A number of citizens of Lithuania from diverse backgrounds have spoken out against antisemitism, racism, and Holocaust Obfuscation. See the Defending History sections dedicated to the authors Vytenis Povilas Andriukaitis, Evaldas Balčiūnas, Milan Chersonski, Algis Davidavičius, Leonidas Donskis, Pinchos Fridberg, Fausta and Michael Maass, Kamilė Rupeikaitė, Geoff Vasil (Vasiliauskas), Nida Vasiliauskaitė, Tomas Venclova, Lina Žigelytė and others.

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Lithuanian film directors are at the forefront of producing documentaries that tell the historic truth and stoutly reject the government’s imposed red-brown historiography.

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SEE ALSO:

LITHUANIAN HOLOCAUST RESCUERS PAGE

AND THE

FIRST-WEEK RESCUERS PAGE (JUST GETTING STARTED — CONTRIBUTIONS WELCOME)

The following is a selection.  There are many more citizens of Lithuania who have stood up with courage.

2013

11 May 2013.  DefendingHistory.com: ‘The neo-Nazis hate the feminists, too. Police and prosecutors seem to favor ultranationalist groups’ by Lina Žigelytė.

22 April 2013.  Jerusalem Report: ‘Lithuania’s deceit’ by Bernard Dichek [see interviews with Fania Brantsovsky and Milda Jakulytė-Vasil].

10 April 2013.  Defending History: ‘In Obeliai (Abél) and Rokiškis (Rákishok): More state-sponsored glorification of Nazi collaborators’ by Geoff Vasil.

29 March 2013. Žibutė (Lithuanian Feminist Program): Antifascism and a campaign of terror.

16 March 2013.  Delfi.lt: ‘Latvių SS legiono veteranų eitynėse žygiavo J.Panka bei R.Čekutis, A.Paleckis’ by Eglė Samoškaitė.

15 March 2013.  DefendingHistory.com: ‘Believe it or not: Lithuanian parliament honors organizers of neo-Nazi march in central Vilnius’ [with full translation of Dovydas Pancerovas's courageous article].

15 March 2013.  DefendingHistory.com: ‘Lithuania’s Social Democratic Party issues statement against neo-Nazi march’.

14 March 2013.  Lithuania Tribune: ‘Social Democrats censure “manifestations of ultranatnionalism”’.

14 March 2013.  DefendingHistory.com: ‘Isn’t it time for the author of the myth to apologize?’ by Pinchos Fridberg.

11 March 2013.  DefendingHistory.com: ‘3,000 participants in “unauthorized” neo-Nazi march in central Vilnius on 2013 independence day’ by Anna Shepherd [with reports on the courageous groups of Lithuanian citizens who turned out to oppose the neo-Nazi march in central Vilnius].

2 March 2013.  DefendingHistory.com: ‘Letter to the editor’ by Pinchos Fridberg [with two sound files of MP Emanuelis Zingeris at the November 2012 Seimas conference on 'United Europe — United History'].

24 February 2013.  DefendingHistory.com: ‘Evaldas Balčiūnas remembers February 16th 2013 march in central Kaunas’ by Evaldas Balčiūnas.

23 February 2013.  DefendingHistory.com: ‘A counter-question to Lithuanian journalist Artūras Račas’ by Pinchos Fridberg.

23 February 2013.  DefendingHistory.com: ‘The real dope on the February 16 neo-Nazi march in Kaunas (Kovno), Lithuania’ by Geoff Vasil.

14 February 2013.  DefendingHistory.com: ‘Righteous among the nations: Zháger (Žagarė).

14 February 2013.  The Baltic Times: ‘Lithuanian PM is against instigation of ethnic hatred’.

14 February 2013.  DefendingHistory.com: ‘Pinchos Fridberg provides chronology of a provocation’.

8 February 2013.  VilNews.com: ‘A poem about the witches among us’ by K.R. Slade.

1 February 2013. Obzor: ‘Two questions of the leaders of the Jewish Community of Lithuania’ by Pinchos Fridberg [in Russian].

31 January 2013.  DefendingHistory.com: ‘Why Christine Beresniova is out of order’ by Geoff Vasil.

16 January 2013.  Jewish Community of Lithuania: ‘Instead of truth about the Holocaust — Myths about saving Jews’ by Pinchos Fridberg.

