History-1900+

Sandy Baksys. If his voice is a little ragged and his words come out rapid-fire, that’s because Linas Johansonas, 57, is simultaneously living two very full “Lithuanian lives.” His first life is grounded in Cleveland, Ohio’s 18,000 square-foot Lithuanian Community Center, where Johansonas assists Rūta Degutis, president of the Lithuanian …

Part adventure, part history course and civics lesson, Mission Siberia (MS) is an annual two-week expedition by young Lithuanians to various locales in Siberia, where Lithuanians were once forcibly exiled by the Soviet government. MS has become one the most recognized youth-centered projects in Lithuania. The initial purpose of the …

Ramunė Kubilius. Vaidotas A. Vaičaitis, an Associate Professor of Law at Vilnius University, is one of two recipients of the Joseph P. Kazickas Fellowships at Yale University for 2017. As Visiting Associate Professor in European Studies at Yale University, he will undertake research and analysis dealing with Lithuania’s current constitutional …

Gerda Butkuvienė. It has now been 104 years since the sinking of this legendary ocean cruise liner. The memory of the tragedy refuses to fade as a successor liner, the “Titanic II”, is being readied for launch, because difficult-to-answer questions about the disaster continue to be raised and discussed. In a …

Founded in 1886, the Lithuanian Alliance of America, (LAA) the oldest continuously operating Lithuanian organization in the world, has a new lease on life as it expands its multifaceted activities promoting Lithuanian educational and heritage programs. Organized as a fraternal insurance organization, it had over 20,000 members and 300 lodges …

By Egidijus Bacevičius. Greater Trakėnai (Hauptgestüt Trakehnen) is famous as a birthplace of riding horses. The origin of the Trakėnai breed and the attempts to preserve it are a part of equestrian history that involves Germany and Lithuania Minor, and recently, Russia as well. “Trakėnai” is an old Baltic word meaning …

by Vida Kuprys. 27 years ago, Lithuanians Latvians and Estonian joined hands in the Baltic Way. This August they joined voices. August 23rd is Black Ribbon Day. On this infamous date in 1939, Hitler’s and Stalin’s henchmen Ribbentrop and Molotov signed a non-aggression treaty that ultimately sent all of Europe …

By Charles Norvil. Please tell us something about your parents – when did they come to the States and where did they met?  My father (Stanley) arrived from Ukmergė, Lithuania in 1912 as a young man, and my mother (Emily) arrived from Panevėžys, Lithuania in 1905 as a small child …

By Judita Bačiulytė and Kazimieras Mizgiris. The history of the treasures of Juodkrantė begins in the middle of the 19th century, when a large quantity of raw amber was discovered near Juodkrantė during a project to deepen a seaway in the Curonian Lagoon, which is known as Kuršių marios in …

Dr. Audrius Plioplys. This June marks the 75th Anniversary of the beginning of Stalin’s deportations of Lithuanians to Siberia. During the night of June 14, 1941, thousands of unsuspecting Lithuanians were awakened from their sleep and arrested for deportation. Many were unable to take anything with them. Crammed into cattle …