NCSJ - Lithuania page

Population: 3.5 million

Ethnic Composition:
Lithuanian 83.4%, Polish 6.7%, Russian 6.3%, other 3.6% (2001 census)

Religion: 79% Roman Catholic, 4.1% Russian Orthodox, 1.9% Protestant (including Lutheran and Evangelical Christian Baptist), 5.5% other, 9.5% none (2001 census)

Jewish population: 4,500
2002 Aliyah
(emigration to Israel): 176
2009 Emigration
to United States: 14

Size: 65,200 sq km
Capital: Vilnius (Vilna)
Major cities: Vilnius, Kaunas (Kovno), Klaipeda, Siauliai, Penevezys (Ponevitch)

Freedom House Rating:
Free

Currency: 2.45 litas = $1

GDP: $35.96 billion (2009 est.)
GDP per capita: $15,000 (2009 est.)
GDP Growth: -16.8% (2009 est.)

Head of State:
President Dalia Grybauskaitė

Head of Government:
Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius

Foreign Minister: Audronius Ažubalis

Ambassador to United States: Audrius Bruzga

U.S. Ambassador to Lithuania: Anne E. Derse

Chronology of all U.S. envoys to Lithuania

SUMMARY

With its long history of successful nationhood, including two decades of independence prior to forced annexation by the Soviet Union in 1940, Lithuania’s transition from Soviet rule to a new European identity was comparatively fast. Aided by the relatively small size of its ethnic Russian minority, which has helped keep internal tensions low, Lithuania joined the European Union and NATO in 2004, meeting a key post-independence goal. After a rocky start in the 1990s, Lithuania’s economy has reoriented to the West and was growing quickly until the recent global financial crisis. Lithuania’s closest ties are to its Baltic neighbors, the EU, and Russia.

Jewish history in Lithuania is long and notable. Vilnius (formerly Vilna) was once a famous center of European Jewry (known as “the northern Jerusalem”), but the present Jewish community is a fraction of its pre-war size. Ongoing issues of concern between the Lithuanian government and the Jewish community include stalled progress on communal restitution, the possible destruction of the Snipiskes Jewish cemetery in Vilnius, and the investigation of several elderly WWII Jewish partisans.

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REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA

INTRODUCTION
POLITICAL SITUATION
    Foreign Policy
    Israel
ECONOMIC SITUATION
JEWISH COMMUNAL LIFE & ANTI-SEMITISM
    Anti-Semitism
    Holocaust Education and Commemoration
    Restitution
    War Crimes
U.S. POLICY

Lithuania, slightly larger than West Virginia, borders Latvia, Belarus, Poland, the Kaliningrad oblast of the Russian Federation, and the Baltic Sea. The medieval Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a large and powerful state, fighting off German knights and, in commonwealth with Poland, once dominating the region between the Black and Baltic Seas. During the partitions of Poland in the late 18th century, Lithuania was divided between Russia and Prussia. After more than a century of rule by Russian Tsars, who suppressed several revolts and imposed Russification policies, Lithuania declared its independence in February 1918. This lasted until 1940, at which point Lithuania was forcibly incorporated into the Soviet Union. The United States never recognized the Soviet annexation of Lithuania.

The brutal Soviet occupation, in which thousands of Lithuanians were deported, executed, or exiled, caused many Lithuanians to welcome and collaborate with invading German troops in 1941. Some Lithuanians fought with the Germans against the Russians in hopes of gaining national independence; others participated in the Holocaust under Nazi occupation, which destroyed over 90 percent of Lithuania’s sizable Jewish community. The anti-Nazi resistance in Lithuania was the strongest of all such Baltic movements, and included Jewish partisan units; Israel has recognized 513 Lithuanians as “Righteous Among the Nations” for risking their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust.

After World War II, Lithuanian society and economy were reorganized along Soviet lines, including postwar purges, deportations and imprisonment of one hundred thousand or more Lithuanians. Gorbachev’s reforms allowed the formation of the popular reform and revival movement “Sajudis” in 1988, which proved instrumental in Lithuania’s push for greater democratic and national rights. After the Lithuanian Communist Party broke with Moscow in 1989 and joined the reformers, Lithuania became the first Soviet Republic to declare its independence on March 11, 1990. This declaration was bitterly contested by Soviet security forces and the Soviet government, but was tenaciously pursued by Lithuania until international recognition was granted in September 1991 during the final collapse of the USSR; the last Russian troops left in 1993. Lithuania’s key goal of reintegrating into Western institutions to bolster its independence, security, and European identity, was completed with its accession into NATO and the EU in 2004.

