Zigmunds Skujins (25 December 1926 – 29 March 2022) was a Latvian writer. He received numerous national and international literature awards and also

Order of the Three Stars Order of the Three Stars () is the highest civilian order awarded for meritorious service to Latvia. It was established in 1924 in remembrance of the founding of Latvia. Its motto is ''Per aspera ad astra'', meaning "Through hardships towards the ...

Biography

Skujins was born in

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

into a relatively poor worker's family and was raised in

Iļģuciems Iļģuciems is one of the older neighbourhoods situated in the Pārdaugava side of Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025 ...

neighborhood. He studied in the local Spilve primary school which he graduated in spring 1940. After Latvian occupation by Soviet Union in June 1940 Skujiņš joined the

Pioneer movement A pioneer movement is an youth organization, organization for children operated by a communist party. Typically children enter into the organization in elementary school and continue until adolescence. The adolescents then typically join the Yo ...

and together with Latvian youth delegation visited

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

in the summer of 1940. Since 1941 Skujiņš studied in the building department of

Riga State technical school Riga ( ) is the capital, primate, and largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga metropolitan area, which stretches beyond the city limi ...

. In August 1944 Skujiņš was drafted into the

German army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

as a

Luftwaffenhelfer A ''Luftwaffenhelfer'', also commonly known as a ''Flakhelfer'', was any member of the auxiliary staff of the German ''Luftwaffe'' during World War II. Such terms often implied students conscripted as child soldiers. Establishment ''Luftw ...

. He was sent to Germany however he saw no action and in January 1945 was hospitalized in

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

. Later he was interned in the

POW camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, an ...

together with many

Latvian Legion The Latvian Legion () was a formation of the Nazi German Waffen-SS during World War II. Created in 1943, it consisted primarily of ethnic Latvians.Gerhard P. Bassler, ''Alfred Valdmanis and the politics of survival'', 2000, p150 Mirdza Kate Balta ...

soldiers. Skujiņš was among those Latvian

displaced persons Forced displacement (also forced migration or forced relocation) is an involuntary or coerced movement of a person or people away from their home or home region. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR defines 'forced displaceme ...

who decided to return to soviet occupied Latvia in 1945. After returning to Latvia he started working as a journalist working in both print and broadcast media. Also, he studied in the Janis Rozentāls Riga art school from 1945 until 1946. In 1946 he started to work in the newspaper ''Padomju Jaunatne'' (Soviet Youth) and became member of the

Komsomol The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League, usually known as Komsomol, was a political youth organization in the Soviet Union. It is sometimes described as the youth division of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), although it w ...

. He worked there until 1957. Later he worked in the satirical magazine ''Dadzis'' and since 1960 worked in the writers union of the Latvian SSR. In 1980s he was one of the founders of the Latvian cultural foundation. In 1985 he was granted title ''Peoples writer of the Latvian SSR''. He actively participated in the Third National awakening and joined the Latvian Popular Front in 1989. His first short story appeared in 1948, and he has since published many novels and short story collections as well several collections of

essays An essay ( ) is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a Letter (message), letter, a term paper, paper, an article (publishing), article, a pamphlet, and a s ...

and memories. His work has often been adapted for stage and screen. He has also been translated in many European languages (English, French, German, Russian, Polish and many more). He was awarded the

in 2008 and prize for lifetime contribution in 2007. He was married to Valda Skujiņa (1929–2001) and has a daughter Inga.

Selected works

* ''Flesh-Coloured Dominoes'' (translated by Kaija Straumanis) * ''A Man In His Prime'' * ''The Bed with a Golden Leg'' (''Gulta ar zelta kāju'') * ''Pietá: An Undocumentary Story''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Skujins, Zigmunds 1926 births 2022 deaths Writers from Riga Latvian-language writers Latvian satirists People's Writers of the Latvian SSR Luftwaffenhelfer German prisoners of war in World War II held by the Soviet Union