Swastikas in Lithuania

Readers interested in the specific law permitting the swastika (in effect exempting it from other laws equally prohibiting Nazi and Soviet symbols) may refer to Defending History’s 2010 coverage of some of the legal history:
https://defendinghistory.com/lithuanian-court-approves-display-of-swastikas-in-public/389
AND
https://defendinghistory.com/lithuanian-court-legalizes-public-swastikas-as-historical-heritage-2008-ban-on-nazi-and-soviet-symbols-now-excludes-swastikas/806
AND
https://defendinghistory.com/klaipeda-court-approves-public-swastikas-as-symbol-of-lithuanias-historical-heritage/837
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Which Lithuanian town still boasts a (prewar) swastika in the heart of its town square, oblivious to what the symbol has BECOME, and with little apparent care about the message it sends about the genocide of its large prewar Jewish population by those brandishing the symbol?
https://defendinghistory.com/new-jewish-monument-in-rokiskis-rakeshik-lithuania-commemorates-3-synagogues/76902#townsquareswastika

Correspondence with Kaunas Mayor’s Office to 11 February 2015

Posted on 11 February 2015 by Defending History

D O C U M E N T S

Below, (1) the text of DH’s letter to the mayor of Kaunas, (2) the response received today from his office, and (3) our further response, in connection with the annual neo-Nazi march planned for 16 February 2015 in central Kaunas. See also section on previous marches, and our 3 February 2014  correspondence with the Kaunas police. Note that a banner featuring a major Kaunas Holocaust collaborator, the Nazi puppet prime minister Juozas Ambrazevicius Brazaitis (reburied with full honors as a hero in Kaunas, in 2012), is depicted in a 2014 photograph used by the march’s organizers to advertise the 2015 event.

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Run-Up to the Annual February 16th Neo-Nazi March in Kaunas

Posted on 5 February 2015 by Defending History

WILL LITHUANIA’S LEADERS SPEAK OUT AGAINST GRANTING MAJOR CITY CENTERS ON INDEPENDENCE DAYS TO NEO-NAZI MARCHES THAT ADULATE 1941 HOLOCAUST COLLABORATORS?

WILL “BAGEL SHOP” AND OTHER FUNDED MONITORS ISSUE A MORALLY DIGNIFIED STATEMENT? A MEMBER OF THE JEWISH COMMUNITY SPEAKS OUT; HIS EARLIER VIDEOTAPED INTERVIEW IN RICHARD BLOOM’S DOCUMENTARY.

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Kaunas Police Informs Defending History on Status of February 16th Neo-Nazi March

Posted on 3 February 2015 by Defending History

KAUNAS—As in previous years (for example, 2013), the Kaunas District Police Department today informed Defending History that it has issued no permits for a march on February 16th, referring us instead to the body that would have issued the permit — the Kaunas City Municipality, which has not (yet) responded to our queries. The letter received (image below) states “We inform you that Kaunas County Police have not issued a permit for organizing a march / rally” on 16 February 2015, and suggests “you refer to Kaunas City Municipality.”

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For Seventh Year Running, Neo-Nazis and Ultranationalists Given Center of Vilnius on Independence Day

Posted on 11 March 2014 by Defending History

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

by Dovid Katz

Lithuania’s March 11th independence day is celebrated by the free world, not least by those who remember the incredible news that spread around the globe in March 1990, when Lithuania’s parliament (Seimas) voted 124 to zero to break away from the Soviet Union. The courage of the parliamentarians from a broad spectrum of parties and movements was stark; the country was still occupied by ominous Soviet forces (and blood would be spilled by Soviet forces’ violence less than a year later, in January 1991). The March 11th celebration has been anchored  over the years by a record of achievement that includes the transition to democracy, the joining of the European Union and NATO, and the rapid integration with Western society, economy and mores.