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POLITICAL SITUATION

Lithuania is a multi-party, parliamentary democracy, in which its 141-member unicameral Parliament (Seimas) holds the most power. The Seimas, whose deputies are elected to four-year terms, adopts and amends the constitution, passes laws, approves the President’s appointment of the Prime Minister, and elects the Supreme Court. The President, popularly elected for a five-year term, nominates the Prime Minister, the Cabinet and all judges, and may request that the Constitutional Court review acts of the Seimas. A party must receive at least 5 percent of the national vote to win parliamentary representation.

The Lithuanian constitution grants its citizens freedom of speech, press, assembly, and religion. These rights are generally respected in practice. Unlike Estonia or Latvia, which hosted far larger Russian-speaking populations upon independence, Lithuania granted automatic citizenship to its Russian-speaking minority.

Valdas Adamkus, a respected centrist, served as President from 1998-2003 and 2004-2009. He has since been succeeded by the first woman president of Lithuania, Dalia Grybauskaitė. She won the election, which took place on May 17, 2009 in a landslide, obtaining 68% of the votes (her term will officially begin on July 12, 2009). She was previously the Finance Minister and the European Commissioner for Financial Programming & the Budget, which appealed to voters due to the severity of the world economic crisis’ impact on Lithuania; its economy is projected to be one of the most deflated of the EU by the end of 2009. The current Prime Minister, Andrius Kubilius, was appointed by President Adamkus in December 2008.

Frequent changes in Lithuania’s government between conservative, centrist, and social democratic ruling coalitions since independence have reflected popular dissatisfaction with the economic situation, frequent political and corruption scandals, and perceptions that Lithuania’s progress toward Western integration was too slow.

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Foreign Policy

Independent Lithuania’s foreign policy has stressed integration with the West, and close cooperation with its Baltic neighbors Latvia and Estonia. This includes coordination of education systems, integration of stock markets in the Alliance of Northern Exchanges (NOREX), agreements on security and trade, and the creation of a Baltic energy market. Lithuania is also a member of the Council of Baltic Sea States (CBSS) and of the Baltic Assembly. The Nordic and Baltic states have also cooperated under the NB8 formula since 1992, discussing common economic and foreign policy and regional issues. Lithuania participates in joint Baltic defense cooperation, including the Latvian-based BALTBAT. Concerns over potential Baltic seabed oil exploration rights have delayed the ratification of a maritime boundary treaty with Latvia. Early post-independence tensions with Poland over the rights of the Polish minority in Lithuania have been fully resolved, and the two countries enjoy warm relations.

Lithuania has played an important regional role in promoting democracy. It has joined with the United States and other European nations in urging the government of Belarus to enact political and economic reforms. President Adamkus played a key role in helping Ukraine to resolve peacefully its tumultuous 2004 presidential campaign. Lithuanian troops have participated since the early 1990s in international peacekeeping operations in Croatia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

Lithuania’s relationship with Russia has been complex and largely dominated by trade and transit issues caused by Lithuania’s proximity to the Baltic-Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. Formerly the northern half of German East Prussia, the exclave was annexed by the USSR after the war, which expelled its historic German population and renamed the chief city, formerly Koenigsberg. Although Lithuania adopted a simplified transit regime for Russians going to and from Kaliningrad in the 1990s, its 2003 imposition of a visa requirement for Russians en route to the exclave – required for its EU accession in 2004 – led to frictions with Russia, which complained of being isolated from Europe. Demarcation of the Lithuanian-Russian border has not been completed, although negotiations and demarcation work continue. In 2005, Lithuanian President Adamkus declined Russia’s invitation to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II in Moscow.

Also in 2005, Lithuanian-Russian relations suffered when a Russian military jet crashed in Lithuania, leading to initial suspicions (later disproved) of Russian aerial spying. However, unlike Latvia and Estonia, Lithuania has a relatively small Russian-speaking community and a historically closer relationship with Russia, which has helped to smooth bilateral relations. In 2006, Moscow temporarily cut off oil flows to Lithuania in a move interpreted as pressuring Vilnius to improve rail ties to Kaliningrad. The Lithuanian government later indicated that it would begin repairs on railroads running through its territory that connect Kaliningrad to Russia. Also in 2006, senior Lithuanian officials offered strong support to Georgia during its confrontation with Russia, and condemned what they described as Russian threats and blackmail against a former Soviet country. In 2008, during the Russia-Georgia Conflict, Lithuania again showed strong support for Georgia. Lithuania has been pivotal in adding precautionary measures into the EU mandate on negotiations with Russia, including a section on Georgia and its oil pipelines.

