Oral+History+Interview

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

World War II took place before I immigrated! My dad was a general in the Latvian army. The Communists deported him to Siberia. There were two ports in Latvia- Liepaja and Riga. I was on the last ship that left Liepaja. The ship was very packed and there were planes bombing and shooting. My mom made my brother, sister, and me lie under train wagons. There were people who jumped off of the ship into the ocean because they were so scared of the bombing. There were some very nice German officers who helped my mom. One said, “Das ist meine Frau und meine Kinder”(that is my wife and kids) so that we could stay in the officer’s car on the ship. At the end of the war we had to live privately. You couldn’t find a place to live if you didn’t have a job- you couldn’t have a job if you didn’t have an address. A family member helped get us a room in a house. The family member knew of a Nazi who would take in my family and give us a room. My mom worked for the lady who gave the room. You had rationing cards for food- we had enough to eat. For Christmas my mom made candy for us – marzipan made from mashed potatoes, confectionary sugar (sugar was hard to come by) and almond extract. My mom made sour candies for us- melted sugar and vinegar. At the end of the war they let the people out of the concentration camps. The Americans came and we had to escape because it was said that Weimer, where we lived, was being given to the Russian Communists. We were running away from the Communists. We took cattle cars – we didn’t care where we were going- we just needed to get away from the Communists. We wound up some place in Germany and then Wurzburg. We lived in barracks- big houses with big rooms. Living spaces for families were divided by hanging blankets. People were coming in from different parts of the country. Theses were called Displaced Person Camps. While we lived in barracks we went to school and had scouts (boy scouts/girl scouts). There was church, theatre groups, and choirs. We had everything- folk dancing. My mom was a teacher. We had to start a real life, we couldn’t live at somebody’s expense. The camps started to dissolve. People at the camps were sponsored by others in other countries and we had to leave Germany.
 * 1. What events took place before you immigrated?**

January 13, 1950 was the year I emigrated from Germany. It was very hard; we were on a ship; the weather was bad, many people were sick. The trip took more than 2 weeks, and it wasn’t easy. I told my mother that when we went back to Latvia we would take a plane. There was the smell of coffee and for a while I couldn’t drink coffee because it reminded me of sick people. We came in through Ellis Island. I was 14.
 * 2.What year did you immigrate? How was the ship voyage? How old were you?**

We had an opportunity to live in the United States where the “streets were paved with gold”. We could’ve stayed in Germany but it was all destroyed. We brought the bare necessities- underwear, clothing, but we didn’t have much. We brought blankets and sheets.
 * 3. Why did you immigrate? What did you bring with you?**

It wasn’t easy not knowing English. The first years in school were very hard. I learned from other people explaining things, showing me things, sign language. There was no TV to learn from. I would listen and try to imitate. Later when we knew a little English, my sister and I would listen to Soap Operas and try to imitate them-“ The Shadow Knows”.
 * 4. What was it like coming to a country not knowing any English? How did you learn English?**

The people were nice and helpful. I heard stories from German classmates they would get made fun of. 6. Did you know anybody when coming to America? Did you live in an area with many Latvians? We had sponsors to come to the United States legally- either church groups or people. The sponsors had to vow that we would not be a burden to the United States. The government would not support us and the sponsors had to support us if we did not have a job or a place to live. There were not many Latvian people in the area but we went to Latvian church and there were Latvian Scouts and social gatherings. Latvians would stick together a lot.
 * 5. How did people treat you as an immigrant? Were they welcoming?**

There were not that many immigrants at school. In high school there were but not in elementary school and Jr. high. Teachers were very patient with me. We had to write a composition but I didn’t know English. The girl next to me gave me her paper to copy. I was very good at math so people didn’t think that I was stupid when I excelled at math. At first I went to school but then at 15 I had to drop out of school. I went to work in Long Island and took care of a family’s baby. I told the family I was 16. Two people who worked for the family already helped me get the job. After one or two years I went back to school. Education was very important to my mother and siblings.
 * 7. At school did you have many immigrants? How did teachers treat you?**

When we came here we got any kind of job we could get. My mother took a job cleaning houses. We worked hard and education was very important to us. My brother was working as a superintendant in an apartment building and he was only 16. My mom and brother would wash stairs and clean the sidewalk. There was a deli that gave us free eggs that were cracked (we didn’t know about salmonella in those days). My brother went to night school to finish high school. I took a train and lived and worked in Long Island. I took care of a small child. I had a little electric stove- the kid ate separately. I got a day off a week. I was also tutoring one of the high school kids at decimal math in the family. After that, I went back to high school after taking a break for a year or two. After my mom worked a lot, we were able to get an apartment and paid 40 dollars a month for rent. We had never had toasting bread before coming to America and we called it “Vates Maize” (cotton bread) because in Latvia we never had bread like that. Nothing tasted as good as the first banana I had in America. We were not used to corn because corn was only fed to chickens and pigs in Europe at that time. I didn’t speak English and I had to go food shopping. In the butcher shop, it had different meats and the sign said, “ fancy “ and “lbs”. I walked into the store and said, “One lbs fancy.” I did not know that lbs meant pounds. We were not used to grown ups wearing pink hats and flowers.
 * 8.What were your jobs in America? How was it?**

Next week! I am still not very comfortable in America.
 * 9. How long did it take you to feel comfortable in America?**

I am very glad; I am very happy to be here. I had no choice. Germany was destroyed and Communists took over Latvia. My family is here my children and grand children.
 * 9. Are you glad you came to America? Any regrets?**



Citation Bouscaren, Anthony T. International Migrations Since 1945. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, Inc., 1963. 128-140. Print. Dinnerstein, Leonard, and David M. Reimers. International Migrations Since 1945. 5th. New York: Frederick A. Praeger Columbia University Press, 2009. 115-150. Print. Mayberry, Jodine. Eastern Europeans. Princeton: Franklin Watts, 1991. 7-61. Print. Pencak, William, Selma Berrol, and Randal M. Miller. Immigration to New York. United States of America: The New York Historical Society, 1991. 175-197. Print.