Kolka: Posten der Küstengrenzwache

Border guard came to check peoples’ homes. We have an old “Book of the House” where these inspections are registered – when, at what times. They checked if there were strangers in the house. My elder brother was taken to serve in German military. After war he went to live in Canada, therefore our family was regarded as suspicious. One night, an elderly man arrived to our place. He spoke Latvian and asked if he can stay overnight. It was not allowed to accommodate strangers; we had to report them to the <i>zastav</i>. I do not remember how we reported, but the border guard arrived and took him. The next morning, their officer said “Thank you, Alexander!” to my father. Since then they started to regard us as less suspicious.

Once a flock of us, kids, were splashing in water, and we did not notice that we had moved outside the designated swimming area. All of a sudden, a border guard on a horse came galloping towards us. I do not remember how it ended, probably he just sent us away. I was 10 years old. It all seemed so strange. Did not he see in his field glass that these were just kids playing? I remember this episode very clearly. It was in the end of the 1950-ies.

There were not enough men to carry the heavy boxes. The factory called to <i>zastava</i> and asked them to send soldiers to help. For that, they got provision: oil, fish, whatever, because it was not possible to pay in money.

During the mid-1950s, soldiers from the Soviet army’s punitive battalion were in Košrags while building the road between Ventspils and Kolka. There were plans to add side-roads to all of the Liv villages, including Košrags, but older residents objected, because they feared further deportations and oppression.

In der Zeit der UdSSR aus diesem Turm aus beobachteten und kontrollierten die Grenzschutzsoldaten die Gewässer der Meerenge von Irbe . In der Zeit der Sowjetunion gab es einen Spruch, das sogar die Ente unbemerkt durch die Gewässer der Meerenge von Irbe nicht durchschwimmen kann.