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Israel

Israel’s Ambassador to the Baltic States is based in Riga, Latvia, and is accredited to Lithuania. Lithuania has an ambassador and an embassy in Tel-Aviv. In 1995, then-President Algirdas Brazauskas paid an official visit to Israel, and in September 2005, Israeli President Moshe Katsav visited Lithuania as part of a first-ever state visit by the Israeli President to the Baltics. The two governments have signed bilateral agreements abolishing their visa regime, protecting investments, and promoting cooperation in the fields of communication, health, culture, science, and education. Since 1989, over 6,000 Lithuanian Jews have immigrated to Israel. Three former Israeli Prime Ministers have some Lithuanian Jewish heritage – Menachem Begin, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Ariel Sharon.

On January 30, 2008, Undersecretary of Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Žygimantas Pavilionis paid a working visit to Israel. During the visit, Undersecretary of the Ministry met with Senior Deputy Director General of Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs Yossi Gal, also with Ministry's Deputy Director General for Central Europe and Eurasia Pini Avivi and other high-ranking officials of Israeli Foreign Ministry.

On February 28, 2008, during the official visit to Israel, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Petras Vaitiekūnas and Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Tzipi Livni agreed to seek a more active economic cooperation between the countries. The Ministers signed an agreement on cooperation between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of both countries. During the meeting, the Middle East Peace Process, the energy security issues, the European Neighborhood Policy, relations with Russia, transatlantic cooperation and other important issues of international politics were discussed. Minister P. Vaitiekūnas visited Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs´ and Heroes´ Remembrance Authority, where he viewed the exposition of the museum and laid a wreath in honor of the victims of the Holocaust. Chairman of the Yad Vashem Directorate Avner Shalev was glad that Lithuania actively informs the society, especially its youth, about Holocaust.

On December 18, 2008, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Vygaudas Ušackas received Ambassador of the State of Israel to the Republic of Lithuania Chen Ivri, who is residing in Riga. During the first meeting with the Israeli Ambassador, Minister V. Ušackas expressed hope that in the nearest future an Embassy of Israel would open also in Vilnius. Ambassador Ch. Ivri was glad that bilateral relations of the two countries were getting stronger and assured that Israel was grateful to Lithuania for its support in the United Nations and the European Union. During the conversation with Minister V. Ušackas, Ambassador raised issues, which were not yet solved – the restitution of the Jewish communal property in Lithuania and the decisions on the former cemetery in Šnipiškės. The Minister assured the Ambassador that the new Lithuanian Government would tackle those issues.

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ECONOMIC SITUATION

The Lithuanian economy endured an initially difficult transition to privatization and the free market, and was seriously affected by Russia’s 1998 ruble crisis. However, after shifting export markets from the CIS to the EU, the economy recovered and saw strong growth. Although Lithuania remained relatively poor by EU standards, growing trade with its EU partners, rising domestic consumption and foreign investment, and progress in privatizing state enterprises produced increasing prosperity.

The fallout from the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis has greatly affected the Lithuanian economy. The country had formerly boasted between a 7-8.9% GDP growth rate in previous years, which dropped to 3.2% in 2008, mainly due to foreign capital, the driving force behind the Lithuanian economy, fleeing the country. The economy shrank 12.6% in the first quarter of 2009, the unemployment rate is expected to rise to 13.4% by 2010, and salaries are being cut drastically to reduce spending.

A highly industrialized country with a well-developed agricultural sector, Lithuania has few natural resources but boasts a strategic location astride key trade and transit routes between Western and Eastern Europe. Its Baltic seaport of Klaipeda has an ice-free port.

Additionally, tamed inflation, a demonstrated commitment to democracy and the rule of law, and a highly educated population have brought increased foreign direct investment. Lithuania’s main trade partners are Russia, Germany, Sweden, and Latvia. Lithuania has reduced its foreign debt and enacted labor and bankruptcy reforms and banking privatization.

