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The exhibition “Occupied three times. Liepāja during and after World War II” covers the period from World War II to the repression and life in exile.

Its sequel, “Lasting defiance. Liepāja is fighting back,” is dedicated to the resistance movement of Liepāja residents during the occupation. It highlights such resistance organizations as the Jānis Kurelis Unit and the armed underground organization of Liepāja school youth, “Kursa.”

“The main exhibition of the Liepāja Occupation Museum, the only occupation museum outside Riga, founded in 2001, was morally outdated, so we had to think of something new to attract people and interest them with these stories about the history of our nation,” said Dace Kārkla, Director of the Liepāja Museum, at the opening of the exhibition.

In the summer of 2023, when the renovation works of the building had finished, the Liepāja Museum, in cooperation with the Design Studio “H2E,” invited the residents of Liepāja, especially young people, to a meeting, a creative exchange of ideas about what the new exhibition of the Liepāja Occupation Museum should look like. The young people’s suggestions were taken into account.

The new main exhibition, which is aimed at a young audience, offers a visually impressive and emotionally engaging representation of history. It reveals a multifaceted reflection of historical events using modern technology and interactive possibilities.

The Latvian Association of the Politically Repressed Chairman, Tālis Veismanis, welcomed the fact that the youth had a dialogue and an exchange of ideas while creating the exhibition. He also acknowledged that the main exhibition of the Liepāja Occupation Museum is the first in Latvia in which young people participated.

The exhibition is an opportunity for audiences of different ages and backgrounds to learn about the history of Latvia, Liepāja, and its surroundings. It is designed to encourage visitors to search for and interpret the fate of their families and the twists and turns of Latvia’s recent history, highlight the stories of Liepāja, and make them recognizable in the context of the history of the Second World War.

Much attention has been paid to the memories of contemporaries to preserve and pass on to future generations the stories of the painful events in Latvian history that affected almost every family. Visitors can access a specially designed digital screen with detailed lists, memories, photographs, and video testimonies of deported residents of Liepāja and the surrounding area.

Photos from the opening: https://failiem.lv/u/zjrnugrc73 (Author: Kārlis Volkovskis)

The exhibition is the result of extensive research, gathering evidence from several museums and private sources: Liepāja Museum, Liepāja Occupation Museum, Nīca Antiquities Repository, Otaņķi Antiquities Repository, Pāvilosta Regional Research Museum, Apriķi Museum, Cīrava Antiquities Repository, Aizpute Regional Research Museum, Bārta Museum, Vērgale Parish Museum, Latvian War Museum, Latvian National Library, Museum of the Occupation of Latvia, Latvian National Museum of History, Latvian State Archives and Latvian State History Archives, Ivars Ķupis, Juris Raķis and from several other private collections.

Liepāja Museum historians, under the guidance of leading museum researcher Inna Gīle, have been working on the exhibition’s content for several years. It also incorporates the findings of the scientific conference “Liepāja during the Occupation, 1940–1990”, held by the Liepāja Museum in 2022, and the latest research.

The content consultant is Jānis Šiliņš, PhD in History, who has reviewed and edited the texts of the exhibition.

The Design Studio “H2E” developed a unique design strategy and technical project for the exhibition. It was created with the financial support of the Liepāja City Municipality and the Latvian State Culture Capital Foundation.

The exhibition is open to the public at the Liepāja Occupation Museum, 7/9 Klāva Ukstiņa Street, Liepāja. The museum is open from Wednesday to Sunday, from 10.00 to 18.00. More information: www.okupacija.liepajasmuzejs.lv

Rasa Zālīte,
Liepāja Museum
Public Relations Specialist
Mob. +371 22333723,
E-mail: rasa.zalite@liepaja.lv