Gender, war and remembrance: "Heroic subjects" in Lithuania's memory regime of fighting and suffering

ENThe growing body of literature on women, war and remembrance points to the importance of women’s experiences for the construction of national narratives. These narratives often perpetuate stereotypical images of war with suffering women and dominance by fighting men—unless women fight on the ‘right side’ and exhibit extraordinary bravery. Then they become ‘heroic subjects’ in such narratives. These national narratives are part of the processes related to ‘defending memory’. They tend to select actors and experiences that fit their version of the national past. Feminist perspectives on war and memory encourage us to explore silences, contradictions and omissions in these national narratives. They also encourage us to listen to women who decide to publicly record their wartime memories and thus influence national narratives about war. Focusing on the case study of Lithuania, this chapter asks the following questions: What are the gendered aspects of ‘defending memory’? What is the relationship between the experiences of women and the construction of national narratives about war, engaged in ‘defending memory’? What are the tensions between lived experiences (documented in memoirs and oral testimonies) and the ways in which they are articulated publicly, for national consumption?. [Publisher annotation]

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