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Genocide and Resistance Research Centre of Lithuania

Coordinates: 54°40′45″N 25°17′14″E / 54.67917°N 25.28722°E / 54.67917; 25.28722
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54°40′45″N 25°17′14″E / 54.67917°N 25.28722°E / 54.67917; 25.28722

Genocide and Resistance Research Centre of Lithuania
Lietuvos gyventojų genocido ir rezistencijos tyrimo centras

Headquarters of the institute
State-funded institute overview
Formed29 October 1992; 32 years ago (1992-10-29)
JurisdictionLithuania
HeadquartersDidžioji g. 17-1, Vilnius, Lithuania
Employees142[1]
State-funded institute executive
  • Arūnas Bubnys, Director general
Websitewww.genocid.lt

The Genocide and Resistance Research Centre of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos gyventojų genocido ir rezistencijos tyrimo centras or LGGRTC) is a state-funded research institute in Lithuania dedicated to "the study of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in Lithuania; the study of the persecution of local residents by occupying regimes; the study of armed and unarmed resistance to occupying regimes; the initiation of the legal evaluation of the activities of the organisers and implementers of genocide; and the commemoration of freedom fighters and genocide victims." The centre was founded on 25 October 1992 by the Supreme Council of the Lithuanian Republic as the "State Genocide Research Centre of Lithuania".[2][3] It is a member organisation of the Platform of European Memory and Conscience.[4] The centre has been embroiled in several controversies regarding the memory of the Holocaust in Lithuania - it is accused by several scholars and Jewish groups of whitewashing the reputation of Nazi collaborators.[5][6][7][8]

Purpose

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The LGGRTC's main areas of activity, in line with its original mission statement, include research and documenting atrocities committed by the occupying Soviet and Nazi regimes and the resistance to these regimes between 1939 and 1990.[9] The Centre recommends former anti-Soviet partisans for larger state pensions and other awards.[10] The LGGRTC classifies the Soviet occupation of Lithuania as a genocide of the Lithuanian nation.[11] The centre uses a broadened definition of genocide including the targeting of social, political, and economic groups by Stalin. This definition has been accepted by the European Court of Human Rights in convictions against Soviet occupation forces.[12]

Activities

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In 1998, Lithuania passed a law restricting employment in the public sector for former employees of the KGB, the MGB, and other Soviet security institutions. The centre and the State Security Department had the authority to determine whether a person was an employee of the KGB.[13] In 2002, commemorating the 30th anniversary of Romas Kalanta's self-immolation, Seimas listed May 14 as the Civil Resistance Day (Lithuanian: Pilietinio pasipriešinimo diena) based on recommendations by the centre.[14]

The centre publishes the journal Genocidas ir rezistencija. One of its long-term research projects is a database and multi-volume publication of names and biographies of the victims of the Soviet and Nazi persecutions.[15] In 2001–2005, the centre handled around 22,000 applications for compensation from the Foundation "Remembrance, Responsibility and Future."[16]

The centre operates the Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights in the former prison of KGB in Vilnius and a memorial at the Tuskulėnai Manor. Prior to 2018 the museum was known as "the Museum of Genocide Victims," it was renamed following international criticism.[17]

In 1999–2002, the centre was involved in the attempted prosecution regarding a former Colonel of the KGB Nachman Dushanski and twelve other suspected former KGB officers and collaborators.[18][19] In 2007, the head of the Genocide Center at the time, Arvydas Anušauskas, helped launch an investigation into those believed to participated in the Kaniūkai massacre, including the former director of Yad Vashem and Soviet partisan Yitzhak Arad. Lithuanian prosecutors in the investigation cited Arad's autobiography, published in the US in 1972, in which he recalled his involvement in the Soviet partisans.[20][21] The investigation was closed in 2008, citing a failure to "collect adequate evidence."[5] This investigation, among others that targeted Holocaust survivors, were seen by Jewish groups, academics, and journalists as resistance against prosecuting Lithuanian Holocaust collaborators. Israel described the investigations as anti-Semitic - a charge denied by Lithuanian prosecutors.[6][7]

In 2015, at the urging of the centre, the Lithuanian government stripped Nazi collaborator Pranas Končius-Adomas of state honors. Historian Efraim Zuroff praised the action, but added that “There are other cases that are far more prominent in which the Genocide Center has not chosen to recommend the cancellation of honors."[22]

In 2024, The Lithuanian Genocide and Resistance Research Centre and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) have agreed to cooperate in identifying the remains of Lithuanian partisans. The agreement allows the Centre's experts to use DNA analysis systems developed by the FBI. The Centre has indicated that the number of unidentified post-war victims may still reach 20,000.[23]

