barracks reproduction was constructed and exhibit stands filled about a third of the available space. At the end of the year, an IT specialist, Ralfs Berzinskis, joined the Museum and the first computer was purchased.
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The Museum was closed during the winter while stands and showcases were constructed according to the design of Anna Zoldnere. They nearly filled the 600-m2 hall. A three-metre-tall bas-relief of Lenin was removed from the end wall.
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The Museum welcomed 3039 visitors during the three months that it was open.
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1995
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At the beginning of May, a clean water pipe broke in the Museum’s deep basement and totally filled it with water. Brigita Radziņa persuaded fire-fighters to pump the water out and repair the damage.
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On 14 June, the president of Latvia, Guntis Ulmanis, opened the new segment of the exhibition that presented the occupation period during Stalin’s reign, 1945–1953.
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Due to reconstruction of the adjoining Black Heads House, the Museum lost 45 m2 from its vestibule and the introduction to the exhibition had to be restructured.
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In September, the director of the Museum Anna Zoldnere, administrator Ralfs Berzinskis, and historian Richards Pētersons visited various museums in the USA including the newly opened Holocaust Museum in Washington. They also met with Museum supporters in Cleveland, who were planning fund raising activities.
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By the end of the year, the Museum had five employees including poet Anda Līce, who became the editor of the Museum’s Newsletter.
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This year the Museum was open for seven months and recorded 4426 visitors.
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1996
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To commemorate 55 years since the first mass deportation on 14 June 1941, the Museum organised an extensive program in Riga. It included the opening of a reconstructed railway car in the Torņakalna Railway station to show the type used to transport more than 15 000 deportees to distant Siberian regions, an ecumenical church service, and a procession from the Museum to the Freedom Monument.
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The Museum continued its expansion. At the opening of its third segment – depicting 1954–1964 – the main speaker was Eduards Berklāvs who had actively opposed Russification policies in the 1950s.
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A grant from the Soros Foundation made the purchase of a video camera possible and under the leadership of Andrejs Feldmanis the Museum started collecting audio-visual personal testimonies from eyewitnesses of historic events. In November, Gundega Michele travelled to Australia to share news about the development of the Museum and encourage financial support.
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The Museum published its first two newsletters that included grateful acknowledgement of financial support. A Museum’s support group – the Latvian 50 Year Occupation Museum Fund Support Group (OMFA) was established in Cleveland under the leadership of Ilze Schwartz. Dagnija Staško started work in the Museum and established an innovative Education Programme.
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The Museum was open for 11 months and welcomed 7122 visitors.
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1997
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On 14 June, President Guntis Ulmanis opened the part of the exhibition about the 1964–1984 period of Brezhnev’s so-called stagnation. The main speaker was Lidija Doroņina-Lasmane who had been severely persecuted for her peaceful opposition to the Soviet regime.
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In September, Matthew Kott started work as the Museum’s administrator. The staff of the Museum increased to five full-time and several part-time employees.
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The Museum received its first financial grant from the Latvian government – specifically for the upkeep of the building – and a grant from the Latvian Foundation (USA) to purchase a second computer.
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The first book was published: Through the Eyes of a Child (in Latvian and English) – a collection of drawings by an eleven-year-old girl of her journey to – and seven years spent in – Siberia.
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During the summer, the Museum started to offer selected books for sale. The Education Programme organised teacher seminars, distributed teaching aids to history teachers, published a newsletter, and conducted monthly public discussions.
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For the first time, the Museum’s yearly attendance exceeded 10 000.
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1998
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In January, members of the “Latvia during 50 Years of Occupation” Museum Foundation (OMF – the administrator of the Museum) approved new statutes that clarified how the Foundation supports and administers the Museum. OMF also passed a resolution that the present building is the very best location for the Museum in Riga.
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The concluding segment of the exhibition was completed. It was opened by President Guntis Ulmanis on 14 June. The Latvian government transferred the ownership of the Museum building to the Riga City Council. The Museum had to prove that it does not duplicate the exhibition of the War Museum of Latvia by providing a detailed comparison of the activities of both museums. The State Administration of Museums evaluated the situation and gave our Museum its support.
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The Education programme prepared the first travelling exhibition (in Latvian and Russian) about the Soviet military aviation bomber training centre that had existed for 40 years at Zvārde. The exhibition travelled to numerous schools.
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State funds were received to prepare a travelling exhibition entitled Latvia Returns to Europe about the whole occupation period with texts in Latvian, English, German, and French. In November, 24 large exhibition posters were shown in the European Parliament in Brussels. Subsequently several versions of the exhibition travelled to other cities of Europe, the USA, Australia, and Canada.
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A grant from the State enabled the Museum to launch a Research Programme led by Dr. habil. Heinrihs Strods. At the end of the year, the Museum published a book: Latvijas Okupācijas muzejs 1940–1991 in Latvian and German. Its editors and authors were Valters Nollendorfs and Matthias Knoll. It was financed by the Landtag of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The copiously illustrated book presented the essential content of the Museum. Valters Nollendorfs and Heinihs Strods became members of the newly founded Presidential Commission of the Historians of Latvia.
