A Girl’s Folk Vest Made From a Nazi Flag

Milda Sāns made this costume for her three-year-old daughter Laura when the fleeing family had arrived in Fellbach, Germany, in 1947. The skirt was made from black black-out curtains. The red vest and bottom edging of the skirt were made from the fabric of a Nazi flag. The shirt was made from a bed sheet. Laura wore this folk costume at the Esslingen Song Festival in 1947 and other Latvian events. Later, in Sweden, the folk costume was lent to Paula Blumkviste, who wore it to the 1979 Song Days in Gotland, which were organised by the World Federation of Free Latvians.