Wide Eyes

<p>Nazi soldiers seized the baby Marija and her mother Solomeja on March 13 1944 as reprisal for the father Bro��islavs Plata��s' partisan activities in Latgale Latvia. Soldiers took mother and child as political prisoners to R��zekne Prison and Salaspils concentration camp. Solomeja was sent to German concentration camps; Marija was taken to orphanages in Latvia and Germany. In 1949 Marija was flown to America adopted by American parents and became a US citizen. For 70 years  her origins were unknown to her due to the Soviet occupation of her native Latvia. A “family detective” in Riga unlocked the story about her parents in 2014 enabling Marija to be reunited with the one surviving member of her father’s family  Bro��islavs' sister Leonora.  The discovery process opened Marija’s eyes to her identity true to her family name Plata��s which means wide eyes.</p>