“In Auce, 1949.”

On 24 March 2025, another vivid historical testimony to the crimes committed by the communist occupation regime against the people of Latvia was added to the Museum's collection.

It is a moment captured by the master of photography Gunārs Janaišs (1934–2022) on 25 March 1949, when victims of the occupation regime were boarding a cattle train in the Auce railway station for their journey to Siberia.

Only 14 years old, but having witnessed his classmate Mirdza Zemīte being forcibly removed from the classroom at Auce School for deportation to the far reaches of Russia, Gunārs decided to photograph the moment of her departure. He borrowed a camera from a classmate, put his four-year-old sister on "guard" and, risking his freedom and life, hid in a gravel pit near the station to preserve for future generations the memories that we, today's Latvians, must not forget.

On the edge of the developed photograph is a note written in ink by Gunārs himself: "Aucē, 1949" ("In Auce, 1949").

The valuable artefact was donated to the Museum by Gunārs' wife, Silvija Voite, who came with Gunārs’ sister, Rasma Duļķina, and outlined the memories to be preserved for the future.

The Museum is very grateful for this gift!