Pasaulio lietuvių paveldas Šilutės muziejuje

LTStraipsnyje aptariami Šilutės Hugo Šojaus muziejuje saugomų iš Mažosios Lietuvos kilusių pasaulio lietuvių – Banaičių ir Kuršaičių šeimų – kolekcijų eksponatai. Jų istorijos tampriai susijusios su žmonių likimais. Tilžėje gimęs Valteris Kristupas Banaitis žinomas kaip lietuviškų evangeliškų giesmių harmonizuotojas, vienas pirmųjų profesionalių Mažosios Lietuvos kompozitorių. Jo sesuo Eva Banaitytė, Antrojo pasaulinio karo metais pasitraukusi į Vokietiją, buvo aktyvi visuomenės veikėja. Banaičių kolekcijoje – ženkli Rytprūsių ikonografijos dalis, reti leidiniai, du unikalūs klaipėdietiškų moteriškų rūbų komplektai. Manoma, kad Heinrichas Kuršaitis buvo rašytojos Ievos Simonaitytės giminaitis, apakęs nelaimingo atsitikimo metu vaikystėje. Vyras, Antrojo pasaulinio karo metais išvežtas į Vokietiją, tapo paklausiausiu Bad Libenštaino kurorto masažuotoju ir vadintas „legenda gydančiomis rankomis“. Istorinę vertę turi Kuršaičių fonde esančios Brailio rašto knygos, taip pat įvairūs aklųjų daiktai. Jo dukterėčiai Hildai Kallvis priklausiusių pašto ženklų rinkinys įdomus lietuviškais ženklais. Reikšminiai žodžiai: Šilutės muziejus, pasaulio lietuviai, paveldas, Valteris Banaitis, Eva Banaitytė-Koch, Heinrichas Kuršaitis. [Iš leidinio]

ENThe collections of the Banaičiai and Kuršaičiai families from the funds of Šilutė Hugo Scheu museum are described in the present paper. They represent the cultural heritage of Lithuania Minor. During World War II, the members of both families went abroad from the East Prussia and settled in Germany. The collections have not been analysed in detail so far, therefore, the paper analyses only the most attractive exhibits. Born in Tilžė Valteris Kristupas Banaitis (1918–1999) is known for harmonizing Lithuanian evangelical songs, and he is one of the first professional composers of Lithuania Minor. He promoted the Lithuanian music in Germany and worked in emigrants’ organizations. His sister Eva Banaitytė (1920– 2015) emigrated to Germany during World War II. She collected publications, old maps, preserved handcrafts taken together from Tilžė, and the family’s documents. She commissioned for artists the landscapes of Lithuania Minor. Evelyn Jovanovič, the daughter of Eva Banaitytė-Koch, handed over the preserved Lithuanian values to Šilutė museum. The exhibits of the Banaičiai family fund include “Mitteilungen der litauischer literarischen Gesellschaft”– the first scientific publication of Lithuania Minor. Out of 31 notebooks 25 are preserved in the museum. The Lithuanian language textbook “Metoula Sprachführer Litauisch”, which was published in 1912, presents Lithuanian grammar and German-Lithuanian dictionary. Also, the fund includes the Evangelical hymns harmonized by V. K. Banaitis. The collection of the Banaičiai family includes a significant part of iconography of the East Prussia. The images of Curonian Spit, Klaipėda, Tilžė, the park Jokūbynė, other towns and their inhabitants of Lithuania Minor are captured in the photographs and postcards. There are two unique sets of Klaipėda women’s clothes, one of which is completely in line with the national costume model of the first half of the 20th century.It is considered that Heinrichas Kuršaitis (1912–2007) was a relative of a writer Ieva Simonaitytė. He was born in Klaipėda county. He became blind in his childhood at the time of the accident. Starting his professional career as a box manufacturer, Heinrichas Kuršaitis, who was deported to Germany during World War II, became the most popular masseur in Bad Libenstein resort, and he was known as the “legend of healing hands”. Hilda Kallvis, the niece of H. Kuršaitis, preserved the personal collection of her blind relative’s household and work articles and handed it over to Šilutė Museum. Braille books from the Kuršaičiai family fund have a historical value, as the number of readers of such books is dropping significantly. Various items for the blind people have historical value as well. An educational certificate (obtained in 1944 in Karaliaučius) and a document recognizing education, issued only after 31 years (1975) in Germany are also significant. The collection of post stamps, which used to belong to H. Kallvis’ collection, draws our attention to Lithuanian stamps: the ships of 1937 year, one post stamp is dedicated to the Kurėnai with weathercocks. The post stamp of Württemberg land was created by the famous emigrant artist Vytautas Kazimieras Jonynas. The exhibits received from German Lithuanians, whose homeland is Lithuania Minor, have ethnographic, historical, memorial and cultural value. They help us to know the past and at the same time are its living witnesses. [From the publication]