15 January 2013.   The Algemeiner: ‘Instead of truth about the Holocaust — Myths about saving Jews’ by Pinchos Fridberg.

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2012

• Eight Lithuanian parliamentarians (six MPs and two MEPs) courageously sign the Seventy Years Declaration. They are rapidly attacked by the foreign minister, and defended by UK MP Denis MacShane, who wrote to each. The New York Times reports. Jewish Chronicle. Algemeiner Journal. MP Vytenis Povilas Andriukaitis (now minister of health) replied powerfully. So did UK MP and author Denis MacShane. Andres Spokoiny’s tribute to MP Andriukaitis.

• Hundreds of Lithuanian citizens of all backgrounds, resident in Lithuania and in a dozen countries, courageously sign Olga Zabludoff’s petition asking the Lithuanian government to ban the neo-Nazi march from the central boulevard of Lithuania’s beautiful capital Vilnius on its proud independence day of March 11th.

• Many Lithuanian citizens, resident in Lithuania and elsewhere, courageously sign Krystyna Anna Steiger’s petition. It started as a petition asking Vytatyas Magnus University to cancel events honoring the 1941 Nazi puppet prime minister. Upon achievement of that goal it shifted to asking the government to cancel its reburial ceremonies. Following the reburial, it evolved to the current petition asking the government to remove memorials to Nazi collaborators on public property.

• Eight of the nine demonstrators who picketed the opening of a racist-homophobe’s art exhibition at Vilnius University on 27 September 2012 are Lithuanian citizens. Details here.

•  Among the major bold and courageous contributions to the debate  by Lithuanian personalities in 2012: Vytenis Povilas Andriukaitis 1, 2, 3, 4; V.T. Andriukaitis & A. Sysas; Saulius Beržinis; Algis Davidavičius; Leonidas Donskis 1, 2; Darius Udrys, Alicija Žukauskaitė.

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3 October 2012.  DefendingHistory.com: ’Ignas Vylius-Vėlavičius: Lithuanian patriot or Holocaust perpetrator?’ by Evaldas Balčiūnas.

25 September 2012.  Delfi.lt: ‘Parodos detektyvas VU: žydai pasipiktino dailininku, kairieji organizuoja protestą, universitetas sutrikęs’ ['A detective story about an exhibit at Vilnius University: Jews upset by artist, leftists organize protest, university in disarray] by Eglė Samoškaitė.

17 September 2012.  DefendingHistory.com: ‘Lithuania’s state Jewish museum responds to survivors’ concerns about London meetings together with (antisemitic) Genocide Center’ by Kamilė Rupeikaitė.

30 July 2012.  DefendingHistory.com: ‘Crying over dead Jews’ by Geoff Vasil.  Republication in the Algemeiner Journal.  Republication in 15min.lt.  August 1st 2012 pick of the day on Jewish Ideas Daily.

18 July 2012.  DefendingHistory.com: ‘Why was a Lithuanian Holocaust perpetrator who also murdered Belarusians given atate honors? Open letter to the Lithuanian Ambassador to Belarus’ by Evaldas Balčiūnas.

6 July 2012.  DefendingHistory.com: ‘The Holocaust? It happens to everyone…’ by Algis Davidavičius.

4 July 2012.  DefendingHistory.com: ‘Reburial as a means for the rewriting of history’ by Milan Chersonski.

29 June 2012.  Defending History.com: ‘Another “resistance hero” or — war criminal who selected Jews for mass murder?’ by Evaldas Balčiūnas.

11 June 2012.  DefendingHistory.com: ‘A historic narrative in violation of good conscience’ by Leonidas Donskis [authorized translation for DH by Geoff Vasil].

28 May 2012.  DefendingHistory.com: ‘Unelected 1941 pro-Nazi provisional government of Lithuania never intended good for country’ by Geoff Vasil.

26 May 2012.  DefendingHistory.com: ‘A Litvak devastates second Kaunas conference on Nazi collaborator Ambrazevičius-Brazaitis’ by Geoff Vasil.

20 May 2012.  DefendingHistory.com: ‘Dramatic confrontation on the floor of the Lithuanian parliament’.

17 May 2012.  VilNews.com: ‘Juozas Ambrazevičius-Brazaitis is no hero’ by Darius Udrys.  Republished in 15min.lt. Republished in the Lithuania Tribune.

