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Title: Peters Z. Olins papers
Date (inclusive): 1927-1962
Collection Number: 83010
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material: Mainly in Latvian
Physical Description:
4 manuscript boxes, 1 oversize box
(2.0 Linear Feet)
Abstract: Correspondence, dispatches, writings, financial records, printed matter, photographs, and memorabilia, relating to Latvian
foreign relations and émigré affairs.
Creator:
Olins, Peters Z., -1962
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives
The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual
or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 1997.
[Identification of item], Peters Z. Olins Papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
| 1890 | Born, Valmiera, Latvia |
| 1919 | Enters Latvian diplomatic service |
| 1927 | Awarded Ph.D. in history, American University, Washington, D.C. |
| 1928 | Author, The Teutonic Knights in Latvia. Promoted to rank of Minister Plenipotentiary. |
| 1962 | Died |
| 1910-1914 | Student at the University of St. Petersburg |
| 1935-1962 | Latvian minister to Argentina and Brazil |
Scope and Content of Collection
Acquired in 1997, the Peters Z. Olins papers in the Hoover Institution Library & Archives comprise materials relating to this
Latvian diplomat, who served most of his career in posts in Argentina and Brazil. Of perhaps most historical interest in the
collection is the official correspondence exchanged between Olins and other Latvian representatives in London, Washington,
and elsewhere, and especially his correspondence with Alfreds Bilmanis, Latvian ambassador to the United States. This series
also includes copies of letters sent between the Foreign Ministry of Latvia and various Latvian legations, and covers the
period before and during World War II. From this correspondence, it is possible to reconstruct the Latvian state's evaluation
of its situation in the years immediately before its loss of independence in 1940. These materials also document the unsuccessful
efforts of Latvian diplomats abroad to restore Latvian sovereignty after the end of the war.
Following the annexation of Latvia by the Soviet Union, many Latvian diplomats in the West, including Olins, retained their
official status as representatives of Latvia and continued to exercise their duties. In this regard, the collection contains
both correspondence as well as a number of reports written by Olins and sent to the Latvian Legation in the United States.
There is also an album of photographs in the collection relating to Olins' life and career, including his early years as a
student and a soldier in World War I, when Latvia was a province of the Russian empire.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Latvia -- Emigration and immigration
Diplomats -- Latvia
Argentina -- Foreign relations -- Latvia
Brazil -- Foreign relations -- Latvia
Latvia -- Foreign relations -- Argentina
Latvia -- Foreign relations -- Brazil