Handmade doll

Description:	This particular doll was made by Sofia Rukuira while in a Soviet Union labor camp in 1944. Losing her home, Sofia was moved to one of these camps along with her husband, Anton, and two sons. All except one son survived the ordeal and moved to America. While in the camp, Sofia made beautiful hand-made dolls wearing traditional Lithuanian clothing. The dolls were purchased through a friend of the couple by Ethel Starrett, an American collector. In August 1940, Lithuania was illegally annexed by the Soviet Union. In 1941 Nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union and occupied Lithuania. The Soviet army returned in 1944 as the Germans retreated and took control of Lithuania again. Thousands of Lithuanians were forced from their homes and relocated to live in temporary labor camps created by the Soviet Union. Soviet rule was very harsh in Lithuania; tens of thousands of Lithuanians were deported to Siberia and other remote parts of the Soviet Union.
Source:	http://www.digitalindy.org/cdm/ref/collection/tcm/id/409
Collection:	The Children's Museum of Indianapolis
Rights:	https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/;
Copyright:	Creative Commons (CC By-SA 3.0);
Geography:	Lithuania
Subjects:	Dolls World War 1939-1945 Lithuania -- History -- German occupation, 1941-1944

Further information on this record can be found at its source.