Lietuvos tautinės mažumos : kultūros paveldas

LTKuriama nauja Europa, grindžiama bendromis vertybėmis: demokratija, tolerancija, solidarumu. Todėl kiekvienai į Europos Sąjungą stojančiai šaliai svarbu ne tik susipažinti su jos įstatymais, palyginti bei suderinti juos su nacionaliniais įstatymais, bet ir mokėti jais naudotis gilinant supratimą, pasitikėjimą ir nenutrūkstamą kultūrinį dialogą tarp Lietuvos žmonių ir etninių grupių. Ypač svarbu ugdyti tokį požiūrį į Lietuvos istoriją bei jos kultūros paveldą, kuris skatintų pagarbą kultūrų įvairovei ir pabrėžtų įvairių religijų, etninių grupių bei idėjų teigiamą tarpusavio įtaką Lietuvos istorijos raidoje. Tokių nuostatų skatinami autoriai pristato šią knygą apie Lietuvos žydų, totorių, karaimų, rusų sentikių ir XIX-XX a. rusų kultūros paveldą. Parėmus Atviros Lietuvos fondui, 2000 m. šių etninių grupių kultūrų svetainės buvo paruoštos Lietuvos kultūros paveldo tūkstantmečio virtualioje parodoje (http://daugenis.mch.mii.lt/ paveldas2000/). ALF remia ir pastarosios knygos leidimą, kuris parengtas naudojantis minėtos interneto parodos medžiaga.Leidinys apie šias tradicines Lietuvos tautines mažumas yra pirmas tokio pobūdžio žinynas. Autorių kolektyvas atliko didelį tiriamąjį ir paruošiamąjį darbą. Kiekviename knygos skyriuje, skirtame atskirai etninei grupei, pateikiami trumpi straipsniai apie žydų, totorių, karaimų, rusų įsikūrimą ir raidą Lietuvoje, jų religiją, kalbą, literatūrą, tautosaką, mokslo pasiekimus, įžymius žmones. Dešimtys kruopščiai atrinktų nuotraukų ir iliustracijų, kurių dalis pateikiama pirmą kartą, puikiai atskleidžia autorių siekius parodyti svarbiausius šių religinių bendruomenių ir etninių kultūrų bruožus, jų unikalumą ir net egzotiškumą. Autoriai tikisi, kad ši knyga praturtins Jūsų kultūrinę patirtį ir skatins kurti smalsią, pakančią etninei įvairovei, pilietiniu požiūriu brandžią, demokratišką Lietuvos visuomenę.[...] Kartu su šia knyga išleistas kompaktinis diskas Lietuvos tautinės mažumos. Kultūros paveldas, kuriame tekstai skelbiami lietuvių, anglų ir rusų kalbomis. Kompaktinis diskas yra gausiai iliustruotas. Be to, jame rasite garso bei video įrašų, žemėlapių, kurie papildo šią knygą ir išsamiau supažindina su Lietuvos tautinių mažumų istorija bei kultūros savitumu. [Iš Pratarmės]Reikšminiai žodžiai: Tautinės mažumos; Lithuania; National minorities.

ENThe post-modernist discourse gives more and more prominence to the notion of otherness as it manifests itself in various domains: in our experience, life styles and cultural heritage. There are two aspects to this process. On the one hand, distant cultures, once regarded as 'primitive', and their 'savage' way of thinking, are now being reevaluated. What was viewed as lagging behind the pace of cultural evolution or even 'barbarian' more than a hundred years ago has now become a token of a different way of thinking and a different but not inferior culture. On the other hand, people also learn to discover the 'other' in their own society. What was once the fringe of our familiar world is now rapidly moving to its centre. This makes us increasingly aware of ethnic and linguistic communities that have been living next to us for centuries, and incites us to study their cultural and historical heritage. The diversity of this legacy of the past and the unexpected turns of history grant us a better insight in the overall development of a society during a given period. Finally, the crucial question arises how we succeed in picturing the 'other' to ourselves and in establishing mutual relations. This is important for our self-image as well, as our own feeling of identity and the way we define ourselves depend on our relationship to others more than on anything else. This is why research into national minorities becomes an important indicator of the current state of our self-awareness. This collection presents the cultural heritage of Lithuania's national minorities: Jews, Tatars, Karaims, Russian Old Believers and (with reference to the 19th and 20th centuries) Russians in general.The first section of this collection presents the cultural heritage of the Jews. The history of the Jews of Lithuania is often characterised as one of the most crucial aspects of the cultural history of Europe. The Lithuanian Jerusalem, as Vilnius used to be called, was the equal of such centres of Jewish intellectual life as Vienna, Prague, Amsterdam, Berlin or Cracow. In the 20th century, Lithuania owed its position on the intellectual and cultural map of Europe most of all to Lithuanian Jews such as the painters Chaim Soutine and Arbitblat, the sculptor Jacques Lipchitz, the violinist Jasha Heifez, to Ludwik Zamenhof, the creator of Esperanto, 2.66 Aron Gurwitsch, one of the prominent 20th century phenomenologist philosophers, or Emmanuel Levinas, one of the classical representatives of phenomenology and personalism in philosophy. A brief survey is given of the history of the Lithuanian Jews, particular attention being paid to their history in the past century. It is shown how the Jews took an active part in the fight for independence. Between 1918 and 1923, more than 3 000 Jews served in the Lithuanian armed forces, and 23 of them were awarded the highest distinction then conferred in the Lithuanian army, the Vytis Cross. The characteristic features of Jewish autonomy, the educational system, and the growth of anti-Semitic attitudes in inter-war Lithuania are discussed. The reader will also find descriptions of synagogues and their architectural styles (baroque, classic and historicist synagogues). Much space is dedicated to the Jewish religious tradition and to prominent rabbis. Of course, a portrait of one of the world's most influential religious thinkers, Eyliohu the son of Shloyme-Zalmen (1720-1797), also known as the Vilna Gaon, could not be lacking here.A picture is given of Jewish life in Vilnius: public organisations (169 Jewish organisations were registered in 1935), the Jewish libraries, among which the Strashun Library is the most renowned, and the theatre company Vilner Trupe, which became famous all over the world. The Institute for Jewish Research (YIVO) and its activities are dealt with in more detail. When speaking of the Shoah in Lithuania, particular emphasis must be laid on cultural resistance. It is a fact of symbolic significance that even the ghettoes teemed with cultural activity. Officials appointed by the Councils of Elders were charged with organising cultural life. The ghettoes had their libraries, lectures were held on topics of literature, culture, philosophy and natural science, there were exhibitions of fine arts, concerts and discussion clubs. Schools were set up and almost every child in the ghetto received education. There was also a yeshiva. The Vilnius ghetto had it own theatre performing plays from the classical repertoires, both Jewish and international, and organising concerts. The theatre continued to perform until all the actors were transported to Paneriai to be shot. Then there is also an account of the recent renaissance of Jewish culture and the factors contributing to it, and of the principal achievements of the past decade. The focus is on modern Jewish life in Lithuania. The Jewish community, which now numbers some 5 000 members (whereas before the war some 250 000 Jews lived in Lithuania) leads quite an active life. It organises numerous cultural events as well as conferences on various topics, and the Lithuanians are gradually rediscovering the rich and glorious heritage of Jewish culture. [From summary]