The private sector accounts for over 80% of Lithuanian GDP, with significant foreign investment and ownership. Lithuania joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, and pegged its national currency, the lita, to the euro in 2002. Accession to the Euro zone is an official government goal, but is not expected until 2010 or later.

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JEWISH COMMUNAL LIFE & ANTI-SEMITISM

Jewish history in Lithuania is rich and vibrant, dating back centuries. The first Jews in the area may have come from the Byzantine Empire and the Empire of the Khazars to the south and east. The bulk of Lithuanian Jewry arrived from Western and Central Europe in the 12th century and the years following, often at the invitation of local rulers and fleeing persecution in their former homes. Because Lithuania adopted Christianity relatively late (13th and 14th centuries), anti-Semitism was historically weaker there than in Western and Central Europe, which also helped foster Jewish settlement in the country.

Lithuanian Grand Dukes actively encouraged Jewish immigration, recognizing the utility of Jewish merchants, artisans, and traders to national development. Some Lithuanian Jews were granted the special title of “Servi Camarae Regis” (“Servants of the Royal Chambers”), conferring on them important privileges.

Vilnius, known as “Vilna” in Polish and Yiddish, grew into a legendary hub of yeshivas and Jewish learning, generating a rich body of rabbinic scholarship and an analytical, intellectual method of Torah and Talmud study still known as the Lithuanian approach. The famous rabbi, scholar, and Kabbalist, Elijah Ben Judah Solomon Zalman, better known as the Vilna Gaon, “the Genius of Vilnius,” lived his entire life in Vilna in the 1700s; he strongly opposed the emergence of Hassidic Judaism in the region during his lifetime. During the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, Lithuania was a major center of Jewish intellectual activity, thanks to its densely populated urban Jewish communities that supported numerous Jewish synagogues and yeshivas. It is estimated that Vilnius was as much as 20 to 40 percent Jewish at various points in its history. Before World War II, it was home to 100,000 Jews, who nicknamed it “The Northern Jerusalem” and “The Jerusalem of Lithuania.”

By the end of the 19th century, Jews are believed to have constituted 10 to 15 percent of Lithuania’s total population. Lithuanian Jewry became known for its distinctive “Litvak” culture, centered around a stoic and intellectual approach to Judaism, as opposed to the more emotional and spontaneous Hassidic method. Many Lithuanian Jews emigrated in the 1930s to the United States and South Africa, as a result of economic hardships and the growing authoritarianism of Lithuania’s pre-war government. On the eve of World War II, Lithuanian Jewry numbered close to 250,000. The vast majority of them were murdered during the German occupation, often with the participation of Lithuanian auxiliary police and military units.

The majority of the current Jewish population in Lithuania lives in Vilnius, with smaller Jewish communities in Kaunas (Kovno), Klaipeda, and Siauliai, among others. The Jewish community of Lithuania, which now numbers about 4,500, includes resettled Lithuanian Jews, as well as Russian speaking Jews from elsewhere in the former Soviet Union; both populations resettled after 1945.

Simon Gurevich, director of the Jewish Community of Lithuania (JCL), and Dr. Simon Alperavicius, the chairman of the JCL, are headquartered in Vilnius. The JCC is an umbrella for Jewish organizations including the Union of Youth and Students, the Children’s’ Club “ILAN”, the Gesher Community Center, the Jewish Cultural Club, the Union of Former Ghetto and Concentration Camp Prisoners, the Union of the Second World War Veterans, the Women’s International Zionist Organization (WIZO), the Welfare Center, the Ezra Medical Center, the fraternal lodge of B’nai B’rith, Feierlech Dance and Music Group, and Maccabi Sports Club. JCL publishes a newspaper, Jerusalem of Lithuania, in Lithuanian, Russian, English, and Yiddish. JCL is supported by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC/ “Joint”), Claims Conference, Baltic Jewish Forum, B’nai B’rith International, Ronald S. Lauder Foundation, American Fund for Latvian and Lithuanian Jews, and by many other organizations and individual sponsors.

The Association of Jewish Religious Communities is an umbrella organization for communities in Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipeda, and Plunge. U.S.-born Rabbi Sholom Krinsky is the chief Chabad Lubavitch representative and has been based in Vilnius since 1994. Chabad Lubavitch administers the Bais Menachem Jewish Day School, other Jewish education programs including a nursery and kindergarten, a social center, and a kosher kitchen in Vilnius. These programs are affiliated with the Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS.

