Andrius Kulikauskas

Vilnius Workshop, Monday 10 April, on Self-Identity & Fate of Old Vilna Jewish Cemetery

Posted on 7 April 2017 by Defending History

EVENTS | OLD VILNA JEWISH CEMETERY | CHRISTIAN-JEWISH RELATIONS | ANDRIUS KULIKAUSKAS

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VILNIUS—An invitation has been extended by the office of Dr. Andrius Kulikauskas to all interested colleagues to attend a seminar in Vilnius Old Town this Monday, 10 April 2017, from 1 to 5 PM (1300 to 1700) at the campus of Vilnius Gediminas Technical University on “Self-Identity and the Old Jewish Cemetery.” People who can only stop in for part of the event may come and go as needed.

MONDAY 10 APRIL

Come and visit between 1 and 5 PM at Workshop on Self-Identity and the Old Jewish Cemetery, at Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, Traku Street 1, corner of Pylimo, entrance from Pylimo. Defending History’s section, opposition tracker, and paper trail.

EVERYBODY WELCOME

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Posted in Andrius Kulikauskas, Andrius Kulikauskas on Vilnius's Oldest Jewish Cemetery, Bold Citizens Speak Out, Christian-Jewish Issues, Defense of Old Jewish Cemeteries and Mass Grave Sites, Human Rights, Lithuania, Litvak Affairs, News & Views, Old Vilna Jewish Cemetery at Piramónt (in Šnipiškės / Shnípishok) | Comments Off on Vilnius Workshop, Monday 10 April, on Self-Identity & Fate of Old Vilna Jewish Cemetery

Lithuanian Philosopher Writes to Archbishop Grušas

Posted on 12 May 2016 by Defending History

CHRISTIAN-JEWISH RELATIONS  | EVENTS  |  BOLD CITIZENS SPEAK OUT

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by Andrius Kulikauskas

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Editor’s note: The author provides here his own synopsis (with explanatory comments for Defending History readers) of his Lithuanian essay that appeared in Veidas on 5 May 2016. It is in effect an open letter from a Lithuanian citizen to Archbishop Gintaras Grušas on the occasion of the “Jubilee Year of Mercy” events scheduled this week under the title “National Congress of Mercy.”

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Posted in Andrius Kulikauskas, Antisemitism & Bias, Christian-Jewish Issues, Lithuania, Litvak Affairs, News & Views, Politics of Memory | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Lithuanian Philosopher Writes to Archbishop Grušas

Arūnas Degutis, Signatory of Lithuania’s 1990 Declaration of Independence, Voices View on the Holocaust

Posted on 10 March 2016 by Defending History

OPINION

by Andrius Kulikauskas

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degutis_arunas

Arūnas Degutis

O
n February 26, 2016, Arūnas Degutis posted his thoughts on Lithuanian-Litvak relations at the Minciu Sodas discussion forum, one of the longest running public Internet forums in Lithuanian, which I founded in 1999. Degutis writes that Lithuanians as a nation should empathize with Jewish victims of the Holocaust, especially those murdered by Lithuanians, and indeed should make a moral apology. Degutis was one of the signers of the declaration of Lithuania’s  independence on March 11, 1990.  In 1984, he was thrown out of work for  his ties with anti-Soviet dissidents. In the summer of 1988, he became a key organizer of the Lithuanian Reform Movement “Sąjūdis,” especially  as an editor of “Sąjūdžio žinios.”

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Posted in Andrius Kulikauskas, Christian-Jewish Issues, Lithuania, Litvak Affairs, News & Views, Opinion, Politics of Memory | Comments Off on Arūnas Degutis, Signatory of Lithuania’s 1990 Declaration of Independence, Voices View on the Holocaust

Let’s Dismantle the Sports Palace and Revoke the “Revocation of Hospitality”

Posted on 4 January 2016 by Defending History

 

OPINION  |  PIRAMÓNT  |  PAPER  TRAIL  |  OPPOSITION  |  CEMETERIES

by Andrius Kulikauskas

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I am inspired by the deep feelings which have been stirred amongst Litvaks regarding the fate of the Vilnius Sports Palace built on top of the Jewish cemetery. I wish for our state of Lithuania to do its utmost on behalf of Lithuanians to restore the Jewish cemetery in Vilnius as a symbol of our aspiration for the closest friendship between Lithuanians and Jews. I realized that it would be most helpful for me to present my thoughts in Lithuanian.

“From the top of Gediminas Castle, do we want to see and cherish, for hundreds of years to come, what the Communist Party Chief saw (the Sports Palace) or what the Grand Duke of Lithuania saw (the Jewish cemetery)?”

