The Danenberg Family

Vitolds Balks 1921–1984

Husband of Peter's great-aunt Biruta Zeltīte Sirlaka.

Vitolds Balks was born on 16 Jun 1921 in Vecpiebalga, Cēsis district, Vidzeme, Latvia1,2. He married Biruta Zeltīte Sirlaka between Mar 1945 and May 1945 in Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany16,17. He left Bremen-Grohn (IRO emigration camp), Germany between 9 Jan 1950 and 22 Jan 195011. He arrived at New York City, New York, United States in 1950 (according to an online family tree)12. He died on 28 Sep 1984 in Michigan, United States13,14,15.

Family

Wife
Biruta Zeltīte Sirlaka 1919–2002 · married between Mar 1945 and May 1945 in Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany16,17
Children

Life events

EventDatePlace and details
Born16 Jun 1921Vecpiebalga, Cēsis district, Vidzeme, Latvia1,2
Lived1 Jan 1938Rīga, Vidzeme, Latvia4
Livedbet 1944 and 23 Jul 1945Landkreis Kelheim, Bavaria, Germany5
Marriedbet Mar 1945 and May 1945with Biruta Zeltīte Sirlaka
Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany16,17
Livedbet 23 Jul 1945 and 9 Jan 1950Haunstetten DP camp, Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany6
Arrived1950New York City, New York, United States
According to an online family tree12
Leftbet 9 Jan 1950 and 22 Jan 1950Bremen-Grohn (IRO emigration camp), Germany11
Livedbet Feb 1950 and Feb 1951Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio, United States7
Livedbet 1959 and 1969Southfield, Oakland County, Michigan, United States8
Died28 Sep 1984Michigan, United States13,14,15
OriginLatvia
According to the family's 2015 tree3
LivedBirmingham, Michigan, United States
According to an online family tree9
EducationRīga, Vidzeme, Latvia
"V. Balks beidza Baznīcas ģimnāziju Rīgā un sāka studēt Latvijas universitātē inženierzinātnes": he finished the Church Gymnasium (Baznīcas ģimnāzija) in Rīga and began ("sāka") studying engineering at the University of Latvia. The page gives no years and does not say he completed the degree; the…10
Work'Office clerk', 'Food supplies department' (DP-2, 1945); 'farm-worker' (1950 roll)1
Noteparents: father: Žanis Balks; mother: Elza, née Brauns [?]1

Records

Scan of the record: AEF DP Registration Record, Balks Vitolds, Reg. No. 902673011
AEF DP Registration Record, Balks Vitolds, Reg. No. 902673011. .
Scan of the record: AEF DP Registration Record, Balks Vitolds, Reg. No. 902673011
AEF DP Registration Record, Balks Vitolds, Reg. No. 902673011. .
Scan of the record: Kategorie III list, Landkreis Kelheim, 17 June 1947
Kategorie III list, Landkreis Kelheim, 17 June 1947. .
Scan of the record: Household of Arwids F Danenbergs, Liberty Township, Mercer, Ohio
Household of Arwids F Danenbergs, Liberty Township, Mercer, Ohio. US census, U.S. National Archives, image via FamilySearch, public domain.
The full page of the record, with the part cited outlined in red: Obituary of Vitolds Balks, "Mums zudušie" (Laiks, 1984, p. 7), by Sigurds Rudzītis
Obituary of Vitolds Balks, "Mums zudušie" (Laiks, 1984, p. 7), by Sigurds Rudzītis. . The page, large, and the untouched original.
Scan of the record: IRO movement roll (DocID 81989986) and USS General Howze nominal roll (DocID 81666500)
IRO movement roll (DocID 81989986) and USS General Howze nominal roll (DocID 81666500). .
Scan of the record: Vitolds Balks: Social Security Death Index (SSDI) Death Record
Vitolds Balks: Social Security Death Index (SSDI) Death Record. .

