Family history and memory in photo albums of Latvian women after World War II

Abstract

ABSTRACT The article analyses family history and memory in the post-WWII period, as reflected in photo albums compiled by women living in what had become the Soviet-occupied country of Latvia. The content analysis method is used to examine twenty photo albums. The results indicate that such albums served as an autobiographical instrument for women in the private sphere of everyday life. The principal thematic categories of photographs in the albums were everyday scenes, portraits of individuals, photos of infants and children, pictures of family rituals, portraits of young men performing their obligatory military service in the Soviet armed forces, group photos of families, and groups photos of festive family events. Generally, the women compilers of the albums sought to place photographs in chronological sequence, but interruptions of a sequence are visible by the inclusion of photographs from the pre-Soviet decades. Most of the albums are incomplete and contain many unmounted photos, which testifies to autobiographical instability and the need for editing to make albums conform to the ideological demands of the Soviet decades. Interpretation of the albums from the post-memory viewpoint suggests the necessity for contextual historical information, since their female compilers were evidently creating their own mythology about these post-war decades. The albums portray a society with strong family values, orderly networks of family relationships, mutual trust, prosperity, and ‘the good life’ – all of which stood in sharp contrast with the everyday realities of Soviet-era existence.