In 2004-2005, the JCL, then led by Alperavicius, and Rabbi Krinsky came into serious conflict over leadership of Lithuania’s Jewish community and control of Vilnius’ sole synagogue. In May 2004, the Jewish community temporarily closed the Vilnius synagogue following a disorderly dispute in the synagogue between members of the Orthodox and the Chabad Lubavitch Jewish groups. The community closed the synagogue again in August 2004, following another disturbance. The Government charged the leader of the Chabad Lubavitch community with assault and trespassing in the second occurrence, but subsequently dropped the charges. The synagogue reopened in the spring of 2005 and is now operating normally; the JCL and Rabbi Krinsky have resumed a working relationship. Most local Jews now recognize Russian-born Israeli Orthodox Rabbi Chaim Burshtein as the chief religious community leader. The dispute appears to have been aggravated by the objection of many Lithuanian Jews to a U.S.-born Hassidic rabbi playing a leadership role in Lithuania, where a long-standing anti-Hassidic tradition dates back more than two centuries among local Jews. The issue of pending Holocaust restitution payments most likely contributed to the conflict, since only the legitimate representative of the community would be able to distribute official compensation from the government.

In 1997, Lithuania hosted an international commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the death of the Vilna Gaon, one of the seminal rabbinic commentators in Jewish history. In 2002, Vilnius hosted the fifth annual intensive program of Yiddish language, literature, and culture, sponsored by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC/ “Joint”) and the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI/ “Sochnut”).

In 2001, the first World Litvak Congress convened at the Vilnius City Hall with 600 participants from 12 countries. The Congress coincided with the 60th anniversary Holocaust commemorations.

In 2004, the second World Litvak Congress occurred. It lasted for seven days, and thousands of people attended. The activities included 11 concerts, visiting exhibitions of works by artists Rafael Chvoles, Solomon Teitelbaum, Liskula Brenner, as well as an exhibition entitled ”Užupis Jewish Cemetery” by photo artist Rimantas Dichavičius, and an international academic conference called "Litvak contribution to world culture".

The Lithuanian delegation to Cordoba, Spain for the June 2005 OSCE Conference on Anti-Semitism was led by Foreign Minister Valionis.

The Limmud-Keshet Seminar of Jewish Communities in the Baltic Countries began in 2004, and has since been held annually. The seminar aims to educate people about Baltic Jewry’s past, present, and future. The seminar includes lectures and workshops on Jewish history, religion, traditions, philosophy, psychology, art, humor, and the Yiddish language. Additionally children are highly encouraged to participate, and each age group has a three-day program where they learn about Judaism, play games, dance, and cook Jewish foods.

The Third World Congress of Litvaks is currently being organized, and is planned for August 23-31, 2009. The program will include conferences on relations between Lithuanians and Jews, and on the fight against racial discrimination, anti-Semitism, and xenophobia. Additionally, participants will have the opportunity to visit cities and townships (shtetl), and honor Holocaust victims.

The Jewish Community of Lithuania is hosting a klezmer music festival on August 25-29, 2009, to promote the rediscovery of Jewish culture in Lithuania. It will include Jewish songs and dances, Litvak music, three projects specially prepared for the Festival, and field stages where attendees can listen to music and dance.

The Jewish community maintains good relations with the Lithuanian government. State-supported Jewish institutions include a kindergarten, a school named after Sholom Aleichem, a library, and the Jewish Gaon State Museum of Lithuania. A branch of the museum also operates at the Paneriai memorial. The Vilnius Yiddish Institute was established in 2001 at the Vilnius State University, and the Martynas Mažvydas National Library includes a significant Judaica section.

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Vilna, 1937

Anti-Semitism

Anti-Semitism has become a growing concern in Lithuania, as incidents have been occurring more regularly, often during Jewish holidays or significant local anniversaries. Additionally, Lithuanian nationalists often identify Jews with Russian and Communist “occupiers.” The difficult issue of the complicity of the local population in the Holocaust, which destroyed a higher percentage of the local Jewish population than almost anywhere else in occupied Europe, complicates Jewish-Lithuanian relations.

Between 2000-2007 there were incidents of anti-Semitic rhetoric from politicians, derogatory epithets yelled at Israeli teams during sporting events, burning of Israeli flags, vandalized Jewish buildings, memorials, and cemeteries, display of Nazi flags, printing of anti-Semitic cartoons and articles in the media, and incidents of individuals dressing as Nazis for parades and events.

