By Henry L. Gaidis An ingenious plot returns Lithuania’s only seaport after centuries of separation, and opens up its gateway to the world THIS YEAR MARKS THE NINE- tieth anniversary of the Liberation of Klaipėda, one of the most significant events in Lithuanian history in the modern era. Although most …
Read More »Adolfas Ramanauskas the Hawk vs. the USSR
By Alvydas (Al) Karasa One of the last and best known commanders of Lithuanian armed resistance to Russian occupation was born in Connecticut HE STORY OF LITHUANIA’S ARMED RESISTANCE to Russian occupation during and after World War Two is a long and tragic one More than 50,000 died in the …
Read More »‘Hurricane Captain’ Romualdas Marcinkus – Pilot, Skydiving Pioneer
By Al (Alvydas) Karaša “Never was so much owed by so many to so few.” These words of praise by Winston Churchill for the airmen who defended England during the Battle of Britain are well known. But did you know that among those few was a pilot from the Lithuanian …
Read More »The Lithuanian Chapel in St. Peter S Basilica
By K. Paul Žygas A TRIP TO ROME WITHOUT VISITING ST. Peter’s Basilica would be like going to a birthday party but missing out on the cake. This great church, one of the Eternal City’s principal monuments, is continuously open, even during repairs and restorations, and admission is free. But …
Read More »Mindaugas – the Roots of Lithuania’s First King
by Al (Alvydas) Karaša July 6, 2009 marks the 756th anniversary of the coronation of Mindaugas as the first king of Lithuania. This date, known as Statehood Day, is an official national holiday in Lithuania. But who was Mindaugas, where did he come from, and in particular, what do we …
Read More »British Aristocracy in Lithuania, Lithuanian Aristocracy in Britain – What Connects Them Both?
by Prof. Alfredas Bumblauskas The first answer is, they are all connected with the great Shakespeare, The second answer is, I reveal the secret: they all are connected by their links with Lithuania. GREAT BRITAIN–LITHUANIA: DIFFERENT HISTORICAL CONTEXTS? When I was offered to make a speech on the occasion of …
Read More »Another View: How Students of Diverse Ethnic Backgrounds See Lithuanian Culture
After the Chair for Lithuanian Studies was endowed in the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) in 1984, UIC launched a new course under the title “Lithuanian Culture.” Prof. Violeta Kelertas taught the course until 1994. Then I was hired to teach it. During two decades over 700 students …
Read More »On the Trail of Our Lietuvininkai Ancestors in Texas
By Liuda Žiaugra On the Trail of Our Lietuvininkai Ancestors in Texas IT IS ALMOST A DECADE SINCE WE FIRST BEGAN TO find items in the Lithuanian American press about Lithuanians emigrating from Lithuania Minor to Texas some 150 years ago. At that time and in subsequent articles in the …
Read More »‘Lituanica’ – the Unsolved Mystery
BY ALGIS GINTAUTAS Lituanica’ – the Unsolved Mystery 75 years after a still-unexplained crash killed the two Lithuanian flyers who were trying to establish a new record in aviation history, the cause of the crash and their death continues to be a mystery. JULY 15-17, 2008 MARKS THE 75TH ANNI- …
Read More »Untangling the Jungle – Part One
by Randy Richards Untangling angling anglingThe Jungle ONE OF THE MAIN PURPOSES of our trip to Lithuania was to continue the research begun by Dr. Giedrius Subačius on the people and places behind the writing of Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle. Giedrius’ book, Upton Sinclair: The Lithuanian Jungle, has triggered …
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