Education through oral history fieldwork - The Nordplus project led us to Gotland and opened our eyes to a wide scale of impressions and understandings. Latvians from Latvia and Sweden participated in the project, which involved interviews with the island's older inhabitants about exiles who came to Gotland via the sea in 1944- 1945. We also learned that people in Gotland had never been taught at school about their neighbours across the sea – Latvia. The period between the two world wars was so short, yet the time of the iron curtain was so long.

Now it is up to us! This was the discussion motif from the network partners on both sides: the fieldwork participants and Prof. Ulf Palmenfelt at Visby University, as well as P. G. Werkelin, a teacher and excellent guide in the history of Gotland.

We were interviewed by Veronica Lillja, a reporter for Gotland's newspaper, about our intention to fill the white holes in knowledge of Latvia’s history, and we introduced her to Peteris Jansons, the only living Latvian boat captain, who after the war married and lived in Gotland. The outcome of our cooperation will be a book in which the memories of Peteris Jansons will be published.

The book and David Holmert's photo exibition will open next spring in the Library of Visby in cooperation with Gotland Baltikum, an association that will celebrate its 20th anniversary this autumn.

Photos from the fieldwork