[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Resettlement” _builder_version=”4.22.2″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#FFFFF0″ background_enable_image=”off” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_right” custom_padding=”||0px|||” global_colors_info=”{%22gcid-3f47e762-ddb9-4bcc-9a88-eb1cda6175db%22:%91%93}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ admin_label=”Resettlement” _builder_version=”4.22.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.22.2″ _module_preset=”d31e2bc2-7099-47ba-9c37-1cdc94e70270″ header_font=”Prata||||||||” header_font_size=”74px” header_line_height=”1.1em” position_origin_a=”center_left” horizontal_offset_tablet=”0px” horizontal_offset_phone=”” horizontal_offset_last_edited=”on|phone” position_origin_a_tablet=”bottom_left” position_origin_a_phone=”” position_origin_a_last_edited=”on|desktop” position_origin_f_tablet=”” position_origin_f_phone=”” position_origin_f_last_edited=”on|desktop” position_origin_r_tablet=”” position_origin_r_phone=”” position_origin_r_last_edited=”on|desktop” background_layout=”dark” custom_padding=”||7px|||” header_font_size_tablet=”64px” header_font_size_phone=”30px” header_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” header_line_height_tablet=”1.2em” header_line_height_phone=”1.3em” header_line_height_last_edited=”on|desktop” positioning_tablet=”” positioning_phone=”” positioning_last_edited=”on|desktop” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
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This section is dedicated to understanding U.S. reactions to the resettlement of Eastern Europeans and Baltics and how the state of Minnesota, in particular the town of Northfield and the Twin Cities area, served as a first landing spot for many displaced persons. For more information on resettlement and U.S. immigration policy, be sure to visit the International Cooperation sections of the exhibit.<\/a><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/lwf-refugee-service\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1702\/2023\/07\/IRO-Camp.jpg” title_text=”IRO Camp” show_in_lightbox=”on” admin_label=”IRO Center” _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” box_shadow_style=”preset1″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”U.S Assistance and Reaction” _builder_version=”4.22.2″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#FFFFF0″ custom_margin=”0px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{%22gcid-abdd1dfe-115d-40b5-9c1d-c1c9635de504%22:%91%93}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”90865f4d-2cce-42a7-b40e-d3fbad25605a” header_2_font=”Prata||||||||” header_2_text_color=”#141414″ header_2_font_size=”60px” header_2_line_height=”1.2em” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” header_2_font_size_tablet=”32px” header_2_font_size_phone=”20px” header_2_font_size_last_edited=”on|tablet” header_2_line_height_tablet=”1.3em” header_2_line_height_phone=”1.4em” header_2_line_height_last_edited=”on|phone” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{%22gcid-3f47e762-ddb9-4bcc-9a88-eb1cda6175db%22:%91%93}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_accordion open_toggle_background_color=”RGBA(0,0,0,0)” closed_toggle_background_color=”RGBA(0,0,0,0)” icon_color=”#141414″ _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” toggle_font=”Prata||||||||” toggle_font_size=”22px” toggle_line_height=”1.4em” body_font=”Lato||||||||” body_font_size=”16px” body_line_height=”1.8em” max_width=”700px” module_alignment=”center” toggle_font_size_tablet=”18px” toggle_font_size_phone=”16px” toggle_font_size_last_edited=”on|desktop” toggle_line_height_tablet=”1.6em” toggle_line_height_phone=”” toggle_line_height_last_edited=”on|desktop” body_font_size_tablet=”15px” body_font_size_phone=”14px” body_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” border_width_all=”0px” border_color_all=”rgba(20,20,20,0.3)” border_width_bottom=”1px” global_colors_info=”{%22gcid-9452e02f-d11f-42fc-a9f8-16803f93b5d0%22:%91%93,%22gcid-3f47e762-ddb9-4bcc-9a88-eb1cda6175db%22:%91%93}”][et_pb_accordion_item title=”DPs and Communist Suspicion” open=”on” _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” body_font_size=”18px” body_line_height=”1.8em” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n With the rise of the Cold War and anti-communist sentiments in the United States, the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) had to reconcile the Eastern European heritage and nationality of displaced Lutherans and Americans\u2019 desire to not bring in communists. An example of how Lutheran agencies coped with this was through the document to the right by the Lutheran Resettlement Service of Minnesota. Here they reassure their American audience that displaced persons are, in fact, not communists but rather \u201cthe trained free thinking people who refuse to go back to their Soviet dominated countries.