Register of the Alfreds Bilmanis papers
Finding aid prepared by David Jacobs
Hoover Institution Library and Archives
© 2003
434 Galvez Mall
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003
hoover-library-archives@stanford.edu
Title: Alfreds Bilmanis papers
Date (inclusive): 1919-1968
Collection Number: 45003
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material: In Latvian and English
Physical Description:
8 manuscript boxes, 2 oversize boxes, 1 oversize folder
(4.2 Linear Feet)
Abstract: Correspondence, speeches and writings, memoranda, reports, and printed matter, relating to Latvian foreign relations, conditions
in Latvia during and after World War II, and postwar Latvian refugees and émigré affairs.
Creator:
Bilmanis, Alfreds, 1887-1948
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Access
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.
Use
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Acquisition Information
Acquired.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Alfreds Bilmanis papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Biographical Note
1887 |
Born, Riga, Latvia |
1910 |
Graduated
summa cum laude from Moscow University, with a degree in history
|
1919 |
Married Halina Salnicka in Tuczyn, Poland |
1920 |
Chief of Press Section, Latvian Ministry for Foreign Affairs |
1925 |
Received his Ph.D. in history from the University of Wilno (Vilnius) |
1929 |
Visited and lectured in the United States |
1930 |
Latvian delegate to the League of Nations |
1932-1935 |
Latvian Envoy Extraordinary, Moscow, USSR |
1935-1948 |
Latvian Envoy Extraordinary (ambassador) to the United States |
1942 |
Author,
Latvia and Her Baltic Neighbors, Washington, D.C.
|
1948 |
Died |
1951 |
Posthumous publication of
A History of Latvia, Princeton
|
Scope and Content Note
Acquired in 1948, with a significant increment coming to light in 2003, the Alfreds Bilmanis collection in the Hoover Institution
Library & Archives comprises documents relating to the career of one of the most important diplomats and historians of independent
Latvia. As a scholar, Bilmanis published numerous articles and books on Latvian and Baltic history during his lifetime, but
he received wider public recognition in his capacity as a diplomat occupying important and sensitive posts at a key time in
his country's history.
Bilmanis's diplomatic career took him to Moscow in the 1930s, where he witnessed firsthand the effects of Stalinism, and then
to the United States, where he served as Latvia's envoy during the tumultuous period before, during, and after World War II.
When the Hitler-Stalin pact of 1939 assigned Latvia to a Soviet "sphere of influence," followed by the country's forcible
annexation by the USSR in 1940, Bilmanis energetically protested, defending the cause of Baltic independence in Washington
in his role as ambassador, and elsewhere, in his role of public speaker and historian.
Throughout the war, Bilmanis continued to publish articles, pamphlets, and books, all of which reflected an unwavering belief
in Latvia's right to restored independence. While the actions of Germany and the Soviet Union meant that such a prospect was
increasingly remote, Bilmanis nevertheless did achieve some tangible results as a diplomat. Latvian assets abroad were protected,
as were certain gold reserves. Perhaps more importantly, in terms of the future status of Latvia, the United States never
recognized the legality of the Soviet annexation of the Baltic States in 1940, nor did it do so when these states were re-annexed
in the wake of the defeat of Nazi Germany. During this time, Bilmanis worked closely with the Latvian envoy to Great Britain,
Kārlis Zarinš (Charles Zarine), and there are a number of letters from Zarinš in the CORRESPONDENCE series of the collection.
In keeping the cause of Baltic independence alive in the arena of public opinion, Bilmanis drew upon his skills as a writer
and historian. He was later viewed by many within the Latvian diaspora and within Latvia itself as an important spokesman
for Latvian national aspirations during a time when the country no longer existed as a legal entity. In 1968, on the twentieth
anniversary of his death, Bilmanis was honored with the publication of a
Festschrift consisting of articles written by a number of his colleagues and fellow historians.