Sources

  1. AEF DP Registration Record, Balks Vitolds, Reg. No. 902673011, DE ITS 3.1.1.1, folder DP0173, DocID 66492247.
    Balks Vitolds | M | Married | 16.6.21 Vec-Piebalga Vidzeme Latvia | Luth. | Žanis Balks | Elza Brauns [?] | Riga Latvia | Office clerk | Food supplies department | 23.7.45

    'Vec-Piebalga' (DP-2); 'Veekiebalga' (Kelheim list)

  2. MyHeritage family tree 'Dzimta' of Peter's third cousin (his family site), member GEDCOM export of 26 Oct 2026, I144 (person-6000144), GEDCOM lines 4252–4294.
    BIRT · 16 JUN 1921 · Latvia

    His record match: ASV Sociālās Apdrošināšanas Miršanu Indekss (SSDI), https://www.myheritage.lv/research/collection-10002/asv-soci%C4%81l%C4%81s-apdro%C5%A1in%C4%81%C5%A1anas-mir%C5%A1anu-indekss-ssdi?itemId=53608509&action=showRecord: 'Vitolds Balks | Dzimšana: 16. Jūn 1921 | Miršana: Sep 1984 | Pēdēja dzīves vieta: 48010, USA | SSN izsniegusī pavalsts: Kentucky'. His record match: Ellis Island and Other New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957, https://www.myheritage.lv/research/collection-10512/ellis-island-other-new-york-passenger-lists-1820-1957?itemId=29671045&action=showRecord: 'Vitolds Balks | Dzimums: Vīrietis | Dzimšana: Apmēram 1922 - Latvia | Ierašanās: 1950 - New York, New York, United States | Kuģis: General Howze | Vecums: 28 | Līnija: 7 | Avota infromācija: Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1897-1957 (National Archives Microfilm Publication T715, roll 7789); Records of the Immigration and Naturalizati | on Service, Record Group 85.'.

  3. Peter's tree, danenberg.sql, 2007–2015, personae 19, provenance.
  4. AEF DP Registration Record, Balks Vitolds, Reg. No. 902673011, DocID 66492247.
    Last permanent residence or residence January 1, 1938: Riga, Latvia

    Reported Rīga, Latvia as his residence on 1 January 1938 on his 23 July 1945 Haunstetten DP-2 registration card, where he worked as an office clerk in a food supplies department.

  5. Kategorie III list, Landkreis Kelheim, 17 June 1947, DocID 69964918.
    Balks | Wietold | 16.6.21 Veekiebalga | m | unbekannt | – | 1945

    Assigned with Biruta Sirlaka to wartime farm labour in Landkreis Kelheim, Bavaria (about a 30-minute train ride from the Danenbergs' farm in Landkreis Regensburg, recorded for 1945 on the 17 June 1947 Landkreis Kelheim foreigner list) before moving to the Haunstetten DP camp in July 1945.

  6. AEF DP Registration Record, Balks Vitolds, Reg. No. 902673011, DocID 66492247, 81989986.
    From: 505 A.C. Haunstetten to: Resettlement Center on: January 9 1950 … 6. BALKS, VITOLDS | Latvian | M | 28 | 886226

    Registered on 23 July 1945 at the Haunstetten DP camp near Augsburg, sharing a three-bedroom apartment with Biruta, their daughter Ilze (born 1945), Emma Sirlaka, and the Danenberg family until transferring from A.C. Haunstetten no. 505 to the Resettlement Center on 9 January 1950.

  7. Household of Arwids F Danenbergs, Liberty Township, Mercer, Ohio.
    Witolds Balks: Race = White; Occupation = Farm Hand; Census 10 April 1950 @ Liberty Township, Mercer, Ohio, United States; Residence 1949; Birth 1921 @ Latvia; RelationshipToHead=Brother-in-law; Age=29

    Lived and worked as a farm hand in the shared household with the Danenbergs and Emma Sirlaka in Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio (Rockford mailing address), enumerated there as 'Witolds Balks' (age 29) in the 10 April 1950 US Census.

