World War II monuments in Soviet Lithuania. From political symbols to dissonant heritage

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ENThe article aims to give a historical overview of World War II monuments in Soviet Lithuania and to discuss these objects as a source of contested memory. It aims to tackle the tight link between all-union processes and their local interpretations in Lithuania during the Soviet regime. An analysis of the historical circumstances and selected significant sites reveals how constantly changing political atmosphere in Communist party reflects in local decisions on specific monuments. The article presents the historical development of World War II monuments, starting with the early post-war years and ending in the high Soviet era. It also gives a brief overview of current legal situation of such monuments and recent public reactions. From the first days after the Second World War, the Soviet Union began an active commemoration program. Thousands of military monuments had been erected throughout the Soviet Union. At least one monument stands in almost every bigger village, not to mention small towns or regional centres. Although the first wave of monument construction in Lithuania had reached its peak in early 1950s, construction of WWII memorials flourished almost throughout the whole Soviet period. As political circumstances changed, fashions changed, old memorial places were renewed, and monuments became more sophisticated and diverse. The paper will examine two periods of the commemoration process. First, it will focus on the decade after the war when tributes to the victims of WWII took place in the context of Soviet terror, anti-Soviet resistance and guerrilla warfare. It is estimated that a more than 20,000 Lithuanian partisans and their supporters were killed from 1944 to 1953, and the “total number of prisoners taken away to the GULAG prison camps in 1944–1952 amounted to 142,575 people”.The second part of the paper discusss the aesthetic and thematic changes from the 1960s to 1980s, when new political circumstances within the Soviet Union formed new WWII commemoration practices. In case of Lithuania, the role of local architects and sculptors was gradually growing. Although there was a political „thaw“, both periods address the constantly existing link between Communist Party and decisions on local level. This reveals that the connection between political ideology and the commemoration of WWII was an essential condition of the process during the entire Soviet period. After restoring independence in 1990, WWII memorials became sites of contested memory. They continued their function as a place for memorial, but clearly represented the Soviet regime. Looking from today’s perspective, initial dedication to the “Soviet Army as the liberators” has changed to “Soviet army as the aggressors”. The famous case of the Bronze Soldier in Tallinn (Estonia) clearly explains the situation: “previously entitled the ‘Monument to the Liberators of Tallinn’, this monument had its Soviet era plaques referring to ‘liberation’ removed, and was reframed simply as a memorial to ‘the fallen of World War II’”. Such a complicated history makes these artefacts fragile. Their troublesome destinies in current Lithuania range from preservation as cultural heritage sites, demolition or re-purposing into thematic parks. [Extract, p. 20]