The Suicide Wave in Interwar Latvia: From Romantic Tragedies to Economic Pressure

During the interwar period, the number of suicides in Latvia was so high that the newspaper "Madonas Ziņas" in 1930 described it as a "suicide plague." Official statistics show that in 1926, 484 people took their own lives, followed by 550 in 1927 and 633 in 1928. The numbers declined slightly in the 1930s but remained elevated. In comparison, in 2022, Latvia recorded 223 suicides—roughly half the interwar figure.

Police data from the late 1920s revealed the reasons behind suicides: 14% due to illness, a similar percentage for romantic reasons, 12% because of family conflicts, and 11% due to financial or work-related issues. However, in about half of the cases, the cause was never determined. By ethnicity, Latvians were the most numerous among suicide victims, followed by Russians, Germans, and Jews. Most victims were unmarried, and men committed suicide 1.5 times more often than women—a contrast to today's ratio of 5 to 1.

The most common method was hanging, followed by poisoning with soapstone solution, less frequently with strychnine or cyanide (preferred by women). Shooting was third, followed by jumping from windows, throat-cutting (almost exclusively men), and throwing oneself under a train.

Latvia was not alone in facing this problem. In the early 1930s, Latvia had 17–18 suicides per 100,000 inhabitants—similar to France and Denmark. The highest rates were in Hungary and Austria (about 34–36), while Estonia had 28. In contrast, Lithuania, possibly due to Catholic traditions, recorded only 6 suicides per 100,000. Even lower rates were observed in Spain (4) and Greece (2).

Newspapers regularly reported tragic love stories. In 1925 in Tadaiķi, a young worker named Ernest shot 18-year-old Anna and then hanged himself. In the same week, five more suicides and one attempt occurred. In 1939 in Daugavpils, a rejected suitor, Jāzeps, shot his intended Maria and then himself. In 1925, Kristīne Bakmane, widow of politician Zigfrīds Anna Meierovics, shot herself four months after her husband's death, leaving a diary entry promising to join him. In 1932, poet Austra Skujiņa drowned in the Daugava River due to depression caused by unrequited love and drug use.

Economic problems and shame also drove suicides. In 1937, health inspector Teodors Deičs shot his wife and then himself after she embezzled municipal funds. Another accountant, Nikolajs Lazdiņš, shot himself after being fired for bribery, having demonstratively ordered a coffin beforehand. These cases illustrate the widespread social strain in interwar Latvia.