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Posted in Antisemitism & Bias, Celebrations of Fascism, Dovid Katz, Events, Human Rights, Lithuania, Litvak Affairs, Neo-Nazi & Fascist Marches, News & Views, Opinion, Politics of Memory, Swastikas in Lithuania, Vilnius | Comments Off on For Seventh Year Running, Neo-Nazis and Ultranationalists Given Center of Vilnius on Independence Day

Run-up to the March 11th 2014 Neo-Nazi / Ultranationalist March in Central Vilnius

Posted on 10 March 2014 by Defending History

Vilnius, Tuesday March 11th 2014:

Neo-Nazis Announce March Through Old Town and City Center to Nation’s Parliament

Efraim Zuroff Will Lead Silent, Peaceful Remembrance as Protest

Colleagues of all backgrounds are invited to meet Dr. Zuroff, Holocaust historian, Nazi-hunter, author, director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Israel office. He will lead a silent, peaceful remembrance of the annihilated Jewish citizens of Vilnius and Lithuania, in protest against the neo-Nazi marchers and the continued granting of city center venues on independence day. Meeting on Tuesday, 11 March 2014, 3 PM at Old Town Hall (Rotušė) Square. First meeting at edge of square, on the corner of Stiklių and Didžioji outside Amatininkai Café, monitoring the march (itself scheduled for 4 PM) to its conclusion on Gedimino near the Seimas (parliament).

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Summary Coverage of 16 February 2014 Neo-Nazi March in Kaunas

Posted on 16 February 2014 by Defending History

 

Over 1,000 March in Kaunas City Center with Banner Honoring the 1941 Nazi Puppet Prime Minister who Helped Send City’s 30,000 Jews to their Death

PRESS: ALFA.LT; ALKAS.LT; BALSAS.LT; DELFI.LT; JERUSALEM POST; KAUNODIENA.LT; SWC REPORT; TV: KAUNAS NEWS; OPINION: Olga Zabludoff; Efraim Zuroff

♦

Section on Pro-Fascist Marches

Lithuanian TV interviews with Efraim Zuroff and Dovid Katz:

1 and 2

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More Mainstream Media Coverage of the Swastika Issue in Lithuania

Posted on 7 February 2014 by Defending History

The following, for our readers’ information, is Geoff Vasil’s translation of a 3 February 2014 article that appeared in 15min.lt. Please see the original Lithuanian for the photos referenced herein by their captions in square brackets.

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Posted in Celebrations of Fascism, EU, Human Rights, Lithuania, Media Watch, News & Views, Politics of Memory, Swastikas in Lithuania, Symbology | Tagged | Comments Off on More Mainstream Media Coverage of the Swastika Issue in Lithuania

Respublika’s 16 January 2014 Front Page Article “Jews Don’t Want to Wear Nazi Symbols a Second Time”

Posted on 20 January 2014 by Defending History

The following translation, by Geoff Vasil, is of a front page article in the Vilnius daily Respublika (16 January 2014). The Lithuanian original is available online. See also: Geoff Vasil’s comment on the article which may serve as an introduction to some of the local issues and nuances.

Respublika Jan 2014 interviews with Faina Kukliansky and Moishe Beirak

 

Jews Don’t Want to Wear Nazi Symbols a Second Time

January 16, 2014 by Asta MARTIŠIŪTĖ and Olava STRIKULIENĖ, Respublika reporters MEP Vytautas Landsbergis, chairman of the Supreme Soviet/Restored Parliament of Lithuania, speaking at a solemn event to commemorate January 13 [1991], spoke in his speech about the Holocaust as well. Was it necessary to mention this at a ceremony dedicated to the 14 defenders of Lithuanian freedom who died and who hadn’t even been alive during Holocaust times? Beyond this, January 13 [commemorations] didn’t come off without yet another curiosity. A Wehrmacht symbol was used in the “Forget-me-not” campaign and MP Rasa Juknevičienė said next January it will be possible to acquire these symbols [lapel pins] throughout Lithuania, and not exclusively in the capital. Continue reading

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“Swastika Wood Art” Up & Down Gedimino Boulevard at Central Vilnius Arts Fair

Posted on 15 September 2013 by Defending History

The following is the content of a front page item that appeared on 11 September 2013:

The arts and crafts festival held on Vilnius’s central Gedimino Boulevard featured a number of disturbing swastika themes in woodwork. Here is one example:

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Swastikas From Latvia in Center of Šiauliai (Shavl), Lithuania, as Police Look On

Posted on 4 May 2013 by Defending History

Since 2010, when a Lithuanian court proclaimed public swastikas legal and included in its ruling the “historical wisdom” that it only a harmless ancient Baltic symbol, swastikas have proliferated at public events sponsored by the far right, with police looking on listlessly. Most painfully for the dwindling numbers of Holocaust survivors here and abroad, swastikas and other fascist symbols, along with glorification of local Holocaust collaborators, have figured in sanctioned independence day marches in Kaunas on February 16th each year, and in the capital city Vilnius, each March 11th.

