Month: November 2019

The Screening of a Film by Dutch-Estonian Director

On 25 November, 2019 the screening of a film “Coming Home Soon: The Refugee Children of Geislingen” by Dutch-Estonian film director Helga Merits took place at the National Library of Lithuania. The director’s latest film is about Estonian children who fled Estonia in 1944 with their parents, sometimes with only one parent or relative, and spent the war in the Geislingen refugee camp in southern Germany.

Despite the testimonies about extreme poverty and especially difficult living conditions during and after the war, Merits says that her film is also about hope and inspiration. And while the documentary tells a story of Estonian refugee children living in the Geislingen refugee camp from 1945 to 1950, it is also the history of many Eastern Europeans. The film draws parallels with the current situation of the refugees in Europe as well. “Coming Home Soon” has already been screened in 11 countries and 24 European cities.

“Coming Home Soon” is the fifth documentary film by Helga Merits. All her films tell stories about people who were forced to leave their homes and establish new lives in new and unfamiliar places.  

The director was present at the screening and answered questions from the audience.

The Society for the Study of World Lithuanians

The participants of the first discussion. Photo: Vytautas Magnus University

On November 8, 2019, on the initiative of Vytautas Magnus University, the Society for the Study of World Lithuanians was established.

The president of the Society, Dr. Ilona Strumickienė, says that the name was chosen in memory of the Society for Aiding the Lithuanians Abroad which was active in Lithuania in 1932-1940. The Society provided aid to and maintained contacts with Lithuanians living abroad. It also contributed to strengthening of the Lithuanian identity among expatriates. In 1935, the Society organized the first World Lithuanian Congress in Kaunas.

By following the example of the Society for Aiding the Lithuanians Abroad, the newly established society hopes to build a network of and disseminate message about Lithuanians around the world, share discoveries and research results, and help strengthening civil society in Lithuania.

The first event organized by the Society was a discussion about how Lithuanian schools receive children who have returned from emigration which took place on December 13, 2019.

Exhibition about the History of Lithuanian-Canadian Community, Inc.

Exhibition about the history of Lithuanian-Canadian Community ran from Sep 23 to Oct 31.

From September 23 to October 31, the visitors of the National Library of Lithuania had an opportunity to see the exhibit dedicated to Lithuanian-Canadian Community, Inc. and its political, cultural, and educational activities over the past 67 years. The organizers of the exhibition are the Lithuanian Museum-Archives of Canada and the Lithuanian-Canadian Community, Inc.

The exhibition presents the history of Lithuanians in Canada: the establishment and development of the Lithuanian Community, its political, cultural, and social activities, as well as significant support to Lithuania, especially in the early 1990s. The stands showcase the photos from the first Lithuanian Days in Canada, the World Lithuanian Community Congress in New York, and the first World Lithuanian Youth Congress in Chicago. The exhibition also demonstrates the cooperation of the Lithuanian-Canadians with the Reform Movement of Lithuania and the state of Lithuania after the restoration of independence, and reminds of many other important events that took place during the 67-year-old history of the Community.

The exposition was supplemented by a video which was specially prepared by the staff of the National Library of Lithuania. In the video, various people from the field of culture, diplomacy and politics share their thoughts about Lithuanians in Canada, the development of relations between Canada and Lithuania and other important issues. The video in Lithuanian can be found on “Youtube”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFmRiZJyT0Y