Lithuania's selective amnesia

The Third Estate has an interesting piece by one of their writers who's currently travelling in Lithuania. He's visited the so-called "Museum of Genocide Victims" in Vilnius and has noted that through some oversight, certain years have been excluded from its historical record. These reflect Lithuanians' selective memory concerning their history since 1939.

"(M)any different myths (have been) created. The myth of the Workers’ State and the fabulous development it promised, the myth of the proud ethnic Lithuanians against the degenerate Jews and Gypsies or the cunning Russian occupiers, the myth of the salvation of the free market from state planned paralysis, and many others. But what is of particular interest, and particular concern, is the creation of the post 1991 national myth. If the stories the country’s museums tell is anything to go by, there is a deeply problematic story being told.

"‘Museum of Genocide Victims’ in Vilnius is a clear example of it. This is a museum housed in a former KGB building, which offers an account of the history of the period 1940-91 which is as exaggerated as it is incomplete. For a start you would expect something called the ‘Museum of Genocide Victims’ to have something to say about Genocide; but there is nothing. The museum’s story begins in 1939, has a brief gap from 41-44, and starts again in 1944. During this period, 300,000 Lithuanians, 200,000 of them Jews, were executed by death squads or in camps. This accounted for 94% of Lithuania’s Jewish population. These figures are acknowledged, but despite the fact that they dwarf the numbers imprisoned, executed or deported by the KGB the story of the holocaust in that country is not told"

The author notes in passing that this obliteration of memory is related to a resurgence of fascism. In every instance, fascism requires the creation of false history. This is true for several reasons: to create a false golden age which must be reattained, to create false demons which must be fought, and to erase the fascists' own bloody fingerprints.

Lithuania has been a victim both of Nazi and Soviet occupation. About that, there can be no dispute. The question is whether those who choose only to remember the crimes of the Soviets will succeed in resuscitating the demons of the right.

Read the rest here: Lithuania – New Myths and Old. (Hat tip: Harry's Place)

On a personal note: I once met an Estonian woman who claimed about her homeland "we were very accommodating to our Jews". (It actually sounded more like "vee vurr werry accommodating...") I found her view surprising considering that Estonia's Jews were completely wiped out -- for the most part killed by local militias. She went on to tell me at great length how difficult it was for her to leave Estonia and flee to Germany to escape the Soviets.

Did I mention that my grandfather came to the U.S. from Estonia? That's what started that particular conversation. I noticed that this woman's last name had an odd blend of vowels. I asked what kind of name it was. Estonian. I said my granddad came from there. "Oh. What's the family name?" "Chasan." "That doesn't sound Estonian." "It's Jewish." "Oh. Vee vurr werry accommodating to our Jews."

Estonian justice minister puts on Nazi extravaganza

According to media reports, Rein Lang, the justice minister of Estonia, has crossed the line that divides, on the one hand, the typical rationalizations for collaborationism, from, on the other hand, outright Nazism. For those of us who couldn't attend the festivities, here's a recap:

from ITAR-TASS:

Estonian minister marks jubilee under aegis of Nazi Swastika

TALLINN, July 5 (Itar-Tass) - Estonia’s Voluntary Movement in Defense of the Monument to Soviet Liberator Soldier in Tallinn, which calls itself the Nighttime Vigil, issued a statement Thursday voicing indignation over misconduct on the part of Justice Minister Rein Lang, who marked his 50th jubilee under the aegis of the Nazi Swastika.

“The Justice Minister marked his 50th jubilee July 4 in the city of Tartu in a pub with an ominous name Pussirohukelder /Gunpowder Cellar/,” the statement said. “In the course of celebrations, he widely used Nazi symbols.”

“The invitation tickets Lang sent out indicated, among other things, the highlight of the night will be a one-man production titled Adolph – a posthumous monologue by the Fuhrer against the background of a Swastika-carrying banner,” it indicated.

“The show modeled in the form of the Fuhrer’s impromptu appeal to the allies contained calls for carrying on the ideas of the Reich,” the movement said. “More than that, Lang asked the guests to be dressed in the style of Munich’s beer cellars of the 1930’s.”

Nighttime Vigil leaders plan to launch an enquiry with the Estonian government asking it to provide a public assessment of Lang’s actions.

