Diāna Kratiša’s treasure trove of photographs

Diāna Kratiša kept, or found at relatives’ houses, many photographs of her large family. She shows some of them here. These portraits, one after another, reveal the identities of relatives who are now dead, some of old age, but most as a result of the war. Diāna Kratiša’s family was dispersed in the 1940s: some exiled to Siberia, some conscripted into the Red Army, some evacuated to the rear, and some who stayed in Latvia and were massacred during the Nazi occupation. Their destinies were different and some were fatal.

Others escaped the war years and ended up emigrating to Israel after trying with difficulty to rebuild their lives in Latvia.

This large family with its diverse destinies was the subject of an article in a local publication.