The Bilmanis collection consists largely of correspondence and printed matter relating to Bilmanis's diplomatic activities
in the United States. The correspondence, in particular, sheds light on the common struggle waged by Estonian, Latvian, and
Lithuanian representatives as they sought to make the case for Baltic independence before the United States government and
in the arena of public opinion.
Bilmanis was an early advocate of a commonwealth system for the three Baltic States, in which each would preserve its identity
and independence within a federal structure. There are materials in the CORRESPONDENCE and SPEECHES AND WRITINGS series of
the collection regarding this concept. Bilmanis wrote many letters to the editors of prominent American newspapers, and these
are to be found in the SPEECHES AND WRITINGS series. His major historical work,
A History of Latvia, was published posthumously, and is not part of the collection. The many writings produced by Bilmanis in his capacity as
Latvian envoy to the United States are to be found in the SPEECHES AND WRITINGS part of the collection, as are reports and
aide-mémoires for which Bilmanis was the primary author.
The LATVIAN LEGATION OFFICE FILE series includes materials produced by the Latvian Legation in Washington that were written
by others or are unattributed. Some of these may have been authored by Bilmanis. The SUBJECT FILE contains copies of treaties
concluded by all three Baltic States during their "first independence" between the two world wars. There is a good deal of
information about each Baltic country in this file, as well as materials relating to the actions of Soviet and German occupying
forces in the region before and after the Second World War. There are also materials concerning the resistance movement in
Latvia conducted by the organization Latvijas Centrala Padome, whose representatives were based in Sweden, as well as information
on the activities of the underground Latvian Social Democratic Workers Party during the same period.
The PRINTED MATTER series of the collection contains a number of émigré publications, as well as examples of newspapers produced
by Latvians in displaced person camps in occupied Germany. There are also a number of publications in Lithuanian, Russian,
and English.
The Bilmanis collection complements another collection in the Hoover Institution Library & Archives, that of Jules Feldmans,
who served as Bilmanis's successor as Latvian envoy to the United States, following Bilmanis's death in 1948. Bilmanis and
Feldmans had worked together closely during the lifetime of the former, and there is a significant correlation between the
two collections.
Throughout the register, Latvian spellings are given for Latvian names. Thus, Bilmanis's first name is Alfreds, rather than
the name he used in the United States, Alfred. Where Latvian spellings differ significantly from their English counterparts,
the English version is given in parentheses.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
World War, 1939-1945 -- Latvia
Latvia -- Emigration and immigration
Refugees
Latvia -- Foreign relations -- Soviet Union
Soviet Union -- Foreign relations -- Latvia
Latvia -- Foreign relations -- United States
United States -- Foreign relations -- Latvia
Diplomats -- Latvia
Biographical File, .
1945-1968
Scope and Contents note
Bibliography, concert program, credentials, and sheet music, arranged alphabetically by physical form
box 1, folder 1
Bibliography. Sprudzs, Adolf, "Dr. Alfred Bilmanis' Writings," in Adolf Sprudzs and Armins Rusis, eds.,
Res Baltica, Leyden, Netherlands, .
1968
Scope and Contents note
Photocopy
box 1, folder 3
Credentials. Photocopy of State Department accreditation of Bilmanis as Envoy Extraordinary, Minster Plenipotentiary, and
Consul General of Latvia, .
1947
Scope and Contents note
Also includes photocopies of three supplemental pages detailing the continued recognition by the United States of its treaties
with independent Latvia
box 1, folder 4
Sheet music. Typescript copy of the Latvian national anthem, by Kārlis Baumanis, in English
n.d.
Correspondence, .
1940-1948
Scope and Contents note
Letters, telegrams, and enclosures, largely relating to Bilmanis's diplomatic service in Washington, D.C., arranged alphabetically
by name of correspondent. Includes copies of letters sent to Bilmanis which are neither addressed to him nor written by him
box 1, folder 7
Unidentified, .
1941-1947
Scope and Contents note
Includes typescript draft of letter to Soviet ambassador(?), 1944
box 1, folder 9
American Red Cross
1944-1945
box 1, folder 10
Baltic American Delegation (Constantine R. Jurgela), .
