Since 2018 is Latvia’s centennial, I am bringing my postings of diary entries in line with the centennial, so that you can see this on-the-ground narrative of someone who was right there in Latvia as the events leading up to independence took place, and also what happened after that.

Since I’ve already posted most of the 1918 entries, I will provide monthly summaries with links to the earlier posts. So here is February 1918!

• February 6th, 1918 – Alise’s husband Georgs is arrested by the Bolsheviks.
• February 7th, 1918 – Alise goes to visit her husband in prison, and he was shipped away in the night.
• February 8th, 1918 – The Germans liberate Valmiera from the Bolsheviks, but make off with a lot of farm inventory.
• February 10th, 1918 – Still there is no news about Georgs’ fate.
• February 11th, 1918 – Alise goes to town to pray in church, and learns that had the Bolsheviks still been in Valmiera for a few more days, the rest of the family may have gotten sent away as well.
• February 12th, 1918 – News comes that some Bolshevik prisoners had been freed by the Germans, but Alise does not know if Georgs is among them.
• February 13th, 1918 – Still no news, and eldest daughter TrÅ«tiņa wants her father home for her birthday.
• February 14th, 1918 – Georgs is reunited with his family on TrÅ«tiņa’s birthday.
• February 15th, 1918 – Alise is overjoyed that peace appears to have come again.
• February 22nd, 1918 – Alise celebrates the return of much of what was taken from them.
• February 27th, 1918 – Alise and her family return to their home on Anna estate.