By GRAŽINA MINIOTAITĖ. The possibilities of glastnost (or “openness”) were first seized [in Lithuania] by intellectuals: writers, artists, and scholars. The circulation of literary magazines exploded; many at first concentrated on the exposure of Stalinist atrocities, but then proceeded to fundamental critiques of the socialist system. The first expressions of openness …

By HENRY L. GAIDIS. The Baltimore Lithuanian American community on Saturday, January 10, 2015, held a gala celebration in commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the founding of the Baltimore Lithuanian Hall Association (Amerikos lietuvių bendruomenė Baltimorė) in the main ballroom of its venerable old building located at 851-853 Hollins Street, Baltimore, …

Lithuanian-American Management Theorist and Aviation Hero by Henry L. Gaidis. Vytautas Andrius Graičiūnas is one of the most noted Lithuanians, famous for his contribution to management theory. He studied how many subordinates a manager can best supervise and came up with an equation that is still widely cited today, showing …

by Vereta Rupeikaitė. Those who have had the childhood experience of sleeping on a bed of hay will never forget the wonderful feeling or the sweet aroma. Such scents have shadowed folk artist and folklorist Gintvile Giedraitiene her entire life; and for the past seventeen years, hay and other grasses …

By VALENTINAS RAUGAS. In the film “The Invisible Front,” the question was raised as to who was responsible for the compromise of partisan Juozas Luksa’s return mission from the West. Soviet forces were aware of location, means of insertion by parachute, and estimated time of arrival. They were on location to …

Draugas news met with u.s. ambassador to Lithuania deborah a. Mc- Carthy during her first trip to Chicago in september 2014. deborah McCarthy is the eighth ambassador after Lithuania regained its independence in 1990. she comes to the post having most recently held the position of Principal deputy assistant secretary …

By MILDA B. RICHARDSON. Older generations familiar with rural life in Lithuania describe how the Christmas season was traditionally one of tranquility, a time for quiet meditation. This kind of peace is hard to achieve in the frenetic urban environment. Throughout the centuries following the introduction of Christianity in Lithuania, Advent …

by Martin Thibault. It is a great privilege to present the readers of Lithuanian Heritage with an extract of a travelogue written by Martin Thibault, a beer connoisseur and author from Québec, Canada, who traveled to Vilnius and then throughout the Lithuanian countryside, and made some astounding discoveries regarding craft …

By Vereta Rupeikaitė. A pirtis is a creation of both man and nature. In almost all lands where the weather gets cold, the need arose to experience complete, cleansing, body warmth and, at the same time, shake off nagging worries and negative thoughts. Heated stones splashed with water are used …

By VIDA KUPRYS. Lithuania’s guerilla resistance against the Soviet occupation was a decade-long secret war which lasted from 1944 to 1953. From its very inception it was a tragic confrontation. Hope-filled dreams of liberation by the West eventually turned to resignation. The wonted cavalry just never arrived. Images of mutilated corpses …