Antiņš

4 Names: Antiņš, Bušs, Bičulis, Poškus

6 cards

The 6 postcards described here would be very valuable for collectors, if the cards were of better quality. They were sent at the time of the WWI from Vidzeme province to a war prisoner camp in Germany i.e. they had to cross the front-line. I have never heard before that this kind of letter exchange was possible. As far as I understand, it was organized by the Red Cross. In any case, the postcards should have been written on the special printed cards for war prisoners, and it was obligatory to write them either in Russian, German or French. The actual cards are not always written on these special forms and one even is written in Latvian. What makes the cards valuable are the stamp printings of the military censors. Even one printing of a censor makes a card more valuable but these should have had two ones from both combating parts of the WWI. In reality, the printings are partially faded out because of bad conditions the cards were kept in. But for this reason I could afford to buy them, to have better insight in the life of wartime.

It is clear that the addressee of the cards - Jānis Antiņš came back home after the war. Who else could bring the letters to Latvia?

The information about the description of postcards can be found in another Page.

Antiņš - 1
1. Name.	Johan Antiņ, Kriegsgefangenen lager (Camp of war prisoners) No. 8282, Sagan, Germanija Deutschland
4. Dates.	S - 5-Jul-1916
6. Sender.	Anna Bušs, hotel Jurjev, Venden (now Cēsis), Livland
8. Language.	Russian
9. Text.	Translation: Dear sir. I have received your card of 29 May and in this card you inform me that you receive my cards seldom. I send you 2 or 3 cards per week, and in future I shall write every day. All of us are in good health and are living as usually. Your brother is in the town Jurjev, and he is healthy. Remains with cordial regards. Your Anna.
11. Comments.	Anna was obliged to write the card in Russian. The text is written well and shows good practice in writing, however some grammatical errors occurr. The honorific You not Thee forms are used in the text. I translated Mnogouvažaemij to Dear sir to show the rather official character of the addressing. So I suppose Anna did not write the letter personally but asked somebody to translate and to write the letter for her. Jurjev now is Tartu.

Antiņš - 2
1. Name.	Jahnis Antiņ, Kriegsgefangenen lager (Camp of war prisoners) No. 8282, Sagan, Germanija Deutschland
4. Dates.	S - 5-Mar-1917
6. Sender.	Anna Bušs, hotel Jurjev, Venden (now Cēsis), Livland
8. Language.	Russian
9. Text.	Translation: Dear sir. I am greeting you with a bow and am wishing you the best. All of us still are living as usually. We only do not know what is your life. I have not received the photo yet, the last card I received was of Jan. 8. Today I have sent from England via Moscow a parcel with: 4 pounds (about 1.5 kilogram B.M.) suhari, 1 tin canned meat, 1 pound preserved (konservirovannije) beans, 1 tin condensed milk, 1 tin coffee with milk, 1 pound sugar, 1/2 margarine, 1 cake soap. Inform me when the package will be received. Anna.
11. Comments.	Suhari means - dried bread. To prepare suhari, bread is sliced and the slices dried, what can be done, for example, in great ovens specially built for bread baking. The product differs from roasts because it is usually made of black (rye) bread. To eat them, one wets them and then nibbles. The taste is not so bad, by the way, especially if the eater has good appetite and few food. I do not know how the beans were preserved, I just can not imagine better method than simply to dry them. The measure of margarine was not mentioned in the text - I do not know 1/2 of what was sent (may be 1/2 pound) and I doubt it reached Sagan in good quality. May be the margarine of that time could keep good quality for long time, otherwise why they needed to search for margarine, if they presumably had plenty of butter in their farm. I think it was not easy to get all these products in spring 1917 especially these mentioned here that are, so to say, city made (except suhari).

Antiņš - 3
1. Name.	Johann Antiņ, Kriegsgefangenen lager (Camp of war prisoners) No. 8282, Sagan, Germanija Deutschland
4. Dates.	S - 17-Apr-1917
6. Sender.	Sister Anna
8. Language.	Russian
9. Text.	Translation: Dear brother. All of us bow to you and are wishing health and well-being. We are worrying a lot about you, because for a long time we have no news. We do not know what is going on with you, why you do not write to us. We have sent you 22 parcels and one by the Red Cross and do not know if you have received them. Soon we shall send a parcel again. We are healthy and are living former life at home. Indriķis is still in the hospital but in the nearest days will be let home. Though here is springtime, the weather is still very cold, we do not know how to do all the work needed, because we have no workers. Everything has changed here, you will not recognize when come. Hope to meet you soon. All the best. Sister Anna.
11. Comments.	At the first reading I could not believe that they have sent 23 parcels of food without knowing if they are received appropriately. However the number is supported also by the following cards. I do not know if the author of this card is the same Anna that was the author of the previous cards. The hand is different and the style also. Here nonformal addressing with Thee forms is used. I think that the letter was not written by Anna herself but by another person who had good knowledge of Russian and followed some style of letters. And if Anna lived some time in Cēsis and afterwards in countryside, she could hire different persons for writing the letters. I think that Indrikis is the first name of Jānis brother mentioned in the first letter.