Organisation

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The centre's director is nominated by the Prime Minister of Lithuania and confirmed by the Seimas (Lithuanian parliament).[24] Most recently, in 2009, the Seimas confirmed Birutė Burauskaitė, a longtime dissident, as the Center's director.[25]

In 2024 the law on restructuring the Genocide and Resistance Research Centre was passed by the Seimas in July and was signed by the President Gitanas Nausėda. The law significantly raised the level of requirements and qualifications mandatory for the Centre's experts and staff. One of the main changes introduced was the establishment of an additional governing body within the LGGRTC - the Council, which will lead the Centre collectively with the Director.[26]

The Council consists of 11 members appointed for a term of five years:

The Council, on the proposal of the Director of the LGGRTC, approves the areas of research, proposes the long-term strategic plan of operations and the annual performance plan, sets annual objectives for the Director, makes recommendations on the management of the Centre, the implementation of the areas of scientific and applied research, and sets the general requirements for the candidates for the Heads of Centre's departments. The law establishes that the Council will call and conduct the election of the Director of the Genocide and Resistance Research Centre.[27]

In November 2024, historian Arūnas Streikus was elected Chairman of the first Council.[28]

Criticism

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During the legal proceedings against Yitzhak Arad, he was heading The International Commission for the Evaluation of the Crimes of the Nazi and Soviet Occupation Regimes in Lithuania. The investigation, which derailed the work of the international commission whose members resigned in protest, was viewed internationally as a "contemptible farce",[8] an attempt to erase Lithuanian's history of collaboration with the Nazis,[5] and victim blaming,[29] particularly due to the lack of prosecution of the many Lithuanian Nazi collaborators.[5][29][8]

The centre received criticism as the Nazi genocide of the Jews and Lithuanian collaboration in it are minimized, while the genocide of Lithuanians by Soviet partisans is described extensively. One plaque standing by a relocated memorial to Soviet partisans falsely asserts that Soviet partisans were "mostly of Jewish nationality [since] native people didn't support Soviet partisans."[5] One anti-Soviet partisan honored by the center is Jonas Noreika, who was responsible for the Plungė massacre of Jews.[5][30] Noreika's granddaughter has advocated for the plaque honoring him to be removed, calling him a "Nazi collaborator who helped murder thousands of Jews and steal their property."[31][32]