17 May 2012.  DefendingHistory.com: ‘International Christian Assembly Directors in Lithuania Speak Out on the Glorification of Ambrazevičius-Brazaitis’ [with full text of statement by Michael and Fausta Maass].

29 April 2012. Lietuvos rytas: ‘Musicians speaking out against racism: “You need to love your country with songs, not fists’ by Eglė Šilinskaitė.  English translation here.

29 April 2012. Lietuvos rytas: ‘Musicians speaking out against racism: “You need to love your country with songs, not fists’ by Eglė Šilinskaitė.  English translation here.

28 April 2012.  DefendingHistory.com: ‘The history of three “Lithuanian Freedom Army” (LFA) colonels who served the Nazis” by Evaldas Balčiūnas.

12 April 2012.  DefendingHistory.com: ‘MP Vytenis Andriukaitis: Open letter to Genocide Center’s “chief specialist” Ričardas Čekutis’ by Vytenis Povilas Andriukaitis. [= authorized English translation of 5 April 2012 Balsas.lt article]

11 February 2012.  DefendingHistory.com: ‘Lithuanian parliamentarian Vytenis Andriukaitis, signatory of 70 Years Declaration, replies to foreign minister, cites “moustache” remark and the implications of ‘double genocide”‘. [An authorized translation of the Lithuanian article by Vytenis Andriukaitis that appeared on Delfi.lt on 9 February 2012]

25 January 2012.  DefendingHistory.com: ‘UK MP Denis MacShane rushes to defense of Lithuanian parliamentarians who signed Seventy Years Declaration; slams foreign minister’s Hitler-Stalin “joke”‘.

22 January 2012.  DefendingHistory.com: ‘Lithuanian foreign minister berates his country’s parliamentarians who signed “70 Years Declaration”; Says Hitler = Stalin except for length of their moustaches’. Republished on Operation Last Chance.

20 January 2012.  DefendingHistory.com: ‘The Seventy Years Declaration on the anniversary of the final solution conference at Wannsee’ [including eight Lithuanian signatories].

♦

2011

Some six hundred Lithuanian citizens sign a letter protesting the neo-Nazi march held in the center of Vilnius on the country’s March 11 independence day; letter released on 14 March 2011.

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Shimon Alperovich interviewed by Frank Bendle on Taz.de, 4 February 2011.

Evaldas Balčiūnas, ‘Lithuanian State Commemorates Murderers’ on Anarchija.lt, 22 March 2011.  Authorized English translation by Geoff Vasil available here.

Monika Bonckute, ‘The bureaucrat who thought he was a victim’ in Lietuvos rytas, 8 March 2011.  Authorized English translation by Geoff Vasil available here.

Leonidas Donskis, ‘Who got stupid, the European Parliament or Us?’ on DefendingHistory.com, 7 February 2011.

Milan Chersonski, ‘Jewish Museum renewed Holocaust exhibition’ by Milan Chersonski in Jerusalem of Lithuania [English edition appeared on 18 February 2011; edition of the publication dated July-Sept 2010].

Milan Chersonski, ‘Love and sorrow, reinforced by tears’ by Milan Chersonski  in Jerusalem of Lithuania [English edition appeared on 18 February 2011; edition of the publication dated July-Sept 2010].

Mečys Laurinkus, ‘Fascist demonstrators: a real problem for Lithuania’s future’ in Lietuvos rytas, 26 March 2011.  English translation.

Valentinas Mitė, ‘The murder of Jews in Lithuania. A pigsty and the Holocaust’ in Jerusalem of Lithuania [English translation appeared on 18 February 2011, edition of the publication dated July-Sept 2010].

Liudas Truska [interview], ‘Lithuanian professor: “Stop equating Soviet occupation with Nazi Holocaust”‘ in FightHatred.com, 13 July 2011.

Geoff Vasil (Vasiliauskas), ‘Lithuania is playing a worrying Holocaust game’ in the Jewish Chronicle, 28 July 2011.

Geoff Vasil (Vasiliauskas), ‘Lithuania and Tolerance’ on DefendingHistory.com, 10 January 2011.

