Education Ministry and Association of Museums Encourage Activities to Commemorate the Activities of ‘Partisans’ including the Murderers who Unleashed the Lithuanian Holocaust; No mention of anti-Nazi partisans…

Posted on 15 April 2011 by Defending History


At the behest of Lithuania’s Education Ministry, the Association of Lithuanian Museums today canvassed museums and other institutions asking for information about what is being done concretely to commemorate the celebration of local fascists who collaborated with Hitler, including the killers who unleashed the Lithuanian Holocaust (Lithuanian Activist Front or LAF), and the collaborationist Provisional Government (PG).

The request from the Education Ministry and the Association of Lithuanian Museums is part of the Year for Commemoration of the Struggle for Freedom and Great Losses, which is being pursued domestically with vigor, while the parallel Year for Commemoration of the Holocaust (also 2011) is pursued with equal vigor for foreign audiences and the diplomatic community. See here and here for more information on the ‘Dualism of 2011’.

A full translation of today’s mass emailing to Lithuanian museums is appended below. It makes no mention of the Holocaust or Jews, although it doesn’t explicitly exclude Jewish partisan fighter groups from consideration. Briefly, the Association of Lithuanian Museums says it is informing Lithuanian museum workers of an initiative by ‘various patriotic groups’ (see here) for the commemoration of the Lithuanian perpetrators (‘freedom fighters’) and is inviting information about their commemorative projects for presentation at a conference at the Ministry of Education on 26 April 2011. The education minister will open the event followed by an introduction by the vice minister.

The Museum of Genocide Victims in central Vilnius dedicated to the ‘genocide’ under the Soviets and for years has made no mention the Holocaust, i.e. to the one genocide that occurred in Lithuania.

  • APPENDIX: Translation of today’s mass email.

  • From: Lolita Valužienė
  • Sent: Friday, April 15, 2011 7:19 PM
  • To:
  • Subject: For information about activities by museums on the topic of the history of the defense of freedom and partisan battles

  • Hello dear museum workers,
  • We inform you that on the initiative of various patriotic organizations and with the desire to present activities being carried out in Lithuania dedicated to the Year of the Defense of the Freedom of Lithuania and Great Losses, a DISCUSSION ON THE TOPIC OF TEACHING THE HISTORY OF THE FREEDOM STRUGGLES will be held at the Education Ministry of the Republic of Lithuania in the Hall of Collegia from 10 to 12 o’clock on April 26, 2011.

  • This is the preliminary scenario:

  • 10.00-10.10   Welcome by minister
  • 10.10-10.20   Introductory notes by vice-minister.
  • 10.20-10.40   A report called “Textbooks on the freedom struggles, exile, Soviet policy during the period of occupation.”  UPC [?] specialists L. Jašinauskas, K. Sleževičius.
  • 10.40-11.00   A report called “Educational programs of the Museum of Genocide Victims.” Delivered by museum director E. Peikštenis.
  • 11.00-12.00  Other reports, statements from participants, discussion
  • Rimantas Jokimaitis, senior specialist of the Education Ministry’s Primary and Secondary Education Department, approached the Association of Lithuanian Museums with the request that a representative of the Association of Museums deliver a short 5-10 minute summary at the above mentioned Education Ministry event presenting the activities of different Lithuanian museums: projects that have been carried out, are being carried out or are planned, educational programs and events which are directly related to the topic of the defense of freedom and the history of the partisan battles.
  • We in turn are approaching you, asking you to send us short descriptions of activities organized at your museum: education programs already carried out, being carried out or planned for implementation, projects and events on the topic of the defense of freedom and the history of the partisan battles, which having summarized we could present at the above mentioned event.
  • We will be looking forward to receiving information until 5 PM, April 20th of this year, by email.

  • <mailto:muzasoc@gmail.com> muzasoc@gmail.com

  • Nideta Jarockiene, the head of the Education Section at the Association of Lithuanian Museums, will summarize the information you send and prepare an individual report that  she will deliver at the above mentioned Education Ministry event.

  • Sincerely,
  • Lolita Valužienė, Secretary

This entry was posted in A 21st Century Campaign Against Lithuanian Holocaust Survivors?, Celebrations of Fascism, Collaborators Glorified, Events, Foreign Ministries: Holocaust Politics Abuse?, Human Rights, Legacy of 23 June 1941, Museums, News & Views, Politics of Memory. Bookmark the permalink.
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