1944
General note
See also Lithuanian American Information Center
box 1, folder 12
Byrnes, James F.
1945-1946
box 1, folder 15
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (Nicholas M. Butler, Malcolm W. Davis, James T. Shotwell)
1943
box 1, folder 16
Chicago Latvian Club (John Skudris)
1945
box 1, folder 17
Cicognani, A. G.
1941-1945
box 1, folder 20
Encyclopedia Britannica (E. H. Powell)
1942
box 1, folder 21
Estonia. Saatkond voi esindus (United States)
1941-1946
box 1, folder 22
Feldmans, Jules
1945-1946
box 1, folder 28
Hermanson, Richard
1941-1945
box 1, folder 29
Hollyday, Worthington
1943
box 1, folder 35
Latvian Central Committee (Latviesu Centrala Komiteja)
1946
box 1, folder 36
Latvian Refugee Committee
1945
box 1, folder 40
Lithuania. Legacija (United States)
1941-1946
box 1, folder 41
Lithuanian American Information Center (Constantine R. Jurgela)
1945-1948
box 1, folder 45
Overseas News Agency (Jacob Landau)
1943
box 1, folder 46
Peterson, R. J.
1942-1945
box 1, folder 50
Sulzberger, Arthur Hays, .
1942-1946
Scope and Contents note
Includes correspondence relating to coverage of Latvia by
The New York Times
box 1, folder 51
Svensk-Lettiska Hjälpkommittén (Kārlis Lasmanis, Harry Wallin), .
1945
General note
See also correspondence with Kārlis Lasmanis
box 1, folder 52
Thomsen, Hans, .
1941
Scope and Contents note
Relates to the declaration by Bilmanis of the existence of a state of war between Germany and Latvia, subsequent to the German
invasion of the Soviet Union, and includes a copy of a supporting letter to Secretary of State Cordell Hull
box 1, folder 54
Valters, Miķelis, .
1943-1945
Scope and Contents note
Includes materials relating to displaced persons' camps in Germany
box 1, folder 57
Zarinš, Kārlis (Charles Zarine), .
1940-1946
Scope and Contents note
Includes materials sent to, and prepared by, Zarinš in his capacity as head of the Latvian Legation in London
Speeches and Writings, .
1941-1948
Scope and Contents note
Aide-mémoires, articles, book, letters to the editor, and reports, arranged chronologically by title
box 2, folder 1
"Latvia and Other Baltic States Were Paying Propositions,"
n.d.
Scope and Contents note
Typescript
box 2, folder 2
"The Latvians and Latvia,"
n.d.
Scope and Contents note
Typescript
box 2, folder 3
Press statement on parliamentary elections in Latvia, .
1940 July 13
Scope and Contents note
Typescript
box 2, folder 4
"Latvia: A Victim of Unprovoked Aggression by Soviet Russia,"
New York Times, .
1940 July 23
Scope and Contents note
Printed copy
box 2, folder 5
Statement made to Secretary of State, Washington, D.C., .
1941 June 25
Scope and Contents note
Printed copy
box 2, folder 6
"Swastikas on the Latvian Airplanes," letter to the editor,
PM, .
1941 August 12
Scope and Contents note
Typescript
box 2, folder 7
Latvia and Her Baltic Neighbors: Three Stars between the Anvil and Hammer, Washington, D.C., .
1942
Scope and Contents note
Printed copy
box 2, folder 8
Aide-mémoire, .
1942 February 24
Scope and Contents note
Typescript
box 2, folder 9
"Latvians are Not 'Bolshevik Brothers'," letter to the editor,
Evening Star, .
1942 May 3
Scope and Contents note
Typescript text and cover letter
box 2, folder 10
"Latvians Declared Never Hostile to Jews,"
New York World-Telegram, .