\u201d<\/span>They also reassure their audience that displaced persons were screened multiple times to see where their loyalties may lie.1<\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Anti-communist sentiment was also present among displaced members of the \u201cChurches in Exile\u201d and displaced staff of LWF-SR. Edmund Smits<\/a>, program director of the Lutheran Study Center at Imbshausen and Latvian displaced person, for instance, describes communist rule as having \u201cvery noble human aims from the outside, but on the inside, the most inhuman killing of people who were nothing but right good fellows.\u201d2<\/a><\/span> Given displaced persons history with Soviet occupation,<\/a> clearly neither side had pro-communist sentiments, but American audiences still needed to be reminded of people like Smits in order to want to provide aid.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title=”Sponsors” _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” body_font_size=”18px” body_line_height=”1.8em” global_colors_info=”{}” open=”off”]<\/p>\n The relationship between a sponsor (someone providing a job to someone immigrating to the U.S.) and a displaced person had a delicate balance. Work life and acculturation proved to be difficult for both sides; displaced persons felt a distinctive homesickness and untrusting view of this new country, while American sponsors expected an overwhelming gratefulness to their job offers and housing provisions.3<\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Many immigrants came over to the U.S. to work on farms, but often did not plan to stay there given their experiences with farm work under Soviet occupation. Naturally, instead, they moved from their original sponsored homes and jobs over to cities, leaving American farmers disappointed with the loss of workers. Yet, sponsors also at times did not treat those they sponsored well, with hundreds of Latvians exploited through Mississippi sharecropping situations, in Louisiana sugar cane fields, and in California citrus groves.4<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The Lutheran Resettlement Service (LRS), understanding the traumas and accompanying distrust refugees had, and attempting to provide space for these emotions, reached out through letters to newly settled displaced persons to ask whether living conditions were satisfactory. Yet, showing their hope for acculturation, they also suggested that they join local Lutheran congregations, where they might learn English and worship, but this was a suggestion that was not always welcomed. In the end, autonomy, community, and expectations for quick acculturation all clashed within this sponsor-sponsored dynamic.5<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title=”Postwar to Cold War” _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” body_font_size=”18px” body_line_height=”1.8em” global_colors_info=”{}” open=”off”]<\/p>\n With fears of communism at a rise with the beginning of the Cold War, ethnic German and Baltic refugees tended to receive more support from American authorities when they deployed more anti-communist, patriotic messaging. The DPs came to the U.S. with strong nationalistic feelings for their home countries and desires for liberation from Soviet rule. Yet, with this passion for liberating the Baltics, the DPs encountered Americans who did not share their sense of urgency to fight for freedom.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Here the LSR and LWF faced the conundrum of the Church’s role in politics. The general stance of the LWF was that it was God\u2019s will to deploy the Baltic DPs from their nations, and that it could have just as easily been Americans. Therefore, it was God’s will to serve their fellow Lutherans. LWF also emphasized that Americans should not expect assimilation from the Baltic DPs who were grieving the loss of their homeland.6<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_accordion_item][\/et_pb_accordion][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/lwf-refugee-service\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1702\/2023\/07\/A-DP-Family-Waits-for-Your-Assurance-St-Johns-Archive.jpg” alt=”A D.P Family Waits…For Your Assurance!” title_text=”A D.P Family Waits…For Your Assurance!” show_in_lightbox=”on” _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” box_shadow_style=”preset1″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/lwf-refugee-service\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1702\/2023\/08\/Screen-Shot-2023-08-01-at-10.30.35-AM.jpg” alt=”Professor