The movement also says it will demand Lang’s resignation.

Reluctant Estonia to mark Holocaust Day

This is of special interest to me. My grandfather came to this country from Estonia 97 years ago. He was always reluctant to talk about his roots. His parents fled to Estonia from other places in Eastern Europe. They did not feel welcome in that nation, and, thankfully, emigrated to the U.S.

About ten years ago, in the course of my work, I met a woman with an unusual last name with a series of vowels I had never seen before. I happened to ask what language it was and she said it was Estonian. I mentioned that my grandfather had come from Estonia and she asked what the family's name was. When I told her, she said "that doesn't sound Estonian," so I told her she was right -- the name is Jewish. Her response was chilling. Her smile changed to a penetrating glare and she said "ve vere wery accommodating to our Jews."

I didn't point out to her that virtually all Estonian Jews were killed in the Holocaust (see below). I asked "were you there during the war?" She said yes, and went on to describe how she and her husband came to leave Estonia, fleeing with the retreating Nazi troops. At that point I decided to end our friendly conversation and return to work.


from JTA.org -- Estonia to mark Holocaust Day,
but Jewish issue still controversial, by Adam Ellick

TALLINN, Estonia, Aug. 11 (JTA) — After years of mounting pressure from Western governments, the Estonian Cabinet has designated Jan. 27 as Holocaust Day.

However, the government did not make public observance compulsory — so it’s unclear how widespread observance will be — and the Ministry of Education has not yet announced specific educational programs.

The date falls on the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland.

The day will commemorate both the Holocaust and other 20th-century acts of genocide, including the mass deportation of Estonians by Soviets to Siberia.

The move comes two years after Council of Europe member countries signed a declaration to devote one day of every school year to the Holocaust. Numerous other European countries also chose Jan. 27.

Estonian Prime Minister Siim Kallas denied that outside pressure influenced the decision to institute a Holocaust Day. Estonia, which aspires to join the NATO defense alliance this November and the European Union in 2004, has been criticized over the past year by Western leaders who say the tiny Baltic nation has yet to confront its Holocaust history honestly.

In May, U.S. Ambassador Joseph DeThomas angered Estonians when he published an editorial in a local newspaper reproaching Estonians for keeping silent about war crimes committed during the 1941-1944 Nazi occupation, and for their passiveness in investigating Estonian collaboration.

“Proclaiming Holocaust Day means acknowledging objective reality at the time when Estonia is knocking on the door of NATO and E.U.,” an Estonian newspaper editorialized this week. “It seems that the Estonian government has changed its stance overnight, since” a previous minister of education “stated that the Holocaust topic has been adequately covered in school textbooks.”

The announcement has not gone down smoothly with Estonians, many of whom, after decades of Soviet propaganda, have only a faint understanding of the crimes committed in their homeland.

An Internet poll on the subject tallied 390 respondents, of whom 93 percent were against the national commemoration.

Estonia’s prewar Jewish population was about 6,000. During the German occupation, about 5,000 Estonian Jews fled to Russia.

Of the 1,000 who remained, only seven survived. The Germans also killed 7,000 other people, including 6,000 ethnic Estonians.

Though only 3,000 Jews live in Estonia today, Holocaust-related issues have emerged as a fierce source of debate in the past month. In late July, the Nazi-hunting Simon Wiesenthal Center provided the Estonian Security Police Board with the names of 16 Estonians it claimed helped murder Jews in Belarus in August 1942.

The Police Board denied any Estonian participation and hastily closed its investigation — despite a report from an independent Estonian war crimes commission that confirmed the participation.

The U.S. Embassy in Tallinn expressed its concern about the Police Board’s decision to the Estonian government.

Passions have been high since early July, when the Wiesenthal Center announced a program offering $10,000 rewards for information leading to the conviction and prosecution of Nazi war criminals. The program sparked anti-Semitic news items and public outrage, including the offer from one Estonian man of $20,000 for information about Jewish KGB agents who deported ethnic Estonians during Soviet rule.

Last week in Parnu, Estonia’s third largest city, the City Council prevented a private group from establishing a monument praising Estonians who served in the Nazi SS.