1942 June 9
Scope and Contents note
Typescripts of telegram and Bilmanis's text, and printed copy of article to which he was responding
box 2, folder 11
"General-Directorate Imposed on Latvia by Nazi-Germans – Illegal, Null and Void and Violates Sovereign Rights of Latvia,"
.
1942 July 28
Scope and Contents note
Printed copy of press statement
box 2, folder 12
Press statement, .
1942 November 13
Scope and Contents note
Typescript
box 2, folder 13
The Baltic States and the Freedom of the Baltic Sea, Washington, D.C., .
1943
Scope and Contents note
Printed copy
box 2, folder 14
"Baltic States' Second Occupation during this War," in
Latvia under German Occupation, Washington, D.C., .
1943
Scope and Contents note
Printed copy
box 2, folder 15
Letter to the editor,
Evening and Sunday Star, .
1943 January 10
Scope and Contents note
Typescript of Bilmanis's text, and printed copy of article to which he was responding
box 2, folder 16
Letter to the editor,
Christian Science Monitor, .
1943 February 23
Scope and Contents note
Typescript
box 2, folder 17
Letter to the editor,
PM, .
1943 March 3
Scope and Contents note
Typescript letter and reply from John P. Lewis
box 2, folder 18
Letter to the editor,
Life, .
1943 April 10
Scope and Contents note
Printed copy and typescript copy of additional letter by the Polish ambassador, Jan Ciechanowski
box 2, folder 19
Speech, Polish Constitution Day, Washington Irving High School, New York City, .
1943 May 2
Scope and Contents note
Typescript
box 2, folder 20
Letter to the editor,
Christian Science Monitor, .
1943 October 26
Scope and Contents note
Typescript
box 2, folder 21
Letter to the editor,
Washington Post, .
1943 October 29
Scope and Contents note
Typescript and printed copy
box 2, folder 22
Letter to the editor,
New York Post, .
1943 November 19
Scope and Contents note
Typescript
box 2, folder 23
"The Foreign Policy of Russia," speech, .
1944 March 21
Scope and Contents note
Typescript
box 2, folder 24
"Latvian Minister Says His People Want Atlantic Charter Freedom,"
Evening Star, .
1944 October 17
Scope and Contents note
Printed copy
box 2, folder 25
"Baltic States Stand Firm,"
New York Herald Tribune, .
1945 January 28
Scope and Contents note
Printed copy
box 2, folder 26
"Latvian History,"
Washington Post, .
1945 March 11
Scope and Contents note
Printed copy
box 2, folder 27
Latvia as an Independent State, Washington, D.C., .
1947
Scope and Contents note
Printed copy of review by Edgars Andersons in
Sauksme, no. 11/12, 1947. Folder contains entire serial issue
box 2, folder 28
Latvia: Country and People, Washington, D.C., .
1948
Scope and Contents note
Printed copy
Latvian Legation Office File, .
1934-1946
Scope and Contents note
Aide-mémoires, lists, and memoranda and reports, arranged alphabetically by physical form
box 3, folder 1
Aide-mémoires, .
1941-1944
Scope and Contents note
Includes materials pertaining to the Latvian Legations in Washington and London, and whose authorship is uncertain. Typescripts
box 3, folder 3
Latvian refugees and missing persons, .
1940-1946
Scope and Contents note
Includes names of Latvians in Brazil, Canada, China, and the United States
box 3, folder 4
Latvian officials deported into the Soviet gulag
1941
box 3, folder 5
Latvian diplomats abroad
1946
Memoranda and reports
1935-1944
About Latvia and the Baltic states
box 3, folder 7-8
General, .
1935-1944
Scope and Contents note
Unattributed writings; may include some authored by Alfreds Bilmanis
Written by L. Elkis for the Latvian Legation, Washington, D.C.
box 3, folder 9
Latvia: Economic Resources and Capacities, Washington, D.C., .
1942
Scope and Contents note
Printed copy
box 3, folder 10
"Russian Bolshevistic Atrocities in Latvia," .
1943 April
Scope and Contents note
Typescript
Subject File, .
