A mother’s blessing (Lilija Rudzītis)

This dried piece of bread, which is part of the collection of the “Latvians Abroad” museum, is a special symbol of Latvia, of home, and of a mother.

When leaving Latvia, Lilija Kūla took along her mother’s baked rye bread as she traveled with her husband Jānis and their young son Arnis. The family ate the loaves during their refugee journey, but these pieces remained. Lilija kept them for more than 60 years as a keepsake from her mother and from home.

Lilija recalls setting out as a refugee: “My parents stayed behind; they didn’t want to leave… you see, they were already quite old—around 60. And my mother had baked travel bread for me. At that time, I had picked wild strawberries and cooked them, because the boy was only a year and a half old… if rye bread is well baked, it keeps for a long time. A mother’s blessing.”

After spending several years in refugee camps, Lilija and her family eventually arrived in the city of Brisbane, Australia. There, after some time, the family bought three houses next to each other. A relative began baking rye bread every week for all three households. When she passed away, Lilija learned to bake rye bread herself and continued the tradition. Until 2014, she baked four to five loaves a week, which she shared with relatives and Latvian friends.