Anna Strauss and Ervins Apinis met at the Department of Roads and Construction in Liepaja, Latvia - Ervins as an engineer and draughtsman and Anna as an accountant and payroll officer. They fell in love and were married in a simple church ceremony at midnight on New Year's Eve in 1938. They set up a small apartment in Liepaja and their son Erik was born in 1940. By then World War II had erupted and their lives altered forever. The family was separated in 1943 and were not reunited for three long years.