  8. S-fs-JRNP-MMG.
    Emma Sirlaks: Death Oct 1970 @ Southfield, Oakland, Michigan; Birth 06 Jan 1885; Age=85; ZipCodeOfLastResidence=48075

    Inferred to have lived with his wife Biruta and daughter Ilze in the Southfield, Oakland County, Michigan area, where his mother-in-law Emma Sirlaka lived with the Balks family before moving to Toronto and where her US Social Security Death Index record gives her last US residence at ZIP code 48075 in Southfield.

  9. MyHeritage family tree 'Dzimta' of Peter's third cousin (his family site), member GEDCOM export of 26 Oct 2026, I144 (person-6000144), GEDCOM lines 4252–4294.
    RESI · 48010, USA

    His record match: ASV Sociālās Apdrošināšanas Miršanu Indekss (SSDI), https://www.myheritage.lv/research/collection-10002/asv-soci%C4%81l%C4%81s-apdro%C5%A1in%C4%81%C5%A1anas-mir%C5%A1anu-indekss-ssdi?itemId=53608509&action=showRecord: 'Vitolds Balks | Dzimšana: 16. Jūn 1921 | Miršana: Sep 1984 | Pēdēja dzīves vieta: 48010, USA | SSN izsniegusī pavalsts: Kentucky'.

  10. Obituary of Vitolds Balks, "Mums zudušie" (Laiks, 1984, p. 7), by Sigurds Rudzītis, Laiks, Periodika issue 763633, p. 7, article DIVL390 (doc 53933326), column "Mums zudušie". Issue date 27 October 1984 read on the masthead (`Sestdien, 1984. g. 27. oktobrī`)..
    V. Balks beidza Baznīcas ģimnāziju Rīgā un sāka studēt Latvijas universitātē inženierzinātnes.
    Translation: V. Balks graduated from the Church Gymnasium in Rīga and began to study engineering at the University of Latvia.

    "V. Balks beidza Baznīcas ģimnāziju Rīgā un sāka studēt Latvijas universitātē inženierzinātnes": he finished the Church Gymnasium (Baznīcas ģimnāzija) in Rīga and began ("sāka") studying engineering at the University of Latvia. The page gives no years and does not say he completed the degree; the sweep's date 1940/1944 is not on the page.

  11. IRO movement roll (DocID 81989986) and USS General Howze nominal roll (DocID 81666500), DocID 81989986, 81666500.
    GROHN AGENCIES … 1095 | 119875 | 855706 | Balks Vitolds | C | LAT | Prot. | Md | Ma | 28 | LAT | farm-worker | J. Smalley (NLC) | R. 3, Rockford, Ohio

    Transferred from Assembly Center Haunstetten no. 505 on 9 January 1950 to the IRO Resettlement Center at Bremen-Grohn with his wife Biruta and daughter Ilze before sailing for New York on USS General Howze on 22 January 1950.

  12. MyHeritage family tree 'Dzimta' of Peter's third cousin (his family site), member GEDCOM export of 26 Oct 2026, I144 (person-6000144), GEDCOM lines 4252–4294.
    IMMI · 1950 · New York, New York, United States · AGE 28-29

    His record match: Ellis Island and Other New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957, https://www.myheritage.lv/research/collection-10512/ellis-island-other-new-york-passenger-lists-1820-1957?itemId=29671045&action=showRecord: 'Vitolds Balks | Dzimums: Vīrietis | Dzimšana: Apmēram 1922 - Latvia | Ierašanās: 1950 - New York, New York, United States | Kuģis: General Howze | Vecums: 28 | Līnija: 7 | Avota infromācija: Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1897-1957 (National Archives Microfilm Publication T715, roll 7789); Records of the Immigration and Naturalizati | on Service, Record Group 85.'.

