During the Soviet era, when films were being produced, Latvians were often used as extras portraying German army soldiers. This happened for several reasons, the most significant being that the physical appearance of Latvians often matched the Soviet film directors’ image of a German soldier.
This photograph was taken in 1960, when Latvian cyclists, who were preparing for a multi-day road race during a training camp in the Carpathian Mountains (Ukraine), were approached with an offer to take part in a film as extras, receiving 3 rubles per day for their work.
Unfortunately, around ten films were produced that year, and it is not known in which of them our cyclists actually appeared.
From left to right, the photo shows: Ziedonis Cakuls, Jānis Baukšis, unknown, Vilnis Oliņš, unknown, Ringolds Kalnenieks.
Because of this photograph, Ziedonis Cakuls found himself in minor trouble. A neighbor who lived in the same building saw the photograph and reported him to the authorities, claiming that he had allegedly served as a high-ranking officer in the German army.
Law enforcement officers of that time detained Ziedonis, but after establishing that he was born in 1931 and that the photograph had been taken during film shooting, he was released.
📸 Photo Gallery
Please note: copying, reproducing, or any other use of the published photographs without the written permission of the Cycling Sports Association “Latvello” is prohibited.
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