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The Latvian Sate Protocol started to offer a visit to the Museum to its guests. The first State visitors were the presidents of Iceland, Poland, and the king of Norway.
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At the end of the year, Anna Zoldnere resigned, and Matthew Kott became the temporary director.
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The yearly attendance, 24 687, was more than double that of the previous year.
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1999
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One of the architects of the Museum building, G. Lūsis-Grīnbergs, presented to the Riga City Council a plan for basic renovations and enlargement of the Museum building. The Council did not consider the project, but in February decided to demolish the building and move the Museum’s exhibition to "another suitable location". Several locations were viewed, but a “suitable” one was not found. Museum supporters flooded the City Council with protest letters from Latvia and abroad.
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The Museum introduced temporary thematic exhibitions. The first ones were 1949 Deportation, To Live with Art, and a retrospective of sculptor Eduards Sidrabs. The Museum also provided space for the presentation of books related to the occupation period. Quite frequently journalists held TV and radio interviews at the Museum.
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In June, Gundega Feldmane-Zāns became the acting director of the Museum. Dagnija Staško took over Public Relations and Ieva Gundare led the Education Programme.
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Among the official visitors were the President of Germany, eight ministers, and 20 ambassadors. The annual number of visitors was 23 298.
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2000
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In January, the Museum published The Documents Testify – a collection of historic document copies compiled by the Education Programme staff for history teachers in Latvian schools. A special donation ensured that sets of 10 or 20 books were sent free of charge to about 400 schools.
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In March, the Museum published its first Yearbook. A book by Andrejs Feldmanis about the Soviet attack on Latvia’s border post at Masļenki on 15 June 1940 was opened in July. Later, a special donation made it possible to publish two four-page inserts in one of Latvia’s most popular newspapers about the Museum and its outreach work.
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The thematic exhibitions focused on the Popular Front of late 1980s, the attack at Masļenki, the successful journey of Latvian refugees in 1946 to the USA by motorboat, and homemade Latvian flags that had been treasured by refugees, deportees, and Soviet prisoners.
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A program to identify commemorative sites in Latvia was initiated under the leadership of Richards Pētersons. Two summer scholarships were funded by the American Latvian Youth Association for students from the USA to work as guides in the Museum.
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Among the 35 424 visitors to the Museum were the presidents of Slovenia and Greece, 11 ministers, and 12 ambassadors.
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2001
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On 14 June, President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga opened an exhibition to commemorate the first mass deportation 60 years ago. During the year, the Museum presented five smaller thematic exhibitions.
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The Education Programme staff prepared a new travelling exhibition that described the whole occupation period in Latvian, English, and Russian. Staff members always accompanied the exhibition as it travelled to schools throughout Latvia.
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On the 800th anniversary of Riga, the internationally recognised architect Gunnar Birkerts presented his vision of the reconstruction and enlargement of the Museum building as a gift to the Riga City Council. In October, the Council suspended the plan to demolish the Museum building.
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Research work was emphasised in the Museum. The second Yearbook published historical research studies and document copies. Heinrihs Strods and Valters Nollendorfs of the Museum staff continued their active participation in the Commission of the Historians of Latvia.
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To commemorate the victims of the KGB in Riga, the Museum completed its plans to erect a memorial, created by sculptor Gļebs Panteļejevs and architect Andris Veidemanis, next to the building that housed the KGB until 1991.
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The annual attendance was 40 185, including HRH Prince Charles, six presidents, 10 ministers, six ambassadors, and 3362 schoolchildren.
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2002
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Due to serious health problems, Gundega Feldmane-Zāns could not continue her work in the Museum and in January the OMF Board appointed Gundega Michele as the director of the Museum.
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The most important achievement of this year was Accreditation of our Museum by the Ministry of Culture. Accreditation meant that after rigorous assessment by professionals, the Museum was judged to have met proper museum standards in all aspects of its work. It also opened the possibility to receive some regular State funding.
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Of the seven thematic exhibits prepared this year, Soviet propaganda posters and everyday commerce of the 1970s attracted the most attention.
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The Museum published three books: the third Yearbook; Latvijas Okupācijas muzejs, 1940–1991, Museum of the occupation of Latvia, Editor & author V. Nollendorfs, in Latvian and English; Masļenki 2nd ed., author Andrejs Feldmanis.
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The travelling exhibition “Latvia Returns to Europe” was shown in number of European and USA cities including Washington, Helsinki, and London. The Education Programme’s exhibition was presented in 18 schools. Ieva Gundare, Director of the Education Programme, received an award from the Ministry of Culture for her highly effective work with Latvian history teachers.
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For the second year in succession, the number of visitors exceeded 40 000. Among prominent guests were the presidents of Turkey, Austria, Armenia, and Lithuania, 16 ministers, and 22 ambassadors.
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2003
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2004
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2005
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2006
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2007
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2008
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2009
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2010
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2011
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2012
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2013
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2014
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2015
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2016
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2017
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2018
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2019
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2020
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2021
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2022
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2023