Nida Vasiliauskaitė, ‘Fascism in National Cellophane’ on DefendingHistory.com, 16 February 2011.

Andrejus Žukovskis, ‘Jerusalem of Lithuania is saddened’ in Diena.lt, 23 April 2011.

♦

2010

Shimon Alperovich (Simonas Alperavičius), public letter to the president of Lithuania in response to antisemitic remarks by the Foreign Minister. English translation by Geoff Vasil.

Shimon Alperovich (Simonas Alperavičius), public letter to Irena Degutiene, chair of the Lithuanian parliament, 4 October 2010.  English translation by Geoff Vasil.

[Shimon Alperovich (Simonas Alperavičius)], public statement on projects to glorify the 1941 collaborationist Provisional Government of Lithuania.  English translation by Geoff Vasil. 7 September 2010.

Andrius Bielskis, ‘If we don’t recognize the Holocaust we won’t take responsibility for the tragedy’ on Delfi.lt, 10 December 2010.  English translation by Geoff Vasil.

Monika Bončkutė, ‘Rejecting tolerance, Lithuanians enjoy the role of victim’ in Lietuvos rytas, 9 April 2010.  English translation by Geoff Vasil.

Monika Bončkutė, ‘Pure-blooded Lithuanians need Jewish Litvaks’ in Lietuvos rytas, 21 January 2010. English translation by Geoff Vasil.

Algirdas Davidavičius, ‘Uncanny darkness: Impressions of a public debate in Vilnius’ on DefendingHistory.com, 9 December 2010.

Leonidas Donskis, ‘What happened to us?’ in the Baltic Times, 15 April 2010.

Leonidas Donskis, ‘Where is that line?’ on DefendingHistory.com, 11 December 2010.

Leonidas Donskis, ‘Kada tiesa pagaliau mus išlaisvins?’ [When will the truth finally set us free?] on his blog, 1 September 2010.   Authorized English translation by Geoff Vasil.

Sergejus Kanovičius, ‘Interview from the pits of Paneriai, or, We are weighing death’, on DefendingHistory.com, 16 December 2010

Andrius Navickas, ‘Holokaustas ir atminties gydymas’ on Bernardinai.lt, 23 September 2010.  English translation by Geoff Vasil.

Algirdas Paleckis, ‘The legacy of fascists and fascism in Lithuania’, paper delivered at the World Without Nazism Conference, Kiev, 21 June 2010.

Algirdas Paleckis, ‘Lithuania without Nazism’, speech delivered at the World Without Nazism Conference, Moscow, 17 December 2010.

Nida Vasiliauskaitė, ‘On 1941, the Jews, and Us’ on DefendingHistory.com, 13 December 2010.

Tomas Venclova, ‘Aš dūstu’ [I am suffocating] on Bernardinai.lt, 14 July 2010.  Excerpt in English here.  Full authorized translation by Geoff Vasil here.

♦

2009

Leonidas Donskis, ‘The inflation of genocide’ in EuropeanVoice.com, 24 July 2009.

Lithuanian National Youth Association presents a ‘doll of fascism’ to Henrikas Mickevicius, director of the Human Rights Monitoring Institute,  to ‘help’ him frighten others about the dangers of fascism, 1 April 2009.

Andrius Navickas, ‘Mass media or the propagation of filth?’ [‘Ziniasklaida ar purvasklaida?’] in Bernardinai.lt, 6 February 2009.

Daiva Repečkaitė, ‘How the word spreads’  on author’s blog Wonderland, 4 December 2009.

Daiva Repečkaitė, ‘Delfi’s “McCarthyism” continues’ on author’s blog Wonderland, 14 November 2009.

Daiva Repečkaitė, ‘Portal manipulates information about Holocaust survivor’ on author’s blog, Wonderland, 28 October 2009.

Rasa Rimickaitė, ‘Dantesque emptiness’ in Jerusalem of Lithuania, April-June 2009.

Rasa Rimickaitė, ‘The impact of memory’, lecture presented at the Litvak Conference organized by the Jewish Community of Lithuania, 24 August 2009.

Darius J. Ross, ‘Sticks and stones’ in The Baltic Times, 23-29 April 2009.

