Memorial to Deported Children, Riga
Pictures and text by Mark R. Hatlie
This picture was taken in Riga in the summer of 1999. It is located in the center of the Mezaparks area at the corners of Kokneses prospekts, Visbijas prospekts, Stokholmas iela and Peterupes iela in a small square. It was designed by Dzintra Jansone and dedicated on 14 June, 1993, the anniversary of the mass deportations during the first Soviet occupation.
The monument reads, "To the deported children and those who died during transport or in foreign land, 1941-1949". That embraces the Soviet and Nazi regimes, but the deportations obviously refer to the mass deportations of June, 1941 and March, 1949.
The memorial appears to be new. It is, in terms of emotive effect, the best memorial I have ever seen. It still moves me almost to tears. Click on the image for a larger view.
