Newspaper clipping showing Ausma Levalds receiving welcome gifts, marking her as the 50,000th Displaced Person that immigrated to Canada after the Second World War, 1949. Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 (DI2013.841.1c).

Ausma Levalds was the 50,000th Displaced Person to arrive in Canada after the Second World War

We fled from our farm in Latvia on October the 8th, 1944. By then my parents had been liberated of most of their horses and livestock by both Russian and German soldiers. All hope of a normal life after four years of mayhem had vanished. For three months, we took shelter from the fighting and the elements where we could find it, mainly in the woods. Slowly with a horse drawn wagon and on foot we worked out way to Liepaja, a port city. We left Latvia on one of the last cattle boats allowed to depart from our homeland. We arrived in Danzig and stayed in a huge shed with hundreds of other refugees. As a four year old, I quickly became disenchanted with this new country, annoyed to be constantly embraced by the bitter cold, devastated to discover that there was not even enough floor space or straw for all to sleep on. The bombings and the wail of the air raid sirens were incessant. We were constantly seeking refuge in ditches and when possible in air raid shelters. Yet during these barbaric years of death and destruction I not only witnessed, but also experienced act of kindness; a wounded soldier sharing an apple, a stranger a piece of bread! Christmas 1944 in Berlin was bleak, however I was blessed while many families suffered separation and death of a family member, I was surrounded by my entire family!

Although I knew fear and hunger and was constantly confronted with the sights, sounds, and smells of devastation and carnage, I, as a young child, did not fully comprehend the overwhelming sense of loss and helplessness that the rest of my family wrestled with. Our farm was in rubble! Latvia no longer existed, so return was impossible! Our heritage was both destroyed and denied to us! The paramount concern was how to provide for one's family, where and how to secure a future. Daily life in the D.P. camps after the war became more stable due to the humanitarian aid that was received. However there was little hope for the refugees of rebuilding life in a war torn Europe.

I, like thousands of displaced people in Europe, am indebted to many individuals and organizations for, without their humanitarian efforts, our survival would have been questionable. Eleanor Roosevelt's efforts in the United Nations stopped Russia's attempts at forced repatriation of the one million refugees still left in Europe. And Canada, after the end of the war took and active part in negotiations which led to the establishment of the I.R.O.'s provisional committee. Later, Canada became the first non-European country to take practical steps towards the re-settlement of D.P.'s. The Department of Labour co-operated with the Immigration Branch in arranging entry and work for thousands of refugees. The D.P.'s had to sign a one year work agreement. Male labourers were needed in the mines, lumber camps, farms and factories. Females mainly emigrated as domestics and factory workers. Some D.P.'s were admitted to Canada under guarantee of employment by their sponsors while many were admitted to Canada destined to relatives and family under existing immigration regulations.

My family immigrated to Canada in two stages. My father and brother, Janis and Ilmards Levalds respectively emigrated to Canada in June of 1948, under the auspices of the International Refugee Organization. They departed from Germany on the S.S. Marine Shark and arrived in Halifax, N.S. on July 16, 1948. Both had a one year Farm Labour Agreement issued by the National Employment Service, in Kitchner, Ontario. The agreement stipulated that the monthly wages be not less than $45.00 per month together with board and lodging. My father and brother were very fortunate indeed to be assigned to welcoming and generous sponsors. My father was with the J.E. Greulich family and Ilmars, on the farm of Angus Gingerich, both in Waterloo County. They worked and saved their wages to sponsor our immigration to Canada.

The months of separation were both anxious and busy. Now, it was our turn to go before the commission and wait for someone to determine if we were worthy candidates for Canada. Waiting for this verdict was no less daunting than waiting on previous occasions for a judgment that would determine whether or not we were deserving of food or shelter. How anxious we were to be in a time and a place, to have the freedom, where personal effort and work would provide opportunity for choice as to shelter, food, and education! Fear and trepidation of not meeting the commissions expectations as to my worth as well as the constant dread of being rejected for health reasons caused me to become apprehensive and wary. Rejection meant that I would not be reunited with my family! The relief was palatable when we finally received word that Canada would accept us!

Mother, Rasma, and I departed from Cuxhaven on the Samaria carrying 1200 displaced persons on February 10, 1949. The weather was unrelentingly cruel during the passage. The majority of the passengers were constantly seasick. Little food was consumed or held down. The pitching and rolling motion of the ship pounding through the fierce Atlantic Ocean did nothing to quiet our heaving stomachs. A few crew members delighted in heightening our misery by indicating that the vessel could not withstand any more punishment and that we were about to perish.

Eager to set foot on firm ground, we disembarked from the Samaria, under a threatening sky, weak, tired, and anxious to be reunited with loved ones. When a large sign bearing the number 50000 was hung around my neck I was totally bewildered by the procedure. I was confused by all the commotion, apprehensive and frustrated at the constant attempts that were being made to separate me from my mother and sister. Separation from my father and brother was bad enough, so I was not about to lose sight of my mother and sister! We were ushered into the immigration hall for a ceremony. The flashing cameras and the microphones were disconcerting and demanding! Unfortunately I was unable to comply as I neither understood nor spoke English!

I was completely taken aback when a friendly giant of a man, Mayor J.E. Ahern, presented me a doll the size of a real baby, beautifully clad in white. The friendly giant's wife secured a silver locket, adorned with a crest of Halifax, around my neck - my first and only jewelry for many years to come. Immigration Inspector A.G. Christie, on behalf of Mines and Resources Minister MacKinnan, who was also responsible for immigration, presented me with Taverner's "Birds of Canada" book. This beautiful book proved to be an invaluable resource at home and at school. The thumbed pages of the 'Bible' received from Ev. Lutheran Synod of Nova Scotia, attest to the frequency that it has been read. What was said to me on the ship before we disembarked or in the immigration room I do not know! Why people in uniforms or civilian clothing were speaking, smiling, and giving me gifts was beyond me! I did not understand why I was getting this unsought attention or what was expected of me! I did not understand that I had to be polite, smile and curtsy a 'Thank you". My sister, who had been violently ill the entire crossing, upon receiving $5.00 in the immigration hall, immediately purchased an apple. And miracles, she did not stand in line for hours only to return empty handed as was her lot in Germany!

I really did not comprehend the meaning of D.P. until much later and, for many years I found being called D.P. extremely painful. Years later I discovered who the gift givers were and the significance of all the commotion and kindness that was extended to me for the next few days. The Canadian Government had picked me, an eight year old Latvian girl, while I was somewhere in the mid-Atlantic, as the 50000 D.P. to mark a milestone in its immigration plan.

The gifts and 'welcomes' are treasured. However, the ultimate 'gift' can not be seen or touched but lived! Canada allowed me to become a Canadian Citizen, gifted me a future, one of freedom of speech and religion, the opportunity to make choices, allowing me to determine my future! I am eternally grateful to Canada for all of these gifts and privileges! I recognize that I, as a Canadian Citizen, have duties and responsibilities to Canada! These I discharge with gratitude and pride, to respect the laws and customs of Canada, to be a productive and active member of my community, to support humanitarian organizations in Canada as well as internationally. I am also grateful that my colour, nationality, and religion were not so disparate as to impede acceptance and assimilation into Canadian society.

Accession Number: S2012.701.1