Wide eyes
Subtitle: a war orphan unlocks the mystery of her Latvian roots after seventy years
By: Marija Platace Futchs Fine
Publisher: Xlibris Corp
Published: 2016
Place of publication: [United States]
Language: eng
Number of pages: 221
ISBN-13: 9781514437018
Subjects: Jewish children in the Holocaust; Biography; Holocaust survivors; Latvian Jews
Other titles: War orphan unlocks the mystery of her Latvian roots after seventy years; War orphan unlocks the mystery of her Latvian roots after 70 years
Description: Nazi soldiers seized the baby Marija and her mother, Solomeja, on March 13, 1944 as reprisal for the father Bro islavs Plata s' partisan activities in Latgale, Latvia. Soldiers took mother and child as political prisoners to R zekne Prison and Salaspils concentration camp. Solomeja was sent to German concentration camps; Marija was taken to orphanages in Latvia and Germany. In 1949 Marija was flown to America, adopted by American parents, and became a US citizen. For 70 years her origins were unknown to her due to the Soviet occupation of her native Latvia. A "family detective" in Riga unlocked the story about her parents in 2014, enabling Marija to be reunited with the one surviving member of her father's family, Bro islavs' sister, Leonora. The discovery process opened Marija's eyes to her identity, true to her family name Plata s, which means "wide eyes."
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 193-216) and index.