A Gift

Many years ago, and to be exact almost 32 years, my children and I went to visit my friends in Riga, the capital of Latvia. We’ve been to different museums, theaters, and parks. We walked along the boardwalk of the Daugava River. No doubt, we went to the store “Children World”. In the store my son found a small plastic red car, which cost almost 15 kopeks. He was excited because we bought it for him. He played, ate, and slept with it. That small red car was his dream.
In several days we were planning to go on excursion to Salaspils. Before that trip I told my children about the camp. They asked me a lot of questions. However the most important thing happened later on.
Next day early in the morning we took a comfortable bus and our tour began. We took some candies and cookies with us just in case. Our tour guide told us a lot about Riga. She told us about its history, culture, and a lot of other fascinating facts.

When we arrived at Salaspils, the tour guide asked everybody not to pick the raspberries. This is because the raspberries grow on phosphorus soil, and here, in Salaspils, the soil is filled with phosphorus because more than 2000 people were buried during WWII. 625 children of different ages lost their lives here as well. The raspberries resembled the kids’ “blood drops”.

The bus stopped on the parking lot for visitors. We left the bus. There were a lot of birch trees and it looked like the trees whispered something to one another. When we turned around we saw the raspberry cane. I have never ever seen such huge red berries in my life. I noticed my son’s eyes were wide opened when he saw such big berries. He was very quiet from shock. A young woman, with her hands full of raspberries, passed near us. She looked at my son, smiled at him, and suggested to take some berries. I thought that my son would take some raspberries. But instead, he said pretty loudly, “How could you, lady, eat these raspberries? These are the kids’ “blood drops!”

People were speechless. A man picked up my son saying that he was a real man. The man held my son in his arms and they were whispering something to each other.
When we came to the memorial, where the children’s barracks once stood, we commemorated children who lost their lives as a result of the most terrible and barbaric of medical experiments allegedly carried out here. One report contends that children ‘donated’ blood for Nazi soldiers, down to 500ml by which point they died. Located in the woods bordering the camp is an unmarked mass grave of 632 corpses of children aged 5-9. My son held me by my hand and was very quiet. Then he asked me to give him a candy and a cookie. I wanted to tell him that it was not a good place to eat anything. But he explained to me: “I want to put the candy and the cookie on the monument for the kids and I would like to give them my favorite red car. Is it OK? The kids will go out from their home at night and take these gifts. They will be very glad and happy. And you’ll buy me another one, won’t you?” I let him do so.
While he was putting his gifts on the granite slab with love and kindness, he didn’t see how men and women cried, except one, who was still eating her raspberries.
All adults hugged him and gave him some souvenirs. And he, as a 6 year old, couldn’t understand why people gave gifts to him.
The next day we went to the store to buy a car.  Unfortunately, there were no more cars. My son came to the young lady, the salesperson, and did his best to explain to her why he needed a new car and who he gave his old one to.
At last, when she got the situation, she went to the storage room to try to find a new car. We’ve been waiting for her for about half an hour.  I couldn’t take the son out of the store; he didn’t agree to buy any other toy, either. Then the salesperson came to us with a man in his 60s.
The man came to my son, squatted down in front of him, and began to ask him who he gave his old car to. My son explained everything with such huge love about the children who “lived under the ground” that the old man began to cry. He hugged my son and gave him 2 cars!
I opened my purse to get money to pay for the cars, he refused to take any money and said, “There, in Salaspils, all my relatives stayed forever: my parents, my sister, and my brothers. Your son gave them his precious gift. I’d like to return the favor.”
And my son, out of the blue, asked: “Does this mean they went out at night and took the candy, cookie, and the car? You see, I told you!”
Salaspils Children's Camp,
Whoever sees will not forget!
               There are no worse graves in the world
There used to be a camp
Death Camp - Salaspils.
On a granite slab
Put your candy.
He, like you, was a child,
Like you, he loved them,
Salaspils killed him!