1920-1948
Scope and Contents note
Clippings, correspondence, pamphlets, reports, and serial issues, arranged alphabetically by subject
box 3, folder 11
Baltic States--Politics and government, .
1940-1945
General note
See separate headings for each country for more materials regarding individual histories.
Scope and Contents note
Includes photocopy of secret instructions, in Russian, to Soviet security agents regarding the arrest of "anti-Soviet elements"
in Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia
box 3, folder 12
Estonia--Politics and government
1940-1991
box 3, folder 17
Latvian Social Democratic Workers Party
1944
box 3, folder 18
Latvijas Centrala Padome (Latvian Central Council), .
1944-1945
Scope and Contents note
Materials pertaining to underground resistance in Latvia during World War II, and to the activities of this organization,
based in Sweden
box 4, folder 1
League of Nations, .
1920-1939
Scope and Contents note
Copies of published proceedings concerning the three Baltic States, and copies of various international treaties to which
they were signatories, as recorded by the League of Nations
box 4, folder 2
Lithuania--Politics and government, .
1940-1991
Scope and Contents note
Includes copies of instructions to Soviet security forces, in Lithuanian and in English translation, regarding the handling
of "anti-Soviet elements" in Lithuania
box 4, folder 3
Merchant ships--Latvia, .
1942
Scope and Contents note
Includes materials relating to the sinking of Latvian cargo ships during World War II, and to postwar litigation concerning
the Soviet nationalization of the Latvian Shipping Company
box 4, folder 4
Germany (West), .
1945-1948
Scope and Contents note
Materials relating to refugees from the three Baltic States, primarily those from Latvia, living in displaced person camps
in occupied Germany following the Second World War
box 4, folder 5
Sweden, .
1945-1946
Scope and Contents note
Materials pertaining to the situation of Latvian refugees after World War II, especially those subject to repatriation to
the Soviet Union in 1945, and to protests concerning such relocation
box 4, folder 6
Soviet Union--Politics and government
1942-1943
Printed Matter, .
1944-1948
Scope and Contents note
Clippings, pamphlets, and serial issues, arranged alphabetically by physical form and therein by title
Latvian serial issues.
Scope and Contents note
Most titles originating from Germany or Austria represent the publishing efforts of Latvian refugees in displaced person camps
box 5, folder 1
Atbalss (Canada), no. 2
1948 June 30
box 5, folder 2
Atbalss (Germany)
1948 January-June
box 5, folder 3
Auseklis (Germany), no. 171
1947 December 13
box 5, folder 4
Baltiešu Ziņas Austrija (Austria), nos. 95, 119, 120, 121, 122, 132, 134
1947-1948
box 5, folder 5
Ceļs (Germany), no. 7/8
1947
box 5, folder 6
Cī"ņa (Latvia), nos. 243, 253, 258, 279, 281, 290, 305, 1947; no. 4
1948
box 5, folder 7
Dienas Zi"ņas (Germany), nos. 8 (incomplete), 44, 45, 72, 77, 84, 100, 101, 103, 1946; nos. 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32
1947
box 5, folder 8
Dzimtene (United States)
1940 October
box 5, folder 9
Dzimtenes balss (Sweden), nos. 7-8, ; nos. 2-4, 6, ; nos. 2-3
1946 1947 1948
box 5, folder 10
Gana balss (Sweden), nos. 1-5, ; nos. 4-7, ; nos. 1-7, ; nos. 1-2
1945 1946 1947 1948
box 5, folder 11
Ilustrētas Vārds (Germany), nos. 16-18, ; no. 26, .
