Lithuanians in Twentieth-Century Latvia: Their Representation in Oral History Sources

Abstract

The article examines some aspects of the self-awareness of the Lithuanians born in the 1920s and the 1930s and living in Latvia, which are reflected in their life stories. The interviews were recorded during field research by the Daugavpils University Oral History Centre in south-eastern Latvia. These oral history sources reflect some features of the narrators’ identity: Lithuanian ethnicity (Lithuanian language skills, everyday life habits, Catholicism, etc.) and connection with Latvia (understanding of Latvian history and some characteristics of historical consciousness, attitude towards Latvians). The analysis of the sources reveals that Lithuanian ethnicity is not the determining feature of the self-awareness of the studied group. Certain common value orientations and features of Latvian national identity are observed, which are characteristic of the majority of Latvian residents of the said generation. Despite a certain degree of ‘otherness’, Lithuanians in south-eastern Latvia perceived themselves as members of the local society.