Goodbye, Atlantis!

bohēmu, īpaši filmu pasauli ar kinovēsturē zināmām personībām, arī Rīgas ebreju, vācbaltiešu, krievu baltās emigrācijas aprindas, to dzīves veidu, skolas Berlīnē un Rīgā. Un tad visas šīs Eiropas daļas sagruvumu, sapostīšanu un pazušanu nebūtībā 1940.—1945.gados — kopā ar visu to īpato kultūru, kas impregnēja cilvēkus mūsu platuma grādos. Cenšos atdzīvināt savu toreizējo bērna un pusaudzes pasaules redzējumu, bez vēlāko gadu analītisko vēsturisko atziņu ieprojicēšanas. Cik nu tas ir iespējams. Cenšos arī rakstu rindās iemūžināt to cilvēku tēlus, kuri, briesmas un nāves draudus nicinot, mani glāba un slēpa ebreju masu slepkavību laikā vācu okupētajā Latvijā. Ceru, ka mana atmiņu grāmata varētu izraisīt lasītājos ne vien interesi par kādu atsevišķu likteni, bet arī pārdomas par vēsturisko norišu atspulgu mūsu katra dzīvē

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Farewell, Atlantis!
Valentīna Freimane

The peculiarity of my individual memoir is that it covers an unusual diversity in social, national, geographical, and cultural spheres during the twenties and thirties of the last century up to 1945 — the end of the war and the beginning of the long-term establishment of Soviet dictate. My intention was to characterize these different environments within the boundaries of personal childhood and youth memories, in which I grew up: the financial bourgeoisie and artistic bohemia of Paris and Berlin, especially the film world with personalities known in film history, also the circles of Riga's Jews, Baltic Germans, Russian white emigration, their lifestyles, schools in Berlin and Riga. And then the collapse, devastation, and disappearance into oblivion of all these parts of Europe during 1940—1945 — along with all the peculiar culture that impregnated people in our latitudes. I try to revive my then child's and adolescent's worldview without projecting the analytical historical insights of later years. As much as it is possible. I also try to immortalize in writing the images of those people who, despite the dangers and threats of death, saved and hid me during the mass murder of Jews in German-occupied Latvia. I hope that my memoir might evoke in readers not only an interest in an individual fate but also reflections on the reflection of historical events in each of our lives.