Latvian Visitors Help Ribblesdale Pupils Speak Up

Eminent politician and historian amongst the speakers

Friday January 25th Ribblesdale School is delivering a learning day called Speak Up Speak Out when an array of speakers and presentations will be given to year 9 pupils, including a group of year 9 pupils who visited Latvia in September to interview Gulag and Communist / Nazi survivors. The Army have agreed to come in and present on Afghanistan, a local resident from the valley who fled Stalins Communist regime and atrocities will handle a question and answer session about life under the Red Army and the Nazis and I am pleased to say that 6 pupils, 2 staff and a parent are flying in from Jelgava in Latvia to be part of the day and will also give two presentations.

The Latvian party includes Mr Andris Tomasuns, who is a former Headteacher of Spidola School, but changed direction in 1990 to go into politics. He was elected Deputy Education Minister in the new Latvian Parliament in the 1990s and has been involved in the political scene ever since. He is also Latvia’s most eminent and respected historian. He travels the world giving lectures and is the author of many history books on Latvian history. Google him! He knows everything about 1939 – 45! He was also in the Saiema (Latvian Parliament) building when Gorbachev sent in the crack Black Beret OMON Troops into Riga and Vilnius in 1991 to quell the growing unrest by bullet. The Parliament barricaded themselves in whilst bullets were flying and all MPs were armed with pistols!! (6 died on the streets that evening)

Pupils from Spidola School will give a presentation about the atrocities imposed on the town’s population by the two invading invaders in 1939 and 1941Jelgava was the capital city of the old region of Courland and was a prized possession of any invader into the Baltic area. It was famed for it’s architecture and wonderful palace designed by the famous Rastrelli who was the architect of the Winter Palace in St Petersburg. Jelgava was Latvia’s 2nd largest city and was totally decimated in the 2nd World War, 95% of the city being obliterated. To-day one street remains as it was with it’s old quaint wooden houses and cobbled street. Jelgava witnessed huge atrocities which can only be described as horrendous. The invading Russian communists rounded up and killed thousands of Latvians or sent them to Siberia to camps in temperatures of minus 50 C. When the Nazi army invaded, special troops went out to find and round up the Jewish community and communist sympathisers, walked them out to forests and shot them. When the Communists returned, Nazi sympathisers and partisans (local people who fought against both invaders) who lived in the woods were also hunted down and murdered.

Local Ribble Valley resident Mr Helmuts Francmanis will also speak. Mr Francmanis from Settle Question and Answer session with Mr Helmuts Francmanis – Mr Francmanis witnessed Stalins communists take over his village, school, house, land and his father’s pharmacy business. All doors in the home and dads business were wax sealed. Broken and the family were to be shot. At 13 he was defending his village by shooting at parachutists who were landing in the woods. At 16 he was forcibly recruited into the invading German Army. Mr Francmanis will field questions about his experiences.

Finally the pupils will be given a presentation by the British Army about their role in Afghanistan.