In 2012, the United Nations’ Human Rights Committee commented publicly.

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Upside-Down World? Neo-Nazi March Assisted by Police on Central Boulevard, While Authorities Try to Banish Baltic Pride Across the River….

Posted on 28 March 2013 by Defending History

 

O P I N I O N

Officially speaking, the annual neo-Nazi march on Lithuania’s independence day earlier this month, complete with swastikas, sieg heils and white power jackets, had been “moved” by the municipality from Vilnius’s central boulevard, Gedimino, to the rather less prestigious location across the river in Shnípishok (Šnipiškės), and the move was confirmed by the courts. But it was all a fiction. On the day, the police facilitated the neo-Nazis’ march up Gedimino as usual without the slightest hint of disapproval, let alone transfer to one of the bridges leading across the river. See our report, and the eyewitness accounts by Anna Shepherd and Geoff Vasil.

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Summary Coverage of Neo-Nazi March in Central Vilnius on March 11th 2013

Posted on 15 March 2013 by Defending History

March 11th 2013 Independence Day:

City Mounted Wholesome Family Event on Main Boulevard, but it was Followed by a Massive Neo-Nazi March; There were Few Protesters

NATION’S PARLIAMENT HONORS THE NEO-NAZI MARCH ORGANIZERS

EYEWITNESS REPORTS: ANNA SHEPHERD AND GEOFF VASIL

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3,000 Neo-Nazi Marchers on Gedimino Boulevard in Central Vilnius on 2013 Independence Day

Posted on 11 March 2013 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 Anna Shepherd

Photos by Anna Shepherd; they may be reproduced with accreditation to Defending History (this page) and to Ms. Shepherd.

 

An unsanctioned neo-Nazi march took place today on Gedimino Boulevard, the main avenue of central Vilnius, as Lithuania celebrated its 1990 declaration of independence from the Soviet Union. It had an estimated three thousand participants, the largest number ever.

Vilnius authorities had this year issued a permit for the nationalists’ march to take place on Upės Street, a venue across the river, further from the city center. Instead of the neo-Nazi march that has occurred each year since 2008, this year Gedimino was supposed to be host of “Laisves Vejas” (Wind of Freedom), a celebration of freedom and independence including music, dance, poetry and other wholesome performances.

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The Real Dope on the February 16 Neo-Nazi March in Kaunas (Kovno), Lithuania

Posted on 22 February 2013 by Defending History

O P I N I O N

by Geoff Vasil

 

Readers and supporters of Defending History likely realize there is a diversity of opinion and views held by contributors (made explicit on the About us page), and in that spirit I’d like to share my own impressions of the neo-Nazi march on Lithuanian Independence Day 2013 in Kaunas (Kovno), Lithuania’s second-largest city and the provisional capital in the interwar period.

First, Kaunas was colder than expected. The breeze contributed to the chill. There seemed to be half as many police as protestors at the staging area, Ramybės Parkas, next to the bus station in central Kaunas. The police wore three uniforms: green, grey and, I was told by someone representing himself as being from Interpol, a large number of plain-clothes officers dispersed among the crowd, presumably meaning the marchers, since the number of protestors was paltry, just a handful of people.

See also the memoirs of Evaldas Balčiūnas, Dovid Katz (and 2nd), Efraim Zuroff

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Antisemitic Campaign Advertisements in Lithuanian Parliamentary Elections

Posted on 4 October 2012 by Defending History

A number of antisemitic and fascist-sympathizing ads have recently appeared in the course of the campaign for the Lithuanian parliamentary elections to be held in two rounds on 14 and 28 October 2012.