On March 11, 2008, there was a neo-Nazi parade in Vilnius where the police escorted the participants, who were chanting anti-Semitic phrases. Only after a week, and with many complaints by Jewish organizations, did then President Adamkus criticize the march and the police.

During Mardi Gras and Halloween, it has become a custom to dress up as Jews. People distinguish themselves as Jews with hook noses, horns and tails, and by singing about the world economic crisis.

In August 2008, on Tisha B’Av, red swastikas and other anti-Semitic graffiti were liberally painted on the main doors of the Jewish Community Center in Vilnius. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement condemning the acts of vandalism, stating the perpetrators of these acts should be immediately identified and punished, and every effort will be made to investigate this crime.

In May 2008, Lithuanian prosecutors began investigating several Jewish holocaust survivors for their involvement with partisan units during WWII. The Jewish community is angered that Lithuania has only convicted one person of war crimes in relation to Nazi support, and has yet to punish any Nazi supporters with jail time, yet instead investigated Yitzak Arad, chairman of Yad Vashem, Rachel Margolis, a historian, and Fania Brantosovsky, a librarian at the Vilnius Yiddish Institute. Many see this new focus on anti-Nazi partisans, as well as the failure to prosecute Nazi supporters, as an attempt to rewrite Holocaust history.

Since the start of 2009, anti-Semitism in Lithuania has noticeably increased in the media. Examples include a cartoon of a hook-nosed Jew and a homosexual holding a globe between them with the caption, “Who controls the World?”, and an article titled, “The Rabbis are Wreaking Havoc in Lithuania”. Prime Minister Kubilius said that he had also noticed the occurrences, and that the publications should not be tolerated, but no action is currently being taken.

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Holocaust Education and Commemoration

Holocaust Memorial Day is observed on September 23, to commemorate the victims of the destruction of the Vilnius ghetto, murdered in Paneriai in 1943. In 1994, the 23rd of September was declared National Memorial Day for the Genocide of Lithuanian Jews, and it has been commemorated every year since. The Commission for the Preparation of National Holidays under the Ministry of Culture is responsible for programs of official events.

In 1998, President Adamkus established the International Commission for the Evaluation of the Crimes of the Nazi and Soviet Occupation Regimes in Lithuania. This historical commission has promoted research, education, and commemoration. The American Jewish Committee and B’nai B’rith International, along with other Jewish organizations, are represented on the Commission.

At the National Memorial Day for Holocaust Victims ceremony on September 23, 1999 (the anniversary of the liquidation of the Vilna ghetto), and in an April 2000 speech to the Seimas, President Adamkus reaffirmed Lithuania’s commitment to bring war criminals to justice and to combat all anti-Semitism. Prime Minister Brazauskas addressed the 2001 Litvak Congress, emphasizing that the voice of the Jewish community will be heard and addressed. The Seimas dedicated its September 2001 session to commemorating the 60th anniversary of the beginning of the Holocaust in Lithuania.

In September 2002, the Lithuanian historical commission organized and convened the international conference, “The Holocaust in Lithuania: Aspects of Modern History, Education, and Justice.” Scholars and historians from Israel, the United States, and Europe presented their research on the destruction of the Lithuanian Jewish community, Lithuanian collaboration and resistance, and Holocaust remembrance and education.

Other events at the 2002 conference included a ceremony at the Paneriai memorial just outside Vilnius, which marks the site where 70,000 Jews were shot and killed in 1943. Lithuanian officials, Jewish leaders and survivors participated in the commemoration, and the state flag of Lithuania was flown with black ribbons at all official buildings. During the conference, the government approved a plan to restore sections of the historic Jewish quarter in Vilnius, and the historical commission signed an agreement with the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education to provide Holocaust-related teacher training in Lithuania.

At a 2003 Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration, President Paksas met with Rabbi Krinsky and praised the Jewish revival in Lithuania, just six decades after the Holocaust. He pledged his support for further government assistance to the Jewish community, and awarded the Life Saving Cross to a number of Lithuanians who had saved Jewish lives during the war. Approximately 250 Lithuanians have been recognized with this honor since independence.

Also in 2003, to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the destruction of the Vilnius ghetto, the events on National Holocaust Memorial Day were attended by Lithuanian authorities, a delegation from Israel headed by the Speaker of the Knesset, representatives of Great Britain responsible for that country’s commemoration of Holocaust Memorial day, representatives of international Jewish organizations, and other guests.