Antiņš - 4
1. Name.	Johann Antin, Kriegsgefangenen lager (Camp of war prisoners) No. 8282, Sagan, Germanija Deutschland
4. Dates.	S - 12-Jun-1917
6. Sender.	Sister Anna.
8. Language.	Russian
9. Text.	Translation: We all are greeting you and wishing the best. Our greetings in your Angel's day, now the third year is passing since you are not with us. We hope that next year we all will be together. For a long time we have not got any news from you and we do not know how are you. We have sent you the 25^th parcel, it weighted 10 pounds and contained black and white suhari, sugar and sausage. We all are healthy and live without great changes. The weather here is good, everything grows well. Indriķis is now at home till the end of July. He will begin to mow grass for hay. This year we shall hardly have apples in the garden, only berries but also not so much. Indriķis trains Maļčik to go in harness - there is good success. When you shall come home, we will go to meet you in a carriage drawn by Maļčik. Bičulis M. is still in a hospital. He hopes he will be let home for a rest. Family Bičulis lives as it was, like the other acquaintances. Anna.
11. Comments.	Maļčik is the name of a horse, however I think it was translated to Russian in the letter - the actual name used in the farm presumably was Puika. I think that Jānis should have remembered Puika as a young nice foal.

Antiņš - 5
1. Name.	Johan Antin, Kriegsgefangenen lager (Camp of war prisoners) No. 8282, Sagan, Germanija Deutschland
4. Dates.	S - 24-Jun-1917
6. Sender.	Sister Anna from Piņķi
9. Text.	In Latvian: Mihlais brahlit Visu pirms mehs tevim suhtam dauds dauds sirsnigas sweizeenus us Wahrdu deenu no dsimtenes, Tehwu Mahjam us tahlu sweschumu. Mahjas mehs tawa Wahrda deena wissi masaki tawu bilditi appuschkojam ar rosem un neaizmirstulitem. Mamma, es, Minna, Indrikis ikkatrs nopinam pa wainadsiņu un puschkojam tawu bilditi suhtijam tewim gara sirsnigus sweizeenus un runajam sawa starpa kad wai nakoschos Jahnus reis buhsim kopa jo ne mas newaram to stundiņu sagaidit kad waretu wissi reis kopa buhtu ka tagad esam isķirti par wissu Pasauli. Mahjas darsiņa pasch reis seed loti skaistas rosites un daschadas puķites darsiņu apkopu un gaidu tewi Mahjas. Mahjas mehs dsihwojam wissi sweiki un wesseli, ar augli aug diesgan labi, steidsam duhschigi seenu nokopt kamer wehl ir Indriķis Mahjas jo 18 Julija ir atkal jaheet projam jo tad buhs tris mehneschi pagahjuschi. Ziti pasistami dsihwo wissi par wezam un ar daudz kas ir pee mums tagad grosijees. Mehs tewim esam aissuhtijuschi 26 pasilkas un dris suhtisim atkal. Ar mihļu sweizeenu no wisseem. Mahsa Anna dzimtene. My translation: Dear brother First of all we send the best regards in your Nameday from the homeland, the fatherhouse to the far foreign parts. In your Nameday here at home all of us, the smaller family members, decorated your photograph with roses and forget-me-nots. Mummy, I, Minna, Indrikis everybody of us made a small wreath and decorated your photograph and sent you best regards and spoke amongst ourselves that may be at the next Jāņi festival we shall be all together, because we are waiting impatiently to the moment when all of us will be together and not scattered over the whole world. Currently nice roses and other flowers are blooming at the home farm. I take care of the flower garden and are waiting for you to come home. We are all healthy at home and the harvest will be good, we are in hurry to gather hay while Indriķis stay at home, because at July 18 his three month leave will end. Other acquaintances are living as usually and many changes have occurred by us. We have sent to you 26 parcels and soon shall send again. With cordial regards from all of us. The sister Anna in the homeland.
11. Comments.	24 June is the Midsummerday and it was (and still is) celebrated by Latvians as a real festival with many of rites that came from pagan times. Additionally, it is the Nameday of Jānis and all the men named Jānis are honored in this day. First of all, the wreaths of oakleaves are made for them. Really, they look wonderful with these wreaths on their heads. Anna and all her family had their Jānis quite far and could only decorate his photograph. For additional information have a look to H.Spaull book and seek the information on St. John's Eve what is the same festival. I hope you feel the love of this letter.

Antiņš - 6
1. Name.	Ivan Antiņ, Lager vojennoplennyh (Camp of war prisoners) No. 8282, Sagan, Germanija Deutschland
4. Dates.	S - 6-Jul-1917
6. Sender.	J(or I).Poškus from Riga
8. Language.	Russian
9. Text.	Translation: Hello from all of us! Why you never wrote to us where you are and what you are doing. It seems you should know our address. We live where we lived before - Dvinskaja (Daugavpils) str. 41-5. We had an intention to write to you earlier but could not get to know your address. Recently your sister Minna came to us and told the address and we decided to wrote to you. Write how are you doing. Volodja's address: War prisoners camp in Güstrow, Mecklenburg, Germany, 14-Černomorski (Black sea) regiment, V.Poškus. Write to him, if possible, he asks to. Respectfully, J.Poškus.
11. Comments.	In this letter also a rather official style was used with honorific You. Volodja is a Russian nickname for Vladimir that corresponds to Voldemārs in Latvian. I think there was no need to mention the regiment of Voldemārs, because I doubt the war-prisoners were kept according to their previous regiments in the Russia Army.