UPDATE:  JTA

It does not help that public swastikas were legalized in Lithuania in 2010. That year a group of ambassadors in Vilnius got toegether to write a letter to the nation’s leaders on various Jewish and Holocaust issues, including the swastika issue. The United Nations Human Rights Committee finally commented this year on the attempted rehabilitation of the swastika.

One parliamentary candidate’s campaign uses a photo of him sporting a swastika-decorated tie. Another is a vulgar caricature of a Jew getting money from the state and threatening to take more (a reference to this year’s restitution bill providing communal compensation for confiscated property). A third expresses the wish for a “Third Republic” state with a Nazi-like logo.

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Over 1000 Neo-Nazis Fill Main Vilnius Boulevard on Lithuanian Independence Day

Posted on 11 March 2012 by Defending History

E Y E W I T N E S S   R E P O R T

by Dovid Katz

Ignoring international pleas (including over two thousand signatures on an online petition) for the withdrawing of permits for this year’s neo-Nazi march, Vilnius authorities mounted a major police presence to keep order during today’s event in the heart of the Lithuanian capital.

This marcher’s handbag featured a designer swastika

The modified SS skull and crossbones and the “Lithuanian swastika” (with added lines) were among the symbols featured in today’s march

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March 11th is Not a Day to Glorify the Perpetrators

Posted on 28 February 2012 by Defending History

O P I N I O N

by Olga Zabludoff

When I learned that the municipality of Vilnius had again issued permits for a neo-Nazi march on Lithuania’s March 11th Independence Day, I was disturbed for more than one reason. Why would the government, which has been purporting its wish for reconciliation with its small Lithuanian Jewish community and Jews everywhere, sanction the resurrection of a Holocaust image? Why would the government, which has been purporting its wish to better its tarnished image with worldwide Jewry, accept and endorse the display of the LAF white armbands imprinted with the flaming swastika?

Most survivors of the Lithuanian Holocaust are more traumatized by memories of the white-armbanded Lithuanian Activist Front than by memories of Hitler’s Aryan henchmen. It was the local LAF murderers who began to butcher Jews who had been their neighbors — this even before their German Nazi masters/commanders came upon the scene. It was the LAF who unleashed the Holocaust in Lithuania. It was then that their slogan was born: “Lithuania for Lithuanians!” (Lietuva Lietuviams).

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Yivo Director’s Statements on Legal Swastikas in Lithuania, Plus Some Facts

Posted on 16 November 2011 by Defending History

 [updated to May 2013]

 

“One of the most important statements in the article is that the swastika is banned by Lithuanian law, something that Katz and others have refused to acknowledge.”

— Jonathan Brent, Executive Director of the Yivo Institute for Jewish Research, in a 9 September 2o11 memo sent to members of his staff

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“Fact: It is illegal to display the swastika in Lithuania today.”

— Jonathan Brent, Executive Director of the Yivo Institute for Jewish Research, in a 13 September 2o11 memo comprising the text of his proposed Public Yivo Statement, for which the support of Prof. Jeffrey Veidlinger (Bloomington) is claimed.

Chronology of events, including the United Nations Human Rights Committee statement of 2012, provided below…

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Lithuania’s Defense Ministry Clears Soldiers who Participated in Neo-Nazi March

Posted on 6 September 2011 by Defending History

Lithuania’s main newspaper Lietuvos Rytas reported today on an internal investigation by the Lithuanian Ministry of National Defense into participation by Lithuanian soldiers in neo-Nazi marches. The investigation found that the soldiers hadn’t violated the law, but the ministry isn’t making public the contents of the inquiry. The presence of neo-Nazis in the Lithuanian military came to light after the website Antifa.lt published photos of participants in a March 11 neo-Nazi independence day march through central Vilnius, next to pictures of the same people in Lithuanian military uniforms. See Antifa.lt’s posts here and here.

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1000 Neo-Nazi Marchers Fill Central Vilnius on Lithuania’s Independence Day; They are Addressed by Two Members of Parliament

Posted on 15 May 2011 by Defending History

Marcher sports a designer swastika on her handbag at the March 11th 2012 neo-Nazi march on Gedimino Prospect in the heart of Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital.

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EYEWITNESS REPORT & IMAGES

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