OIKOS: Lithuanian Migration and Diaspora Studies / OIKOS: lietuvių migracijos ir diasporos studijos

Vilnius Civic Life in an Imperial and European Context: The Perspective of the Weekly Tygodnik Petersburski (1830–1858)

Halina Beresnevičiūtė-Nosálová — Mon, 10 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0200

The article presents the outcomes of a quantitative and content analysis of the articles on civic associations in a Polish weekly Tygodnik Petersburski. The depiction of Vilnius civic life in the weekly gives very different pictures of the Polish-Lithuanian lands in the context of the world depending on the kind of civic activities in focus. While the depiction of Vilnius civic charity and scientific activities shows self-confidence in the local traditions, the coverage of the Lithuanian civic non-involvement in the nineteenth-century projects of economic modernization reflects anxiety. None of them would leave the readers conservatively content with the status quo. Among foreign political associations, particular attention was dedicated to English and British civic activities. Even though the newspaper did not manipulate its readers to any political conclusion, the intensive gaze on British-Irish relations may be seen as an attempt to guide political action. Relying on the results of the analysis, the article discusses to which extent it is right to consider the newspaper as conservative and loyalist.

Disputes Over Memory: Memories of Participants of the Anti-Nazi Resistance Published in Exile

Daiva Dapkutė — Mon, 10 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0200

In 1941, the Soviet occupation of Lithuania was replaced by another, not much easier, German occupation. During the German occupation, resistance to the Nazi regime in Lithuania took place
in various forms: the Lithuanian intelligentsia and resistance organizations, with the help of the under
ground press, sought to protect the nation from physical and moral extermination, tried to expose Nazi policies to the Lithuanian population, oriented the population towards unarmed civil resistance, sabotage and boycott of the occupiers’ campaigns, and planned military mobilizations, among other forms.
Underground resistance organizations such as the Lithuanian Front (LF) and the Lithuanian Freedom Fighters Alliance (LFFA) were created during the brutal policy of oppression by the Nazis. After the war, the survivors of the anti-Nazi resistance who had fled Lithuania and were released from Nazi prisons, re-established the Lithuanian underground organizations in emigration and continued their political struggle in the diaspora. This rivalry and competition among themselves, the raising of their own ideological currents and the undermining of their opponents became even more pronounced and stronger in the conditions of emigration after the break in relations with the homeland. In 1983, the book In Pursuit of Freedom: The Contribution of the Lithuanian Freedom Fighters Alliance to the Anti-Nazi Resistance published in Chicago received controversial responses, and former participants of the anti-Nazi resistance, such as Adolfas Damušis, Algirdas Vokietaitis, Povilas Žičkus, and Henrikas Žemelis, as well as others, joined the discussion in the press. The discussion soon turned into arguments between former members of the two main anti-Nazi resistance organizations – the Lithuanian Front and the Lithuanian Freedom Fighters Alliance – extolling the merits of their own resistance group and belittling their ideological opponents.
By analyzing the discussion in the press, the article examines to what extent the collective memory of
the underground organizations may have influenced the memories of the resistance participants and
their evaluation in the diaspora, whether (and to what extent) the emergence of these memories and
their content may have been influenced by the strained relations between the resistance organizations transferred from the underground times to emigration, as well as the influence of the time and the place of residence in the resulting disputes over memory.

Lithuanian Historian In Chile: Julius Kakarieka's Activities

Gerda Pilipaitytė — Mon, 10 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0200

Ignotas Domeika, mineralogist and the former rector of the University of Santiago, was the most famous Lithuanian in Chile. However, he was by no means the only one; there were other distinguished academics from Lithuania, including the historian Julius Kakarieka. He published numerous texts on ancient history, taught at several outstanding universities in Chile, started a scholarly journal that is still in existence today, and was very active in Lithuanian community activities. This article seeks to overview Kakarieka’s biography, to identify his works and to relate them to the historian’s concern for the fate of his homeland during the oppression of the occupiers. Episodes of his life in Lithuania, Germany and Chile, as well as his trips to the USA and Argentina will be discussed. Although Kakarieka’s research covers the field of ancient history, he relates history and ideas of the past to the issues of the 20th century and the fate of his homeland.

The Activities of Lithuanian Consul Karolis Račkauskas - Vairas in South Africa (1930–1932)

Viktorija Jocytė - Bespalova — Mon, 10 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0200

The article presents the activities of Karolis Račkauskas-Vairas (1882–1970), a public figure, writer, translator, and diplomat, during his service in the diplomatic corps from 1930 to 1932 as a consul in the newly established Lithuanian consulate in the Union of South Africa. Based on archival materials, periodicals, and historiography, the study highlights the main activities of the Lithuanian diplomat. The article discusses key areas of his work, including maintaining connections and providing assistance to Lithuanian emigrants, fostering trade relations, promoting information about Lithuania, and preparing reports for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The reports prepared by Karolis Račkauskas-Vairas were a crucial source of information for this article, offering valuable insights into the daily life and responsi bilities of the consul in South Africa.

