{"id":5660,"date":"2024-09-03T15:11:25","date_gmt":"2024-09-03T12:11:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.lnb.lt\/lituanistika\/?p=5660"},"modified":"2025-07-23T13:46:28","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T10:46:28","slug":"the-exhibition-on-the-great-flight-in-1944","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lnb.lt\/lituanistika\/2024\/09\/03\/the-exhibition-on-the-great-flight-in-1944\/","title":{"rendered":"The Exhibition on the Great Flight in 1944"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Dalia Cidzikait\u0117<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The exhibition has been very popular among the Library\u2019s patrons. Photo: National Library of Lithuania \/ Vygaudas Juozaitis<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The new National Library of Lithuania exhibition, which opened on June 26, 2024, tells about the great flight that took place in the summer of 1944. At the end of WWII, as the German-Soviet war front approached from the east, the inhabitants of the Baltic States, Eastern and Central European countries moved en masse to the West. Nobody knew that they would not return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The necessity of leaving home caught most Eastern Europeans little or completely unprepared. The rapid collapse of the German front in the east and the approaching Soviet army prevented any deliberation or planning. Since the flight was hasty, people did not have much time to think about what to take. Some took a photo album, others a prayer book or pictures of saints, and others a high school diploma or a dissertation. Still others grabbed books and textbooks, which were especially useful when schools and universities were later established in West Germany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first part of the exhibition \u201cStranded from the Native Land\u201d<\/strong> features the pictures of saints taken from Lithuania, the passport of Adolfas Doma\u0161evi\u010dius (Damu\u0161is), his graduation diploma of from Vytautas Magnus University Faculty of Technology, the graduation diploma of Damu\u0161is\u2019 future wife Jadvyga-Aleksandra P\u0161ibilskyt\u0117 (Damu\u0161ien\u0117) from the Klaip\u0117da Pedagogical Institute, and the prayer book written by Adolfas Sabaliauskas \u201c\u0160lovinkim Vie\u0161pat\u012f,\u201d published in 1928 [imprint: 1929] in Klaip\u0117da.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Few people know that back in 1943, the weekly newspaper \u201cLithuanians Working in the Reich\u201d was published in Kaunas. At the end of 1944, when a large number of refugees from Lithuania began to appear in Germany, not only the place of publication changed, with the editorial office moving to Berlin, but also its purpose. From November 1944, the newspaper was called \u201cThe Newspaper of Lithuanians Living in the Reich.\u201d It published poetry, prose, literary reports, and even had a section for children. The exhibition showcases a few original copies of this newspaper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The train ticket from Eitk\u016bnai (Eydtkau) to Graz (Graz) belonging to the Lithuanian poet Bernardas Brazd\u017eionis, issued on July 31, 1944, is perhaps the most interesting exhibit of this part of the exhibition. While traveling to East Prussia, at the border, the Brazd\u017eionis family had to be separated. The sister of the economist Juozas Leimonas, who traveled with the Brazd\u017eionis family, lived in Graz, Austria, so Brazd\u017eionis and Leimonas decided to send their families in that direction, while they stayed behind. Aldona Brazd\u017eionien\u0117 and her three small children traveled in freight wagons and were placed in a transit camp, while Brazd\u017eionis was taken to dig trenches. Fortunately, three days later, a medical certificate was issued to Brazd\u017eionis stating that he is unfit for work. There is no doubt that this ticket opened the first gate to the free world for the poet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The plight of war refugees did not end with the end of the war. Most Western Europeans soon returned to their homelands, but Eastern Europeans, including Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians, did not want to return to their Soviet-occupied homelands. Germany was divided into four zones: American, British, French and Soviet. Soon, in 1946, the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Authority (UNRRA) began to establish refugee camps in West Germany and Austria, also known as displaced persons, or DP camps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the first post-war years, the war refugees feared that the Allies might return them to their homelands occupied by the Soviets. The people of the Baltic countries saw how brutally Ukrainians were treated, who were forcibly sent back home. Only after receiving assurances from the United States and other allies that the citizens of the Baltic States would not be forcibly sent home, could they start planning their future lives. Despite various constraints and difficult living conditions, the refugees who settled in DP camps led active social, cultural and political life. A lot of time and effort was spent fighting for the freedom of the homeland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the second part of the exhibition \u201cFrom Everyday Life in the DP Camps,\u201d visitors are acquainted with the everyday life of the displaced persons. Here, they see the DP identity card that belonged to Adolfas Damu\u0161is, the identity card issued by the British military administration to the war refugee \u017dalkauskas, the paper money of the Scheinfeld DP camp, the tobacco card that belonged to Bernardas Brazd\u017eionis, the health cards of Juozs Grimskis, as well as various publications, such as \u201cSanta Claus and Aunt UNRRA: A Christmas Sketch for DP children\u201d [songs-music A.G.], [illustrated by A. Petrikonis], Eutin, 1946; \u201cCalendar of DPs\u201d 1947, released by the Lithuanians of the Dragsb\u00e6k refugee camp; \u201cSummer Camp Songs\u201d [Hannover], World’s YMCA-YWCA, 1948; \u201cDP Baltic Camp at Seedorf, 1946\u20131947,\u201d prepared by S. Narkeli\u016bnait\u0117; artist J. Steponavi\u010dius; photos by V. Augustinas, Br. Gross, S. Narkeli\u016bnait\u0117. Hamburg: UNRRA Team 295, 1947; \u201cOn the Roads of Exile,\u201d Bologna: LUX, 1947 and many others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The exhibition also shows two Soviet propaganda publications, aimed to sow a feeling of uncertainty and insecurity among the DPs and to encourage them to return to their homeland. Moscow directed all the information dissemination channels possible at the time to the war refugees. For those who ended up in DP camps, the press remained an important source of information, so the Soviets made particularly active use of periodicals for the dissemination of propaganda. However, they quickly realized that the press published for a local audience was not suitable for the DP camp residents, so they started publishing specialized publications. One of such publications, the newspaper \u201cT\u0117vyn\u0117s balsas,\u201d was published in Vilnius in 1947\u20131953 and in 1957\u20131967.