  13. Vitolds Balks: Social Security Death Index (SSDI) Death Record.
    Name: Vitolds Balks State of Issue: Kentucky Date of Birth: Thursday June 16, 1921 Date of Death: September 1984 Est. Age at Death: 63 years, 2 months

    Social Security Death Index record: Vitolds Balks, born 16 June 1921, died September 1984 (age 63 years, 2 months); SSN issued in Kentucky (search results summary raw/vitolds-balks/search-vitolds-balks-ssdi.txt also records 'State of last residence: Michigan').

  14. Obituary of Vitolds Balks, "Mums zudušie" (Laiks, 1984, p. 7), by Sigurds Rudzītis, Laiks, Periodika issue 763633, p. 7, article DIVL390 (doc 53933326), column "Mums zudušie". Issue date 27 October 1984 read on the masthead (`Sestdien, 1984. g. 27. oktobrī`); the text gives "28. septembrī" with no year..
    28. septembrī Detroitā 63 gadu vecumā pēkšņi mira inženieris Vitolds Balks. nelaiķis bija dzimis Vecpiebalgā. … Aizgājēju pārpelnoja un 3. okt. Sv. Pāvila draudzes dievnamā notika dievkalpojums, kuru vadīja māc. L. Vīksne … Aizgājējs atstāj dzīves biedri Rutu, meitu Ilzi ar ģimeni Detroitā un brāli okupētajā Latvijā. SIGURDS RUDZĪTIS
    Translation: On 28 September in Detroit, aged 63, engineer Vitolds Balks died suddenly; the deceased was born in Vecpiebalga. … He was cremated and on 3 Oct. a service was held in St Paul's congregation's church, led by Rev. L. Vīksne … The deceased leaves his spouse Ruta, daughter Ilze with her family in Detroit and a brother in occupied Latvia. SIGURDS RUDZĪTIS

    Obituary by Sigurds Rudzītis: on 28 September in Detroit, aged 63, engineer Vitolds Balks died suddenly ("pēkšņi mira"); born in Vecpiebalga. Cremated ("pārpelnoja"); on 3 October a service in the Sv. Pāvila (St Paul's) congregation's church led by Rev. L. Vīksne, with many friends from near and far. Leaves "dzīves biedri Rutu, meitu Ilzi ar ģimeni Detroitā un brāli okupētajā Latvijā". Founded his own engineering consulting firm in Detroit and worked in his profession to the end. The year is not in the text: 1984 comes from the issue date, 27 October 1984, read on the masthead. The obituary does not mention the Danenbergs; he is Elvīra's brother-in-law (husband of her sister Biruta) in the tree.

  15. MyHeritage family tree 'Dzimta' of Peter's third cousin (his family site), member GEDCOM export of 26 Oct 2026, I144 (person-6000144), GEDCOM lines 4252–4294.
    DEAT · SEP 1984 · AGE 63

    His record match: ASV Sociālās Apdrošināšanas Miršanu Indekss (SSDI), https://www.myheritage.lv/research/collection-10002/asv-soci%C4%81l%C4%81s-apdro%C5%A1in%C4%81%C5%A1anas-mir%C5%A1anu-indekss-ssdi?itemId=53608509&action=showRecord: 'Vitolds Balks | Dzimšana: 16. Jūn 1921 | Miršana: Sep 1984 | Pēdēja dzīves vieta: 48010, USA | SSN izsniegusī pavalsts: Kentucky'.

  16. AEF DP Registration Record, Balks Vitolds, Reg. No. 902673011, DE ITS 3.1.1.1, folder DP0173, DocID 66492247.
    Balks Vitolds | M | Married | 1921 Vec-Piebalga Vidzeme Latvia | Luth. | Žanis Balks | Elza Brauns [?] | Riga Latvia | Office clerk | Food supplies department | 23.7.45

    Registered as married to Biruta at Haunstetten on 23.7.45, i.e. married by then. This is consistent with the memoir's spring 1945 wedding in Regensburg; Arolsen gives no wedding date or place.

  17. My Life and Times (1912–1949), ¶41.
    In the spring, we managed to borrow a horse and wagon from the farmer to go to Regensburg so that Vitolds and Rūta could get married.

See in the family tree