Howard Hong receives Order of Three Stars of the republic of Latvia, the highest honor a non-Latvian may receive. (St Olaf Rare Books Room)” title_text=”Latvia Remembers ‘Servant’ of Refugees” show_in_lightbox=”on” _builder_version=”4.22.2″ _module_preset=”default” box_shadow_style=”preset1″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”90865f4d-2cce-42a7-b40e-d3fbad25605a” header_font=”Prata||||||||” header_2_font=”Prata||||||||” header_2_text_color=”#141414″ header_2_font_size=”60px” header_2_line_height=”1.2em” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ header_2_font_size_tablet=”32px” header_2_font_size_phone=”20px” header_2_font_size_last_edited=”on|tablet” header_2_line_height_tablet=”1.3em” header_2_line_height_phone=”1.4em” header_2_line_height_last_edited=”on|phone” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{%22gcid-3f47e762-ddb9-4bcc-9a88-eb1cda6175db%22:%91%93}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_accordion open_toggle_background_color=”RGBA(0,0,0,0)” closed_toggle_background_color=”RGBA(0,0,0,0)” icon_color=”#141414″ module_id=”purple_star” _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” toggle_font=”Prata||||||||” toggle_font_size=”22px” toggle_line_height=”1.4em” body_font=”Lato||||||||” body_font_size=”18px” body_line_height=”1.8em” max_width=”700px” module_alignment=”center” hover_enabled=”0″ toggle_font_size_tablet=”18px” toggle_font_size_phone=”16px” toggle_font_size_last_edited=”on|desktop” toggle_line_height_tablet=”1.6em” toggle_line_height_phone=”” toggle_line_height_last_edited=”on|desktop” body_font_size_tablet=”15px” body_font_size_phone=”14px” body_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” border_width_all=”0px” border_color_all=”rgba(20,20,20,0.3)” border_width_bottom=”1px” global_colors_info=”{%22gcid-9452e02f-d11f-42fc-a9f8-16803f93b5d0%22:%91%93,%22gcid-3f47e762-ddb9-4bcc-9a88-eb1cda6175db%22:%91%93}” sticky_enabled=”0″][et_pb_accordion_item title=”The Latvian Lutheran Church” _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” open=”on”]<\/p>\n The Latvian Lutheran Church maintained many connections with Lutheran World Federation and American Lutheran services. For one, Latvian Archbishop Gr\u00fcnbergs participated in the executive committee for the Lutheran World Federation.7<\/a><\/span> Lutheran World Action, an American Lutheran fundraising organization, also served to aid in the resettlement of thousands of Latvians.8<\/a><\/span> Lutheran World Federation Service to Refugees directors, such as Dr. Howard Hong, even took part in these connections. Hong helped establish regular radio broadcasts of Latvian church services over the local station WCAL. With the approval of the Latvian archbishop, Dr. Hong selected Peteris Langins, then hospital chaplain in Germany, to start organizing Latvian Lutherans in Minneapolis. Hong’s impact was recognized when he was awarded the Order of the Three Stars on the highest level by the Latvian government in 1998 for his work on behalf of refugees from Latvia (see photo).9<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n In the smaller sense, some Baltic congregations in the United States had direct connections to the Lutheran World Federation through sponsored members. For instance, in the Minneapolis and St. Paul Latvian Ev. Luth. Church, some members like Biruta Sprud\u2019s family who immigrated in 1957 and many of their acquaintances came with the aid of the Lutheran World Federation who paid for their transportation. These fees had to be repaid in a specified time slot, creating urgency for family members to find jobs and contribute back.10<\/a><\/span> Their contributions did not stop there; for many years the Minneapolis and St. Paul Latvian Ev. Luth. Church solicited contributions from their members for Lutheran World Action and the Lutheran Welfare Society, American organizations which aided refugees alongside Lutheran World Federation.11<\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n However, it is important to note the independence that Baltic congregations also desired. <\/span>Once Baltic Lutherans came to the U.S, they created congregations often separate from American churches in order to preserve religious and cultural nuance. For instance, English was not adapted into Baltic Lutheran Churches in America until two or three generations later, to accommodate new generations whose first language was English.12<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\nU.S. Assistance and Reaction<\/h2>\n
Finding Community<\/h2>\n