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After it became clear that the war refugees would not return home, efforts were made to find them a permanent place of residence. In 1946, Great Britain offered DP women jobs in hospitals and sanatoriums, in 1947, Canada invited young men to work in logging and road construction, and young women as servants. Unlike Canada and Australia, the United States had relatively strict immigration laws and an immigration quota, so for a while, the number of war refugees from Eastern Europe was extremely low. Only in 1945, after US President Harry S. Truman signed the decree on the quota, priority was given to war refugees and the situation began to change. The first army transport ship \u201cGeneral Black\u201d with the war refugees from Europe on board, sailed on October 30, 1948. The USA, Australia, Israel and Canada accepted the most refugees, in Europe, it was Great Britain, France and Belgium. Only a small part of them remained in Germany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The exhibits displayed in the third part of the exhibition, named \u201cWhere to Next?\u201d show what a difficult path the DPs had to take, if they wanted to emigrate overseas, among which the USA, Canada and Australia were the most popular. They had to be in good health, have the necessary vaccination certificates, and a proof that they have not committed a crime. Those who decided to travel to the USA first had to pass the medical examination of the International Refugee Organization (IRO) and American doctors and undergo quarantine. Then they had to appear before the DP commission, meet with the consul and finally, the emigration inspector. If all stages were passed successfully, future US emigrants would travel to transit camps and wait for the journey across the Atlantic. It was not uncommon to have to wait several months or even longer. There were also cases where documents were lost or health conditions such as TB were detected. Then one had to return to the old camp and start the whole procedure again or bury all hopes of leaving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The DPs, having successfully passed all bureaucratic obstacles, usually traveled to the German port of Bremerhaven on the North Sea. Almost all emigrants mention in their memoirs the name of Bremerhaven, which is stuck deep in their memory, and the army transport ships sent by the Americans, for it was a significant event\u2014saying goodbye to Europe and at the same time, hoping for a new life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The trip to the USA took about ten days, to other countries, especially Australia, longer. Accustomed to the press in DP camps, the war refugees did not want to be without it during the trip and published the newspapers on board. It is impossible to count how many and in what languages ships\u2019 newspapers were published. Their circulations are small and probably only a small part has reached our times. These are probably the only publications published not on the land, their place of publication being the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After arriving in the dreamed new homeland, the hardships of DPs did not end. They faced many challenges. One of the cartoons of that time reveals the social metamorphosis of a DP: from the Big Shot to the Working Mouse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The works of two Lithuanian artists, Lina \u0160lipavi\u010di\u016bt\u0117<\/strong> and Margarita Valionyt\u0117<\/strong>, specially created for the event, complement and expand this documentary exhibition. \u0160lipavi\u010di\u016bt\u0117\u2019s neo-mural created in street art stylistics conveys the atmosphere of the DP camps in a closed space of the exhibition. Valionyt\u0117\u2019s animated videos tell about the experiences of people who left Lithuania at the end of the WWII. The videos are based on the memoirs and photographs of three Lithuanian Americans: Irena Arnauskait\u0117-Grigaitien\u0117, Juozas Gaila and Juozas Kapa\u010dinskas.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Artist Lina \u0160lipavi\u010di\u016bt\u0117 created neo-mural for the exhibition. Proto: National Library of Lithuania \/ Vygaudas Juozaitis<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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The exhibition is available in Lithuanian, English and Ukrainian.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The exhibition was prepared by<\/strong> Valda Budreckait\u0117, Dr. Dalia Cidzikait\u0117, Asta Miltenyt\u0117, Silvija Stankevi\u010di\u016bt\u0117 and Dr. Ilona Strumickien\u0117.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exhibition architecture<\/strong> by Algirdas Jakas<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Graphic design<\/strong> by Emilija Dobrovolskien\u0117<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coordinated<\/strong> by Milda Dainovskyt\u0117<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Organized<\/strong> by Martynas Ma\u017evydas National Library of Lithuania<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Partner<\/strong>: Lithuanian Research Center, USA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Dalia Cidzikait\u0117 The new National Library of Lithuania exhibition, which opened on June 26, 2024, tells about the great flight that took place in the summer of 1944. At the end of WWII, as the German-Soviet war front approached from the east, the inhabitants of the Baltic States, Eastern and Central European countries moved … Toliau skaityti „The Exhibition on the Great Flight in 1944”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1647],"tags":[1651],"class_list":["post-5660","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-exhibitions","tag-exhibition"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lnb.lt\/lituanistika\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5660","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lnb.lt\/lituanistika\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lnb.lt\/lituanistika\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lnb.lt\/lituanistika\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lnb.lt\/lituanistika\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5660"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lnb.lt\/lituanistika\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5660\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lnb.lt\/lituanistika\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5660"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lnb.lt\/lituanistika\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5660"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lnb.lt\/lituanistika\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}