In 2004, Prime Minister Algirdas M. Brazauskas and other high officials, representatives of the diplomatic corps and of the Jewish community, participated in the official commemoration event in Vilnius at the Paneriai Memorial. Vilnius Gaon Jewish State Museum organized the official opening of a permanent exposition of art work created by Lithuanian Jews. The special exhibition consists of works of art that were forcefully dispersed or damaged but were miraculously preserved. Additionally, the British Embassy and the UK Holocaust Educational Trust have completed a project entitled Signposting the Holocaust Sites in Lithuania.

In January 2005, an official Lithuanian delegation headed by Prime Minister Algirdas Mykolas Brazauskas participated in the official ceremony of the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland. Also, the Genocide and Resistance Research Center of Lithuania and the Cultural Club of Lithuanian Jews organized a presentation of the book, The Last Days of the Jerusalem of Lithuania, by Herman Kruk. It was translated into Lithuanian in honor of the liberation of Auschwitz.

In April 2005, the Holocaust investigation center at Israel’s Yad Vashem Memorial signed a cooperation agreement with the Vilnius International Commission for Investigation of Nazi and Soviet Occupational Crimes, recognizing it as an equal partner.

On September 23, 2008, the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania to the State of Israel commemorated the Day of Genocide of Lithuanian Jews at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem. Ambassador Asta Skaisgirytė Liauškienė laid a wreath at the monument, dedicated to the victims of the massacre at Paneriai, and honored the memory of Shoah victims, who perished during the World War II. Due respect was also paid to those who rescued Jews during the Holocaust, risking their own lives. Yad Vashem recognizes them as Righteous among the Nations. Presently, there are over 700 Lithuanian citizens who have been recognized as Righteous among the Nations by the Yad Vashem.

On January 27, 2009, the International Commission for the Evaluation of the Crimes of the Nazi and Soviet Occupation Regimes and the Jewish Community of Lithuania organized an event to mark the International Holocaust Victims’ Remembrance Day, during which the documentary titled From the Lips of Holocaust Witnesses was screened along with a play by pupils-actors at the premises of the Jewish Community of Lithuania. Pupils from schools of different Lithuanian cities also joined this initiative.

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At 2000 Vilnius Forum on Holocaust-Era Looted Cultural Assets: (l.-r.) President Adamkus, Rapporteur Emanuel Zingeris, U.S. Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues J.D. Bindenagel, and Rabbi Andrew Baker, International Jewish Affairs Director for the American Jewish Committee

Restitution

Lithuania was the first of the newly independent states to legislate the protection and marking of Holocaust-related sites. A 1997 law provided for the restitution of private property to Lithuanian citizens. In October 2000, a state-funded commission helped convene the Vilnius International Forum on Holocaust-Era Looted Cultural Assets, which was attended by 37 national delegations as well as representatives from the Council of Europe. The Vilnius Forum followed up on the 1998 Washington Conference on Holocaust-Era Assets, held in Washington, D.C.

In conjunction with the U.S. Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad, the Lithuanian and U.S. governments have signed a Declaration of Cooperation to establish frameworks for the protection and preservation of cultural sites. Following a survey documenting Lithuanian sites significant to the Jewish, Roma, and Old Believer communities, the Commission and the Lithuanian government signed an October 2002 agreement creating a Joint Cultural Heritage Commission to oversee the identification and protection of sites. A proposal to restore segments of the historic Jewish ghetto was pending in the Seimas in 2003.

The Seimas passed a bill in 2000 providing for the transfer of historic Torah scrolls, housed in the Mažvydas National Library, to local and foreign Jewish communities and organizations. In 2002, at a Vilnius ceremony, the Lithuanian government relinquished more than 300 of the Torah scrolls and sacred books saved and hidden during the Nazi occupation. The scrolls included texts of the Vilna Gaon from the 18th century. An international delegation, headed by Israel’s deputy foreign minister and one of Israel’s two chief rabbis, accepted the Torahs.

The centuries old Snipiskes Cemetery in Vilnius, where about 50,000 Lithuanian Jews are buried, has now become a prime location for commercial or residential development. A Lithuanian construction company has been building a new complex on the outskirts of the cemetery, and building is currently not planned to stop, despite a brief halt in 2007. Israeli experts are excavating new evidence that the construction is actually occurring over the holy site, and they hope this new evidence will halt the construction. As of August 2008, little had been done to stop construction on the site. The Lithuanian government has been slow to react to the situation, which has received international attention.