Mindaugas Tamošaitis, ‘The revolt of June 1941 and the tragedy of the Jews of Lithuania’ in Jerusalem of Lithuania, December 2009.

Darius Udrys, The Road to Freedom: Lithuania / Kelias i Laisve: Lietuva. Documentary film on blip.tv.

‘Tomas Venclova on Lithuania’s intellectuals’, 15 July 2009.

Dr Efraim Zuroff, director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Israel Office, pays tribute to citizens who assisted Operation Last Chance, in his Operation Last Chance, pp 156-160(see Recent Books → 2009 → Zuroff).

Video of the ‘Funeral of Democracy’ counter-demonstration against the fascist march of 11 March 2009 [Youtube].

♦

2008

Simonas Alperavičius & Tobijas Jafetas, ‘An open letter’ to the president, speaker of parliament, prime minister and prosecutor general of Lithuania, 19 June 2008 [English translation].

Leonidas Donskis, ‘Hostages to an ill-begotten theory’ in Transitions Online, 10 October 2008.

‘Lithuanian academic blasts war crimes probe of ex- Yad Vashem chief’ in Haaretz, 5 October 2008.

Geoff Vasil (Vasiliauskas), ‘Analyzing Lithuanian antisemitism. The “double genocide” theory refuses to quit’ in Jewish Currents, November 2008; alternate link.

♦

2006

Leonidas Donskis, ‘Another word for uncertainty: antisemitism in modern Lithuania’ in Nordeuropa Forum 1/2006.

Report on a project of the House of Memory led by Linas Vildziunas, September 2006.

♦

2005

The prime minister of Lithuania, Algirdas Brazauskas, awards Dr Rachel Margolis a certificate of appreciation for her contribution to the liberation of Lithuania as an anti-Nazi resistance fighter (8 May 2005).

Andrius Navickas, ‘Is the world ruled by hatred for Others?’ [‘Pasauli valdo neaplykanta kitokiems?’] in Bernardinai.lt, 3 March 2005.

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2004

V. Brandišauskas’s review of A. Liekis’s book (2000) on the first weeks of the Holocaust in Lithuania.  English translation.

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2001

Liudas Truska, ‘Contemporary attitudes toward the Holocaust in Lithuania’ in Jews in Eastern Europe 2(45), pp 5-26.

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1998

Alfredas Bumblauskas,  ‘Issues in the history of Lithuanian-Jewish relations in the context of historiographical paradigms’ [‘Lietuviu-Zydu santykiu istorijos problema istoriografiniu paradigmu kontekste’] in Kulturos barai 12, pp 49-55.

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1997

Rūta Puišytė, ‘The Holocaust in Jurbarkas’, BA thesis supervised by Professor Meir Shub at Vilnius University; prefaces by Professor Meir Shub and Professor Dov Levin; translated into English by Joseph Rosin.

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1995

Speech by the President of the Republic of Lithuania Mr Algirdas Brazauskas, delivered at the Knesset in Jerusalem at 4 PM, 1 March 1995.

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1993

The president of Lithuania, Algirdas Brazauskas, awards Professor Dov Levin a certificate of appreciation (22 Sept 1993).

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1975

The eminent Lithuanian scholar and poet Tomas Venclova (Yale University) published the first Lithuanian version of his valiant essay, ‘Jews and Lithuanians’ in the samizdat journal Tarbut in 1975. The standard English version appears in his Forms of Hope.

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1924

Dr. Jonas Basanavičius (1851-1927), a principal founder of the Lithuanian revival of modern times, and editor of the first newspaper in the language, wrote this letter in 1924 to a Jewish newspaper, upon hearing of plans to ban Yiddish signs in public places. The English translation is followed by a facsimile of the original Lithuanian letter, taken from M. Sudarski’s  Líte (New York 1951), p. 143. A facsimile of the page is available here.

“Having learned from Mr. Katsenelenbogen that certain district leaders are banning the public use of the Yiddish language on signs, and thereby violating the sense of  justice of the Yiddish speaking citizens of Lithuania, I would like — though it be a cry in the wilderness — to defend their language on the basis of equality, and to advise the organs of government to stop persecuting, pettily, the language of loyal residents, and to stop making them feel aggrieved by the Lithuanian government.”

• • • • Dr. J. Basanavičius
      • Palanga, 12 August 1924

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