Erik A. Dundurs, Papers, 1949-1982

Abstract

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Provenance/Processing

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Biographical Sketch

In 1954, Dundurs founded the Erik Dundurs Insurance Agency in Minneapolis, which merged with the Lee Carlstrom Agency in 1966.  In 1970, after being offered a position as host and moderator of "Night Line," a nightly call-in talk show on the Twin Cities' WLOL Radio, Dundurs sold his interest in the insurance agency.  A year later he left the radio station and secured a position with the Department of Treasury's U.S. Savings Bonds Division in Minneapolis, where he worked as area manager until his promotion to district director in 1982.

During these years, Dundurs established himself as a spokesperson in the crusade against communism, actively participating in organizations such as the Captive Nations Committee, the Council for the Liberation of Captive Peoples from Soviet Domination, and the Coalition of Patriotic Americans.  Through the many organizations of which he was a member, Dundurs took part in varying capacities in Twin Cities CAptive Nations Week commemorations.  He was often asked to speak on anti-communism and issues related to his homeland to Minnesota civic organizations and Latvian communities in Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa, and the West Coast.  Dundurs' opinions and commentary were often cited in local media coverage of anti-communist or captive nations-related issues.

From the time he arrived in Minnesota, Dundurs was a formidable personality in the Latvian community.  He was active in Twin Cities Latvian affairs and served as National Vice President for the American Latvian Association in 1960-1961.  After that appointment, he served as counselor to the ALA board until 1968.  Dundurs wrote many articles for the Latvian newspaper Laiks (Time), primarily reporting on Latvian political activity in the Midwest.  He appeard as a moderator or panelist on over 60 television shows, representing the Latvian community.  Serving as chairman of the Republican Party's Nationalities Division, Dundurs actively rallied the support of the Latvian community in state and national Republican campaigns throughout the 1960s and early 1970s.  From 1980 to 1984, Dundurs was president of the Friends of the IHRC.

Erik Dundurs died in 1984, having served for over 30 years both his Latvian homeland and community in exile, and the United States, the country he came to call home.

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Scope and Content

This series consists of records regarding Dundurs' activity as journalist, speaker, and radio personality.  The folders contain examples of his articles in both Latvian and English, copies of speeches and scripts, and correspondence regarding speaking engagements and television appearances.

This series encompasses Dundurs' activity in both the local and national Latvian community.  Arranged alphabetically, the records here are grouped either by organization or activity, containing correspondence and Latvian promotional materials.  Of particular interest are the contents of two scrapbooks that focus on Latvian resettlement in the Twin Cities area after World War II, with newspaper clippings about the Latvian DPs in Minnesota from 1949 to 1951.

Dundurs' anti-communist and captive nations political activities are reflected in this richly informative series, encompassing correspondence and promotional materials from a range of local and national anti-communist organizations.  These papers cover issues such as Captive Nations Week, visits of Soviet leaders, and U.S. relations, both political and economic, with the Soviet Union.  Correspondencee with U.S. government leaders highlights captive nations issues and urges political action to support the liberation of the Baltic States.  Particularly well-documented is Dundurs' participation in the Committee for the Liberation of Captive Peoples From Under Soviet Domination.

This series describes Dundurs' extensive involvement with the GOP Nationalities Division, both at state and national levels.  His activity in political campaigns from 1960 to 1976 is arranged chronologically and includes (though with little detail) Dundurs' own campaign for the state legislature in 1966.  Though primarily concerned with Republican politics, these papers also include statements and brochures from opposition parties.  Particularly well-documented are the senatorial and presidential campaigns of 1964.

In addition to newspaper clippings and miscellaneous correspondence, this series contains a number of folders arranged alphabetically by issues not attributable to Dundurs' participation in any one particular organization.  Materials in these folders relate primarily to issues and incidents pertaining to the Soviet Union.
 

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Container List

The following titles have been removed and placed in the IHRC monographs and serials collection:

        S.O.S.---A Call from 100,000 of Your Neighbors in Distress (International Refugee Organization, 1950)
        Silde, Adolfs. Latvijas Valsts Problemas (Stuttgart-Nice: Atlantas Apgads, 1964)

        American Latvian Association publications:

        Latvia, 1968
        ALA Zurnals
           Nr. 24 (1978)
            Nr. 25 (1979)

The following reel-to-reel audio tapes have been removed and placed in the IHRC audio tape collection:

        Fifty Year Introduction (ALA) :30
        Independence Day Program (Latvian Relief Assoc., Reel 1 of 2)
        Independence Day Program (Latvian Relief Assoc., Reel 2 of 2)
        Latvia as an Independent State (ALA) 4:12
        Latvian Youth Under Soviet Occupation (ALA) 4:45
        Latvia's Economy Under Soviet Occupation (ALA) 5:12
        Latvia's Political Situation Under Soviet Occupation (ALA)  4:37
        November 18, 1918 (ALA) 3:45
        Prof. Lejins on ALA 6:36
        Speech by Alfreds Berzins 10:50
        The United States' Foreign Policy Toward Latvia (ALA) 3:52
 

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