Lithuania has yet to approve restitution legislation. Legislation is currently scheduled to be introduced in June 2009 to the Seimas. Although this appears to be slight progress, many are still very skeptical, as promises have been made concerning restitution for many years now. The current financial crisis is further complicating the issue.

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War Crimes

The Lithuanian Catholic Church condemned anti-Semitism at a March 2000 bishops’ conference. The Church expressed regret that during the German occupation, “a portion of the faithful failed to demonstrate charity to the persecuted Jews, did not grasp any opportunity to defend them, and lacked the determination to influence those who aided the Nazis.”

Lithuania has made little progress in the prosecution of suspected Lithuanian collaborators in the Nazi genocide. In February 2001, Kazys Gimzauskas was convicted of war crimes, though the court did not sentence him, citing his poor health. Gimzauskas is the only war criminal convicted by Lithuania or any Soviet successor state to-date.

Dissatisfied with the Lithuanian government’s efforts to address the past, the Simon Wiesenthal Center launched “Operation Last Chance” in July 2002, offering monetary rewards for individuals supplying evidence that leads to the successful prosecution of war criminals. This controversial campaign has encountered much resistance in Lithuania and the other Baltic countries.

In January 2003, in response to Lithuania’s 2001 request for information on 22 suspected war criminals thought to be living in Australia, Australian authorities submitted a list of nine suspected Nazi war criminals who have sought asylum in that country.

In November 2005, the general prosecutor’s office announced that 84-year old Algimantas Daiilide would be tried in Vilnius for collaborating with Nazis in the Holocaust during the war. Daiilide was deported from the United States to Germany in 2003 after it was discovered that he had hidden his past. He is accused of being a member of a local wartime police unit that actively participated in the Holocaust.

To date, no Lithuanians have been punished as war criminals with jail time.

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U.S. POLICY

The United States and Lithuania maintain close ties, dating back to the American support for Lithuanian sovereignty during the long years of Soviet occupation. America’s large Lithuanian exile community mobilized strong political support for Lithuanian independence from the Soviet Union. The United States “graduated” Lithuania and the other Baltic states from the Jackson-Vanik Amendment in December 1991, following the Soviet collapse, and subsequently granted the Baltics permanent normal trade relations.

Lithuania cooperates closely with the United States on trade and security issues. The U.S.-brokered Northern European Initiative (NEI) links the Baltic states, Nordic states, the United States, and Russia on a broad range of matters from economics to defense. In 1998, the United States, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia signed the Charter of Partnership, strengthening multilateral ties and emphasizing ties between the Baltic states and Europe.

Following the September 11 terrorist attacks, Lithuania opened its airspace and airports to U.S. military flights for operations in Afghanistan, and 40 Lithuanian special forces troops deployed to Afghanistan in November 2002 as part of “Operation: Enduring Freedom.”

By July 2005, Lithuania had 120 troops serving in Iraq as part of the Polish and Danish contingents.

The ambassadors and defense ministers of all three Baltic states met with U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, in March 2002 to discuss regional military cooperation. In November 2002, following NATO’s historic Prague summit, President Bush made the first visit of a U.S. President to Lithuania. He reiterated U.S. support for Baltic membership in NATO, and called for support against Iraq and other dictatorial regimes. That month, Lithuania signed a $31 million contract to buy U.S. anti-aircraft missile technology. In March 2003, Lithuania reaffirmed its support for U.S. policy on Iraq, offering logistical support and aid to a post-war Iraq.

President Bush met with the Presidents of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia during his May 2005 trip to Europe, at which time he called the Soviet domination of postwar Eastern Europe “one of the greatest wrongs of history.” Vice President Cheney attended a May 2006 summit of regional leaders in Lithuania, hosted by President Adamkus, and used that opportunity to make what many considered was the administration’s toughest speech to date on Russia. President Bush then hosted President Adamkus in the White House in February 2007, thanking him for supporting U.S. policy in Iraq and Afghanistan, and saying he would work with Congress to address the Lithuanian government’s strong desire to be included in the Visa Waiver program, which was instituted in late 2008.

Foreign Minister Ušackas and Secretary of State Clinton met in March 2009.

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