‘Latvians Abroad’: A Planned Latvian Emigration Museum and Research Center Maija Hinkle
!e twentieth century can be character- amounts to approximately 13% of the ized in world history not only by the two population. total, devastating world wars that took Yet in spite of the significance of mi- place during the first half of the century, grations in recent Latvian history, there but also by the hitherto unprecedented has been very little study of the mass mass migrations of peoples that accom- migrations and no attempt to preserve panied these wars, migrations where the histories and experiences of the millions of people swept across Europe emigrants. Fortunately, this is slowly in a few years – not only soldiers, but changing with respect to the current millions and millions of civilians – to es- populations of former Latvian inhabit- cape the war and save ones life, to escape ants living abroad. In 2006 the Latvian occupying armies, because they were Ministry of Integration launched a sys- forced by governing authorities or be- tematic investigation of and interaction cause their homes had been destroyed. with the Latvian communities residing Latvians formed a small part of this abroad, but so far only preliminary data mass movement of peoples throughout have been published (see www.integrac- the century, having been both a sending ija.gov.lv). and a receiving country. While it lost a significant percentage of its population Latvian demographics and history during the two world wars, it became in 20th century – a short outline an immigrant destination during the !e population of Latvia during the last Soviet period after World War II, only century has varied between 1,6 million to undergo new waves of emigration in and 2,67 million (Table 1), the changes the present century, to the extent that most often being due to population an Integration Ministry study in 2006 migration and loss during a war, rather estimated that almost 300,000 former than to natural causes. Latvian inhabitants were now perma- Great upheavals in Latvian history nent residents outside Latvia. !at have most often been accompanied by- MAIJA HINKLE 67