ORAL HISTORY: MIGRATION AND LOCAL IDENTITIES - Academia

Migration and IdentityPhotoThe Curonian Lagoon in Nida, Lithuania. Photo by MaraZirnitewell tended and restored vernacular houses and an occasional Curoniandescendent, though most of them have moved to Germany and onlyvisit in the summer. Language competency has disappeared, for thereare no longer those with whom to converse. Kristel remembers onlyone hymn that her grandfather sang in the Curonian language.165PhotoKristel Zakut in Nida, the Curonian Spit. Photo by MaraZirniteKristel was born in 1938 in Nida, which was populated by Kurseniekiat the time. Her mother Ģertrude and her mother’s parents—hergrandfather Fridrihs and grandmother Marija—were all Kursenieki.When the war began, her father was drafted into the army and her