Testing the Prosopographical Method in Literary Studies: Lithuanian Writers' Association in The United States of America

Žydronė Kolevinskienė — Mon, 10 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0200

The article presents the research carried out within the framework of the project funded by the Lithuanian Research Council. The aim of this research was to analyse the composition of the Lithuanian Writers’ Association in 1950–1990, the most important areas of its activities, and the beginnings and specificities of writer professionalisation in the United States of America. The object of the research was the Lithuanian Writers’ Association and the beginning of its activities in the United States from 1950 to the restoration of independent Lithuania in 1990. The article focused on the people (writers and not only) who formed the Lithuanian Writers’ Association during the period in question and who, in difficult historical times, while being far from their homeland, took the initiative in Lithuanian cultural and literary life. So far the research has focused on the work, life and historical contexts of individual writers and members of the Lithuanian Writers’ Association. Therefore, taking the prosopographical method, which has already been tested by historians, as a starting point, an attempt has been made to apply it to a literary study: the Lithuanian Writers’ Association in the United States is seen as a single group and a single network of writers connected by certain ties.

The Moment the World Began to Collapse: A Reading of Five Self-Published Lithuanian American Life-Writing Memoirs

Laima Vincė Sruoginis — Mon, 10 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0200

Lithuanians displaced by the second Soviet Russian occupation of Lithuania in 1944, and the second and third generations born to them abroad in North America, feared Lithuanian language and culture would be extinguished under Russian domination (1944–1991). Therefore, maintaining Lithuanian language and culture was prioritized in the diaspora. Also, diaspora social activities and community provided a sense of belonging to something greater than mainstream American culture and held in check the natural process of cultural assimilation. Through collective cultural memory, Lithuanian values were passed down three and four generations in the United States and Canada. Over the past 20 years, more and more Lithuanian American women have published family memoirs of surviving war and displacement and building a new life in North America. The majority of these memoirs are self-published. Through the theoretical perspective of life-writing, autobiography, and heritage studies, this paper analyzes self-published historical memoirs by five Lithuanian diaspora women writers: Escaping Stalin’s Grasp by Nida Dauknys, 2022; Flight: A Memoir of Loss and Discovery by an Aviator’s Daughter by Rasa Gustaitis, 2021; Springtime in Lithuania: Youthful Memories: 1920–1940 by Hypatia Yčas, 2000; On the Way to America by Aleksandra Kašuba, 2012, and a scrapbook assembled by Janė Motivans to honor her grandmother’s life on her 95th birthday are spiral bound photocopied memoirs produced in a limited edition for family and friends. This paper argues that each memoirist seeks to rebuild a fragmented family narrative through structuring around the archetypical hero’s myth identified by Joseph Campbell. These memoirs also reflect on aspects of culture and tradition lost through emigration.
Through identifying family and cultural trauma narratives, this paper opens a dialog on how unrecognized collective trauma impacts society, families, individuals, and how memoir writing and the sharing of these memoirs can serve as a tool of healing and post-traumatic growth.

Reception of Literary Translations by Pranas Dovalga

Ramūnas Čičelis — Mon, 10 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0200

The article examines the reception of the works of Pranas Dovalga, the Lithuanian translator from Czech, in the Lithuanian press between the two world wars, based on his biography and an over view of this reception in the texts by the journalist Petras Algis Mikša. The main focus of the research is on uncovering the pretexts and contexts of the reception of Dovalgaʼs translations, thus delving into the motives that encouraged the translator to render many Czech fiction authors into Lithuanian. In addition, the article analyzes the biographical links between Dovalgaʼs reviewers and the authors of the translationsʼ original texts and discusses the political currents in the Lithuanian press between the two world wars in which the reviewersʼ articles on Dovalgaʼs translations were published. The article concludes by showing that reviewersʼ opinions on the quality of Dovalgaʼs works correlate with the political beliefs of the authors, reviewers, and publications of his translations. The research presented in this article makes assumptions that could explain the motives and reasons behind some of Dovalgaʼs biographical choices.

Character in the Short Stories of Lithuanian Exile Writers Kazimieras Barėnas, Eduardas Cinzas and Algirdas Landsbergis: From Entrapment to Volcanic Breakthrough

Laimutė Adomavičienė — Mon, 10 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0200

The aim of this article is to compare the characters in the short stories of Lithuanian exile writers with regard to their internal change from (self-)imprisonment to liberation. In particular, “Ona Karutienė’s mission” by Kazimieras Barėnas (real name Barauskas) (1907–2006), “Trap” by Eduardas Cinzas (real name Čiužas) (1924–1996) and “The writer M. visits the city of N.” by Algirdas Landsbergis (1924–2004) were analysed. Using analytical-descriptive analysis and the method of literary comparativism as well as the theoretical backgrounds of trauma literature, traumatic experience (Cathy Caruth, Kalí Tal), and cognitive psychology (Jeffrey E. Young, Janet S. Klosko), three different models of character thinking and behaviour were distinguished: from passivity and living in the “trap” of reconciliation (Barėnas’s Ona Karutienė); the inner desire to escape the trap, which ends in fiasco (Cinzas’s Jokūbas, Žermena) to a volcanic breakthrough (Landsbergis’s writer M.). It has been found that from the aspect of trap, the protagonists are not merely individualised characters. They can be seen as reflecting a collective traumatic experience and representing typical features of exile writers: insecurity, loneliness, and inability to realize dreams.

