Irena Veisaitė : tolerance and involvement

Collection:
Mokslo publikacijos / Scientific publications
Document Type:
Knyga / Book
Language:
Anglų kalba / English
Title:
Irena Veisaitė : tolerance and involvement
Authors:
Plasseraud, Yves
Publication Data:
Leiden ; Brill Rodopi, 2015.
Pages:
VII, 213 p
Series:
On the boundary of two worlds : identity, freedom, and moral imagination in the Baltics; vol. 40
Notes:
Bibliografija ir rodyklės.
Contents:
Foreword — Acknowledgements — Table of in-text illustrations — Table of other illustrations — Acronyms — Foreign terms — Introduction — A family on the move — A promising 20th century for the Veis family — Irena’s parents — Caught in the midst of revolutions and war — Becoming Lithuanians — The lives of Irena’s parents — A carefree childhood — A tightly knit family — Journeys across a troubled Europe — School years in the Yiddish gymnasium — Anguish — The dark years — Irena’s parents’ divorce — A failed emigration project — Experiencing the dictatorship of the proletariat — Difficult Soviet times — Turning the economy and culture into a wasteland — Changes in Irena’s personal environment — The German occupation of Lithuania — Nazi rule — Assasinations of Irena’s uncle and mother — Living with the yellow star in Kaunas — In the Kovno ghetto — Exterminations (aktionen) — Towards a precarious safety — Escaping the ghetto and heading for Vilnius — The return of the Soviets: the second occupation — Mass deportations — Irena’s second mother is arrested — Alone in an unknown environment — Being Jewish in the post-World War II USSR — Trouble with the KGB: suspicion of “Cosmopolitism” — Moscow Lomonosov University years — The annihilation of Soviet Jewish memory — Getting married in Moscow — A very private event — Defying Moscow’s education ministry in order to return to Vilnius — Birth of Irena’s daughter Alina, during the Khrushchev thaw — ‘Aspirantūra’ years in Leningrad: 1958-1960 — Teaching freedom at the Vilnius pedagogical institute — Visiting her father and the West — Crucial decisions — The world opens up — A new life with Grigori Kromanov — Dramatic developments — Irena and the singing revolutions (1988...) — National independence — A new national stance towards the Jewish question — New social commitments — Creation of the open society fund – Lithuania (OSFL) —Through the turmoil of the nineties — Irena’s OSF presidency: a force of good — A complex relationship with the Lithuanian Jewish community — Acting in favour of the Jewish community — The true meaning of the Holocaust — The time of recognition — A cosy and stimulating personal environment — An unusual public figure — Official recognition — At the crossroad of cultures — Lithuanian ‘national’ feelings — The Russian question — German culture — Epilogue — A remaining consistent: adherence to a few basic ideas — A world of friends — Spiritual approach to life — Chronology — Family tree — The Litvaks — A lite: a refuge for persecuted Jews — A society of its own — A clash of worlds — Litvaks and modernity — Litvak culture and art — Spiritual life — A dynamic social life — Socialism as a religion — Irena and Tadas, by Caroline Paliulis — Some of Irena’s articles and interviews — Bibliography — Index.
Subject Category:
LT
Atsiminimai. Biografijos / Memories. Biographies; Visuomenės veikėjai / Public leaders; Irena Veisaitė; 20 amžius.
Reviews:
Recenzija leidinyje Nordost-Archiv. 2018, Bd. 2, p. 263-264
Summary / Abstract:

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Vaikystė; Mokykla; Vokiečių okupacija; Žydai; Maskvos Lomonosovo universitetas; Sovietinė santvarka; Atviros Lietuvos fondas; Childhood; School, German occupation; Jews; Moscow Lomonosov University; Soviet system; Open Society Fund.

ENIrena Veisaitė is held in deep esteem throughout her country. This volume is an attempt to relate the difficult journey of her remarkable life against the backdrop of the complex history of Lithuania and its Litvaks (Lithuanian Jews). After being rescued by Christian Lithuanian families and having survived the Holocaust Irena Veisaitė devoted herself to study and creative work. She was a memorable lecturer, respected theatre critic, associate film director, and also founder and chairman of the Open Society Fund (Soros Foundation) which made an invaluable contribution to the process of democratisation in Lithuania. Irena Veisaitė made it her life’s work to speak up for dialogue and mutual understanding and believes that even in the most difficult circumstances it is possible to preserve one’s humanity. Having lived through some of the major atrocities of the twentieth century, her insistence on the need for tolerance has inspired many.

ISBN:
9789004298903
Subject:
Istorija / History
Related Publications:
Su meile ir ilgesiu parašyti atsiminimai : recenzija / Donata Mitaitė. Colloquia. 2023, 51, p. 158-164.
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https://www.lituanistika.lt/content/68024
Updated:
2022-12-13 10:52:06
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