Vin Katilius-Boydstun.     There is no universally agreed-on definition of a shtetel. According to professor of Jewish history, Yohannan Petrovsky-Shtern, what became known in Yiddish as the shtetel grew out of the “Polish private town,” the property of Polish magnates during the time of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, continuing as such …

Victor Nakas. Walk to the White House As we approached the northwest gate of the White House, we expected that our Lincoln sedan would just drive through. Instead, the guards told us to get out and walk through the pedestrian entrance. There they checked our IDs and riffled through the …

Ona Daugirdas. During this uncertain time caused by the coronavirus pandemic, every one of us is concerned with our own safety. We are re-organizing our lives, shielding ourselves from the potentially sick to avoid infection. It is easy to forget that this strategy is not an option for medical personnel, …

Editor’s prologue: Lithuanian Heritage published an article by Tom Gregg about celebrated Canadian/ American-Lithuanian anthropologist Dr. Birutė Mary Galdikas in the November/December 1998 issue. In preparation for this follow-up interview, I extracted that article and put it on our website in the open access area: www.draugas.org/extracts/bgaldikas.pdf. We also viewed the …

Sandy Baksys. As of this writing, Lithuania has more than 800 coronavirus cases. And like every other country in the world, Lithuania has widespread shortages of crucial medical supplies. Most of its businesses are shuttered, just like ours – and most of its population is at home instead of work. …

BNS with additional reporting from Sandra Baksys. Children from at-risk families and elderly shut-ins at high risk of coronavirus have become even more vulnerable since the start of Lithuania’s COVID-19 quarantine. And despite this increasing need, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) providing assistance are facing worsening shortages of both funds and volunteers. …

Residents of Lithuania’s second city, Kaunas, have been busy stitching. Over 100 residents responded to an invitation by a local arts group Fluxus Labas! to participate in a global craft project called “25 Million Stitches.” Their artistically stitched panels will soon be traveling to California to take their place among …

As the earth’s temperature rises, what changes are in store for Lithuania? Scholars from the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences (LUHS), the largest institution of higher education for biomedical sciences in Lithuania, located in Kaunas, are attempting to predict how the lives of future Lithuanians will be affected by climate …

By Miltiades Varvounis. After the last partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was annexed by the Russian Empire. However, the Lithuanian national revival emerged during the late 19th century and the movement to establish an independent nation-state intensified during the early 20th century. During …

As the world seeks to slow the pace of climate change and preserve wildlife and, ultimately, humanity, trees appear to hold a significant part of the answer. Yet, deforestation continues, sacrificing the long-term benefits of mature standing trees for short-term gains. Of course, Lithuania’s tiny landmass is trivial compared to …