Paikens, Edward, Papers

Finding Aid

VITRAGE

IHRC

Immigration History Research Center, College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota

Descriptive summary

PROVENANCE

The papers of Edward Paikens were given to the IHRC in April 1995 by Helen Seeley of Golden Valley, Minnesota. Astra Apsitis processed the collection in 1995.

HISTORICAL SKETCH

Edward Paikens (nee Eduards Paikens Dzilna) was born on May 27, 1917 in the northwest region of Latvia, not far from Aluskne. He left the country for school in Riga, where he attended the Riga Technical Institute until 1944 when he was sent to Germany as a laborer by the occupying German forces. His father had died and his mother remained in Latvia. His brother Laimons was never heard from again. After the war, Paikens spent the years prior to emigration to the United States, in a displaced persons camp Berchtesgarden (in Bavaria). Paikens immigrated to the United States and settled in Minneapolis, where he met and married his wife Helen. He was granted citizenship in 1952 and lived in Minneapolis until his death in 1995.

DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION

This collection of papers documents Paikens’ life primarily from the time of his departure from Latvia in 1944 to the time of his mother’s death in 1977. A number of identification cards and report cards give evidence to his immediate post-war activities, but the bulk of information comes from his collected correspondence with his mother in Latvia, which began in 1956. Among the letters are scattered receipts for money and packages sent, as well as a few photographs. This series of letters, including copies of letters sent by Paikens, provides a rare look at life in rural Latvia in the 1950’s and 1960’sm when life under soviet rule was particularly difficult. The photographs at the end of the collection are mostly from Paikens’ transatlantic journey from Germany to the United States on the ship Ernie Pyle.

ACCESS RESTRICTIONS

The Paikens, Edward collection is available for public research.

OWNERSHIP & LITERARY RIGHTS

The Paikens, Edward collection is the physical property of the Immigration History Reseach Center, University of Minnesota.

For further information regrading the copyright, please contact the IHRC.

CITE AS

The Paikens, Edward Papers, Latvian American Collection, Immigration History Research Center, University of Minnesota

Index Terms

Description of Series

This section briefly describes each series in the collection. A more detailed description of the contents of each series may be found in the following section.

Detailed Description of the Collection

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