Lithuanian daspora in Ireland: language attitudes, use and ethnic identity of second-generation Lithuanians

Skirmantė Gribauskienė — Mon, 10 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0200

The main goal of this article is to analyze the language attitudes, use and ethnic identity of second-generation Lithuanian children, as well as language practices within the Lithuanian families in Ireland. The participants of this study were 40 Lithuanian primary school-aged children [6;0–11;11] and teenagers [12;0–17;11] born and raised in Ireland; both of their parents were Lithuanians. The results are based on semi-structured interviews conducted in Ireland. Firstly, the interviews revealed different social status of English and Lithuanian languages. Both younger school-aged children and teenagers consider English to be easier and more convenient for communication. The majority of participants considered Lithuanian language as less known, but the most beautiful; the younger group also finds it the most useful language to learn as it is the main language of communication within the family; most teenagers claimed that English is more important to learn. The research has identified certain differences between age groups: teenagers tend to identify as Lithuanians, while younger respondents tend to have a hybrid Lithuanian-Irish ethnic identity. The article also briefly discusses the ways and importance of maintaining ties with Lithuania for young second-generation Lithuanians.

Between Two Worlds: Politics, Imagery, and Identity Between Lithuania and Venezuela*

Gabriel Orentas — Mon, 10 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0200

This article presents the author’s observations from 1991 to 2020 on the divergent social and political trajectories of Lithuania and Venezuela, exploring the relevance of these contrasts within the contemporary European socio-political context. Lithuania’s path after the Soviet rule embraced democracy and economic reform, supported by a historical foundation of innovation and adaptability.
Venezuela, despite its wealth in natural resources, fell into economic and social decline under prolonged socialist regimes led by Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro. The article examines the influence of inter national actors, including Cuba, Russia, Iran, and China, within Venezuela’s territory and considers the potential implications of these relationships for the European Union. Finally, it underscores the importance of monitoring developments in Venezuela to assess the risks of its evolving role as a consolidated platform for Western adversaries.

Events

Rūta Puraitė — Mon, 10 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0200

2024-05-01–2024-11-01 Pasaulio lietuvių bendruomenė (PLB) ir Lietuva. Lietuvos Respublikos Vyriausybės ir institucijų prie LR Vyriausybės santykių su lietuvių išeivija apžvalga. Lietuvos Respublikos Prezidentas ir išeivija. Vytauto Didžiojo universitete. Kitose institucijose.

Naujas tyrimas, skirtas Lietuvos žydų emigracijai pirmosios Lietuvos Respublikos laikotarpiu

Juozas Skirius — Mon, 10 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0200

Recenzija. Čypaitė-Gilė, Dovilė, „Žydų (e)migracija iš Lietuvos 1918–1940 metais. Proceso rekonstrukcija“ (daktaro disertacija, Vilniaus universitetas, Lietuvos istorijos institutas, 2024), 193 p.

Tiltas į kūrėjo dvasios architektūrą

Andrėja Taranda — Mon, 10 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0200

Recenzija. Žibuntas Mikšys. Kad būt sugrįžtama: prisiminimų knyga, skirta dailininko 100-mečiui, sud. Ilona Mažeikienė ir Regina Urbonienė. Vilnius: Lietuvos nacionalinis dailės muziejus, 2023 (Vilnius: Petro ofsetas).

A short episode from the History of Lithuanian community in Canada

MIndaugas Lastas — Mon, 10 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0200

Šioje publikacijoje pateikiami dokumentai, padedantys nušviesti šį dviejų organizacijų epizodą: „Agenda for Democracy Inc.“ narių susitikimo su K. Prunskiene 1990 m. gegužės 1–2 d. protokolas ir dėl jo kilęs J. Danio, A. Pacevičiaus ir A. Rukšėno susirašinėjimas. Čia publikuojami dokumentai atskleidžia ne tik dviejų organizacijų nesutarimus, bet ir KLB narių požiūrį į bendruomenės darbus ir KLB vardą, jautriai reaguojant į bet kokius neigiamus ar netikslius pasisakymus apie KLB. Pastaroji dėjo dideles pastangas, kad Kanada de jure nepripažintų Lietuvos okupacijos, nuolat minėtų sovietų vykdomas represijas ir informuotų Kanados valdžią apie Lietuvą, jos okupaciją bei žmogaus teisių pažeidimus sovietų okupuotoje Lietuvoje. Ši KLB veikla buvo gana efektyvi, todėl tokie vieši nesusipratimai galėjo paskatinti itin jautrias reakcijas.

Visi šie dokumentai yra paimti iš Juozo Danio archyvo, saugomo Vytauto Didžiojo universiteto Lietuvių išeivijos institute (fondo nr. 9). Dokumentai parašyti lietuvių ir anglų kalbomis, publikuojami pirmą kartą. Publikuojamų šaltinių turinys, stilius ir gramatika nekeisti, išlaikant autorių rašybos stilių.