1947 1948
Scope and Contents note
Includes some articles in English
box 5, folder 12
Jaunadze (Germany), nos. 68-72
1947
box 5, folder 13
Labietis (Sweden), nos. 1-2
1946
box 5, folder 14
Lapa (Germany), nos. 6-8
1947
box 6, folder 1
Latgola (Germany), nos. 34, 37-40, ; nos. 57-59, 61-62, 75-77
1947 1948
box 6, folder 2
Latviešu studentu centrālās savienības biļetēns (Germany), no. 1
1948
box 6, folder 3
Latviešu Ziņas (Germany), nos. 90, 93, 95-97, ; 1, 4, 9-10, 12-17, 43-44
1947 1948
box 6, folder 4
Latvija (Argentina), nos. 123-124
1947
box 6, folder 5
Latvija (Camp Churchill, Germany), nos. 325-328, 335-336, ; nos. 337-340
1947 1948
box 6, folder 6
Latvija (Günzburg/Donau, Germany), no. 79, ; nos. 7, 10-14, 42-45
1947 1948
box 6, folder 7
Latvju Vārds (Sweden), nos. 13-21
1948
box 6, folder 8
Latvju Zinas (Sweden), nos. 14-21, 46, 48-51, .
1948
General note
See also OVERSIZE MATERIALS
box 6, folder 9
LCK Informācija Biļetens (Germany), no. 6
1948
box 6, folder 10
Londonas Avīze (Great Britain), nos. 37, 40, 42, ; nos. 93-95, 110
1945 1948
box 6, folder 11
Londonas Latviešu Vestnesis (Great Britain), nos. 49-52, 68
1948
box 6, folder 12
Meža Vēstis (Germany), nos. 8 and 12
1948
box 6, folder 13
Pax Romana (Germany?), nos. 6-8
n.d.
box 7, folder 1
Sauksme (Germany), nos. 1-4, 9/10
1947
box 7, folder 2
Svētdienas Zi"ņas (Germany), nos. 56-60, 73-74
1948
box 7, folder 3
Tāvu zemes calendars (Germany)
1948
box 7, folder 4
Tēvzeme (Germany), no. 80, ; nos. 6, 7-8, 10-11, 13-15, 18, 43-45
1947 1948
box 7, folder 5
Tiesībniks (Germany), nos. 1 and 3
1947
box 7, folder 6
Valkas Ziņas (Germany), nos. 2-3, 6-17, 42-45
1948
box 7, folder 7
Vēstnesis (Germany?), nos. 1-2
1945
box 7, folder 8
Ziņas (Germany), nos. 156-167, 203-209
1948
box 7, folder 9
Latvian miscellany. Fragments of bulletins, largely from DP camps in Germany, .
1945-1948
Scope and Contents note
Includes one newssheet from Sweden
Publications in languages other than Latvian
box 8, folder 2
Baltic Review, no. 1, v. 2
1947
box 8, folder 4
Oras, Ants,
Deportations in Estonia
n.d.
box 8, folder 5
Im Ausland, nos. 2, 4, 22
1948
box 8, folder 7
K. Silinis: Paintings, Frankfurt am Main
1947
box 8, folder 8
La Lettonie et les autres états baltes dans la politique internationale
1946 August 10
box 8, folder 9
Lithuanian Bulletin, no. 12, ; nos.1/2
1947 1948
box 8, folder 10
Svensk Tidskrift, v. XXXIV
1947
Oversize Materials, .
1919-1947
Scope and Contents note
Clipping, correspondence, diary, maps, photograph, and serial issues, arranged by size
box 9, folder 1
Clipping and photograph relating to the sinking of Latvian cargo ships
1942 February 2
box 9, folder 2-4
Serial issues,
Latvju Ziņas (Sweden), nos. 1-65, ; nos. 1-99, ; nos. 1-100
1945 1946 1947
box 10, folder 1
War diary kept by Kārlis Birkaivs during a military campaign in Kurzeme, Latvia, .
1919
Scope and Contents note
Includes letters and telegrams, relating to this diary, 1919-1947
box 10, folder 2-3
Maps, drawn by Kārlis Birkaivs, showing telegraph lines used by the Latvian army in Kurzeme
1919
map_case Map case
Four maps, drawn by Kārlis Birkaivs, showing telegraph lines used by the Latvian army in Kurzeme
1919