A "Forgotten" history of Soviet deportation: the case of Lithuanian Jews
LTStraipsnyje atskleidžiama 1944 m. gegužės 22 – birželio 22 d. Tarybų Sąjungos vykdytos Lietuvos žydų deportacijos istorija, remiantis dešimties žydų tremtinių (7 moterys, 3 vyrai), dabar gyvenančių Izraelyje (išskyrus vieną asmenį), interviu. Taip pat remiamasi archyvine medžiaga bei išgyvenusių kitų Lietuvos žydų atsiminimais. Tiriama, kaip deportaciją patyrusių Lietuvos žydų patirtis buvo „užmiršta“ ir kaip palaipsniui šie atsiminimai gali būti „atgaivinti“ atminimo išsaugojimo iniciatyvų ir istorinių tyrimų dėka. Aprašomi pagrindiniai Lietuvos žydų tremties patirties ypatumai, daugiausia dėmesio skiriant pradinio arešto ir deportavimo, prievartinio sulaikymo ir tremties, paleidimo ir peregrinacijos, grįžimo ir reintegracijos temoms. Pristatoma išskirtinė pasakojimų forma apie sudėtingas Lietuvos žydų gyvenimo trajektorijas – vaikystė tarpukario Lietuvoje, Holokausto ir Gulago išgyvenimas, sugrįžimas į sovietinę Lietuvą ir galiausiai – emigracija į Izraelį. Šie pasakojimai – tai galinga priemonė, leidžianti atsekti ir išraizgyti sudėtingų istorinių procesų tinklą, kuris formuoja kontraversišką Antrojo Pasaulinio karo istorijos diskursą. Lietuvos kolektyvinėje atmintyje jos žydų tremtinių istorija yra „užmiršta“, jos atgaivinimas suvaidintų svarbų vaidmenį išjudinant monolitišką pasakojimą apie patirtas nacionalines traumas bei sovietų sukeltas kančias, taip pat palengvintų lietuvių bei žydų susitaikymo procesą po Holokausto. Karo ir pokario metų pasakojimų atkūrimas bei populiarinimas gali padėti priartėti prie labiau kompleksiško šio beprecedenčio, sudėtingo ir trauminio Europos istorijos laikotarpio suvokimo.
ENAlthough Lithuanian Jews were not specifically targeted by the Soviet deportations of June 1941, and their overall numbers are relatively small – about 1,700 – the study of their distinct experience is important in several aspects. If nothing else, their unique “subject position” places the mainstream Lithuanian narrative of the deportation as a national trauma in a new light. When we look at the events of wwii from the perspective of Lithuanian Jewish deportees, we are simply forced to see the historical atrocities committed by the Nazi and Soviet occupations during this short period of time in relation to one another, through the biographical threads that entangle one with the other, the Gulag with the Holocaust. The distinct nature of the deportation of Lithuanian Jews conditioned the belated emergence of its memory. This belatedness has many aspects, starting with the interest that scholars have shown in the topic. By this point in time, the interviewees, who were all children or teenagers at the time of deportation (some were born en route to Siberia or in exile), were already well advanced in age. The age of the interviewees at the time of the events recalled and their advanced age at the time of the interview are important considerations when interpreting their testimonies. Their perspective on the events as children is dis- tinct. It complements other perspectives and needs to be seen in that context.The belated emergence of the deportation memory of Lithuanian Jews stems from two main factors: first of all, from the priority given to the Holocaust in the collective memory of the Jewish community within Europe, as well as within the Zionist historiography, and commemorative focus on the Holocaust within Israel. Within the Lithuanian national context, the emergence of deportee memory during the popular movement against Soviet rule tended to project a narrative of national martyrdom, which did not distinguish among the range of different subjectivities among the deportees, from women to chil- dren to people of different ethnicities and faiths. The people interviewed for this project had relatively clear and shared views on questions of inter-ethnic relations among the deportees. While my data is of necessity limited, I was impressed by their recollection of cooperative and friendly relations among ethnic Jews and Lithuanians in deportation. This needs to be seen in the context of their young age at the time, and perhaps even the context of the interviews, conducted by an ethnic Lithuanian accepted as a guest in their homes in Israel today, so many years after the events. But even keeping these limitations in mind, I was struck by the cosmopolitan nature of the memory of the interviewees. And this, I believe, reflects more than a sense of politeness or political correctness regarding the interview process itself. It stems from three main sources. First, it recalls how the June 1941 depor- tations targeted the elites of interwar Lithuanian society. The families that were deported, be they Jewish, Lithuanian or Polish, were relatively well educated, established and integrated in a modern, secular and urban environment.
