Brīvprātīgie aims to become a cultural project through the active recovery of historical memory of the Latvian International Brigadistas. It aspires to be a convergence site of documentation and audio-visual materials for research and learning. Also it wishes to become a contact platform for scholars from all the world and families.
To this effect, Brīvprātīgie project is committed:
- To cultivate historical memory of those Latvian women and men who volunteered for fighting international fascism in Spain, their experiences in the French concentration camps, as well as their struggle during the WW2 and the Holocaust.
- To teach and raise awareness of authoritarianism and totalitarianism, mass atrocities and state violence (in any form and origin) aiming the education of a new generation of human rights activists and historical memory defenders for nowadays world.
- To promote an active online learning experience that connects historical memory to documentation: primary sources from diverse international archives, oral testimonies, war photographies, journalistic reports and bibliography. In order to achieve this goal, Brīvprātīgie wills to establish and compile a resources depository for researchers and interested relatives.
- To organize cultural and educational historical memory events and seminars within the frame of university and cultural institutions. focused on recovering and keeping alive the historical tale and the collective memory of the Latvian brigadistas. By bringing the past into the present, we are also forming a new space for dialogue and critique on ideological and political conflicts.
- To contribute to the publication and spread of studies and materials related to the role of the Latvians during the Spanish Civil War.
Welcome to a lost episode of the Latvian history in the inter-war period. Feel always free to participate through this online platform and to place all your questions, reflections and requests.
BRĪVPRĀTĪGIE 2016
BRĪVPRĀTĪGIE 