In 2020, the centre was criticised by the Jewish Community of Lithuania organization for appointing Vidmantas Valušaitis to a leadership position. The group accused Valušaitis of Holocaust distortion for defending Juozas Lukša in an essay. In the essay, he falsely called Lukŝa's alleged victims "members of the Communist party" and described his alleged actions as an act of revenge.[33] Lukša was accused by eyewitnesses of participating in the Kaunas pogrom - specifically assisting in the massacre of Jews in Lietukis Garage[34][35] and beheading a local rabbi, Zalmen Osovsky.[36]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Lietuvos Gyventojų Genocido ir Rezistencijos Tyrimo Centras darbuotojai (apdraustieji)". rekvizitai.lt. Rekvizitai.lt / UAB „Verslo žinios“. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  2. ^ AN OUTLINE OF THE HISTORY OF THE GENOCIDE AND RESISTANCE RESEARCH CENTRE OF LITHUANIA (retrieved March 4, 2013)
  3. ^ Modernity in Crisis: A Dialogue on the Culture of Belonging
  4. ^ "Czech Prime minister Petr Nečas: The years of totalitarianism were years of struggle for liberty". Platform of European Memory and Conscience. 14 October 2011. Archived from the original on 30 March 2012. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Slate: Double Genocide - Lithuania wants to erase its ugly history of Nazi collaboration—by accusing Jewish partisans who fought the Germans of war crimes.
  6. ^ a b Zuroff, Efraim (2017-01-01). "The Prosecution of Local Nazi Collaborators in Post-Communist Eastern Europe: A Squandered Opportunity to Confront Holocaust Crimes". Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review. 39 (1): 298. ISSN 0277-5417.
  7. ^ a b Whewell, Tim (2008-07-21). "Reopening Lithuania's old wounds". BBC. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
  8. ^ a b c Bringing the Dark Past to Light: The Reception of the Holocaust in Eastern Europe, University of Nebraska Press, John-Paul Himka, Joanna Beata Michlic, pages 337-340
  9. ^ "Lietuvos gyventojų genocido ir rezistencijos tyrimo centro N U O S T A T A I". e-tar.lt. Lietuvos Respublikos Seimo kanceliarija. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  10. ^ Baltic News Service (2000-07-12). "Valstybinės pensijos paskirtos dar 24 rezistentams" (in Lithuanian). Delfi.lt.
  11. ^ Adamonytė, Rūta. "Ar EŽTT tapo Niurnbergu sovietų nusikaltimams Baltijos šalyse?". lrt.lt. Lietuvos radijas ir televizija. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  12. ^ Sagatienė, Dovilė (2021-07-01). "The Debate about Soviet Genocide in Lithuania in the Case Law of The European Court of Human Rights". Nationalities Papers. 49 (4): 776–791. doi:10.1017/nps.2020.56. ISSN 0090-5992.
  13. ^ Gladstone, Alan (2005). International Labour Law Reports. Vol. 24. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. pp. 75–76. ISBN 90-04-14975-9.
  14. ^ Klumbytė, Neringa (2015). "Sovereignty and Justice: Introduction to the Forum". Ab Imperio. 2015 (2): 159. doi:10.1353/imp.2015.0039. ISSN 2164-9731.
  15. ^ Baltic News Service (2003-02-13). "Išleista sovietinio genocido aukų vardyno dalis" (in Lithuanian). Delfi.lt.
  16. ^ "Compensation from Germany". Genocide and Resistance Research Centre. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
  17. ^ LETA/TBT Staff (2017-09-08). "Lithuania to rename Museum of Genocide Victims after lengthy discussions". The Baltic Times. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
  18. ^ Vyšniauskaitė, Birutė. "N. Dušanskio dienoraščių pėdsakais: kodėl partizanų žudikų nepasiekė teisingumo ranka". Delfi.lt. Delfi. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  19. ^ Baltic News Service (2001-10-29). "Lietuva vėl prašo Izraelio išduoti kaltinamąjį sovietinio genocido vykdymu" (in Lithuanian). Delfi.lt.
  20. ^ Vyšniauskaitė, Birutė. "Buvęs sovietų partizanas Lietuvoje Y. Aradas: "Didžiavausi galėdamas kariauti prieš nusikaltėlius"". lrytas.lt. Lietuvos rytas. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  21. ^ "Prosecution and persecution". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
  22. ^ "Lithuania posthumously strips Nazi collaborator of honors". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
  23. ^ ELTA. "Ieškoti ir identifikuoti partizanų palaikus LGGRTC padės Federalinis tyrimų biuras". lrytas.lt. Lietuvos rytas. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  24. ^ Baltic News Service (2009-01-09). "Į genocido tyrimo centro direktores – B.Burauskaitė" (in Lithuanian). Delfi.lt.
  25. ^ "Gyventojų genocido ir rezistencijos tyrimų vadove paskirta B.Burauskaitė (1)" (in Lithuanian). Lietuvos rytas. Retrieved 2010-07-18.[permanent dead link‍]
  26. ^ Venckūnas, Vilmantas. "Prezidentas pasirašė Genocido centro pertvarką". bernardinai.lt. Viešoji įstaiga „Bernardinai.lt“. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  27. ^ BNS. "Pradedama formuoti Genocido centro tyrimų kryptis ir planus tvirtinsianti taryba". bernardinai.lt. Viešoji įstaiga „Bernardinai.lt“. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  28. ^ "Lietuvos gyventojų genocido ir rezistencijos tyrimo centro tarybai vadovaus Streikus". lrt.lt. BNS. 2024-11-07. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  29. ^ a b Prosecution and persecution, Economist, 2008
  30. ^ Doing business in Lithuania
  31. ^ Liphshiz, Cnaan (2018-10-04). "A Chicago teacher showed her grandfather was a Nazi collaborator. Now Lithuania is paying attention". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
  32. ^ "A family's history revealed truths about Lithuania's bloody past". NBC News. 2021-04-04. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
  33. ^ History, Defending (2021-12-31). "Chronology: 2021 Dedicated to Glorifying Juozas Lukša (Daumantas), Alleged Participant in June 1941 Kaunas Atrocities". Defending History. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
  34. ^ Weinbaum, Laurence. "Lithuania picks the wrong man to honour". www.thejc.com. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
  35. ^ Faiṭelson, Aleḳs; Faiṭelson, Aleḳs, eds. (2006). The truth and nothing but the truth: Jewish resistance in Lithuania (Ed. 1 ed.). Jerusalem: Gefen Publ. House. p. 34. ISBN 978-965-229-364-0.
  36. ^ Lev, David (2012). "Martyrdom & Resistance, April/May 2012". archives.towson.edu. International Society for Yad Vashem. p. 11. ISSN 0892-1571. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
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