Traveling trauma: Lithuanian transnational memory after World War II
ENThere is a signifi cant body of literature exploring the transnational dimensions of Holocaust memory and its embodiments in various cultural contexts. For example, as hypothesized in a path-breaking work by Levy and Sznaider (2006), the emergence of transnational memory has been taking place under the conditions of globalization. The Holocaust is described as a decisive traumatic event that defi nes modernity; it is a pillar of memory that transcends ethnic and national boundaries. Assmann (2010) conceptualizes the Holocaust not only as a European historical memory (historical trauma), but also as a transnational memory, a universal norm and a global icon. MacDonald (2008) argues that the Holocaust is the ‘preeminent symbol of suffering’, and as such is used by various groups to communicate their memories and represent their traumatic history. This literature has offered valuable insights into the ways in which traumatic memory based on the Holocaust travels across national and ethnic borders. However, little attention has been devoted to the creation of transnational memories based on traumatic events other than the Holocaust. When and how can traumas other than the Holocaust become a consolidating force for transnational memory communities?.With these questions in mind, this chapter sets out to explore the creation of transnational traumatic memory based on the experiences of the deportations and political repression carried out in Lithuania under Soviet occupation in 1940–41 and 1945–53. It is divided into three parts. First, the chapter constructs a concise theoretical framework capturing various dimensions of transnational memory, identifying potential memory carriers and their roles. Second, drawing on this framework, the study explores the creation of the genocide narrative by the Lithuanian diaspora in the West after World War II. Third, it traces the transformation of this narrative after the end of the Cold War, explores the tensions between two transnational memories (the Holocaust and memory about Soviet crimes) and describes the transcultural emotional appeal of this transformed narrative. [Extract, p. 168