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Posted in Andrius Kulikauskas, Andrius Kulikauskas on Vilnius's Oldest Jewish Cemetery, Antisemitism & Bias, Citizenship, Defense of Old Jewish Cemeteries and Mass Grave Sites, History, Human Rights, Lithuania, Lithuania's Jewish Community Issues, Litvak Affairs, News & Views, Old Vilna Jewish Cemetery at Piramónt (in Šnipiškės / Shnípishok), Opinion, Politics of Memory, Symbology, Vilnius's Genocide Center and the Genocide Museum it Manages | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Let’s Dismantle the Sports Palace and Revoke the “Revocation of Hospitality”

Išardykime Sporto rūmus: atšaukime “svetingumo atšaukimą”

Posted on 4 January 2016 by Defending History

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Andrius Kulikauskas (Veidas.lt)

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Vilniaus sporto rūmai pastatyti 1965-1971 m. ant senų žydų kapinių.  2009 m. Andriaus Kubiliaus vadovaujama Lietuvos vyriausybė įsipareigojo kapines globoti.  Dabartinė Algirdo Butkevičiaus Vyriausybė ketina Sporto rūmus paversti kongresų centru. Siūlau Lietuvos valstybei šias kapines grąžinti Vilniaus žydams ir jas sutvarkyti taip, kaip Vilniaus žydai paprašys.

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Posted in Andrius Kulikauskas, Andrius Kulikauskas on Vilnius's Oldest Jewish Cemetery, Vilniaus senosios žydų (Piramonto) kapinės Šnipiškėse | Comments Off on Išardykime Sporto rūmus: atšaukime “svetingumo atšaukimą”

Documents Which Argue for Ethnic Cleansing (by Kazys Škirpa, Stasys Raštikis, Stasys Lozoraitis and Petras Klimas in 1940-1941 and by Birutė Teresė Burauskaitė in 2015)

Posted on 18 December 2015 by Defending History

O P I N I O N    /    H I S T O R Y

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2023 update: Readers experiencing difficulty accessing sources linked are referred to the archived version where original links are operative.
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by Andrius Kulikauskas

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01-SkirpaRastikisKlimasLozoraitisBurauskaite

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As of October 28, 2015, the home page of the Genocide and Resistance Research Center of Lithuania has a link to an authorative statement by General Director Birutė Teresė Burauskaitė about Kazys Škirpa. She responds to a request for information by the City of Kaunas, which has a street in Škirpa’s name. Škirpa was Lithuania’s representative in Berlin, the leader of the Lithuanian Activist Front, organizer of Lithuania’s anti-Soviet rebellion and Prime Minister of Lithuania’s Provisional Government in 1941. In bold letters she emphasizes:

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Posted in Andrius Kulikauskas, Antisemitism & Bias, Bold Citizens Speak Out, Christian-Jewish Issues, Collaborators Glorified, Documents, Dr. Arūnas Bubnys and State Holocaust Revisionism in Lithuania, History, Human Rights, Kazys Škirpa, Legacy of 23 June 1941, Lithuania, Litvak Affairs, Museums, News & Views, Opinion, Vilnius's Genocide Center and the Genocide Museum it Manages | Comments Off on Documents Which Argue for Ethnic Cleansing (by Kazys Škirpa, Stasys Raštikis, Stasys Lozoraitis and Petras Klimas in 1940-1941 and by Birutė Teresė Burauskaitė in 2015)

A Jewish Hideout Discovered in Butrimonys

Posted on 30 April 2015 by Defending History

E Y E W I T N E S S   R E P O R T   /   O P I N I O N

by Andrius Kulikauskas

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Renovation of the ground floor of an art gallery in the town of Butrimonys, Lithuania has revealed the existence of an unusual cellar that was apparently a Jewish hideout during the Holocaust. Daina Nemeikštienė, the owner of the gallery, “Dainos galerija”, is moving forward with the renovation, which means that what remains of the cellar will be cemented over, at least for now. Could some day this hideout offer an opportunity for respecting, valuing, studying, preserving and highlighting Litvak and Lithuanian heritage? For now, it illustrates the challenges in honoring even the most heroic aspects of the Holocaust.

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Posted in Andrius Kulikauskas, Commemorations for Destroyed Communities, Lithuania, Litvak Affairs, News & Views, Opinion | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on A Jewish Hideout Discovered in Butrimonys

How Did Lithuanians Wrong Litvaks?

Posted on 5 February 2015 by Defending History

O P I N I O N    /    H I S T O R Y

by Andrius Kulikauskas

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Iwill speak about painful things, and so I understand if some of you won’t want to listen and will step out.

It is most important that we empathize with the victims of the Holocaust, and yet we must also empathize with the perpetrators if we wish to understand what happened and who was responsible for what. Litvaks outside of Lithuania feel hurt that Lithuanians shirk responsibility for the Holocaust.

I won’t be indifferent. I am a deliberate Lithuanian. I was born in the diaspora. I chose to be Lithuanian. Is the Lithuanian worldview harmful? I must investigate.

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Posted in A 21st Century Campaign Against Lithuanian Holocaust Survivors?, Andrius Kulikauskas, Dr. Arūnas Bubnys and State Holocaust Revisionism in Lithuania, History, Legacy of 23 June 1941, Lithuania, News & Views, Opinion, Politics of Memory | Tagged , | Comments Off on How Did Lithuanians Wrong Litvaks?