by Silvia Foti
Research into my grandfather, Jonas Noreika, a magnificent WWII hero of Lithuania, started going off track when rumors arose that he may have persecuted Jews. I hoped further examination would exonerate him, until that dreadful day when I discovered a booklet he had authored in 1933, titled “Raise Your Head Lithuanian”.
Initially, I assumed it would be a rallying call to patriotism and loyalty to Lithuania, then in its 15th year of independence from Russia. I found the booklet rather hidden in my mother’s archives, amid newspaper articles of my grandfather’s heroism, and so was not prepared for what I would read.
Here are some excerpted translations of the 1933 document …
Lithuania belongs only to Lithuanians!
She is held ransom with our blood. We can become the owners of the existing capital if we exert our will. Let us be open and sincere. Let’s reveal our wounded spots! Let us determine once and for all, what we are creating: A benefit for the nation, the party, or the foreigners?…
Our life is our land
All of Lithuania’s residents are well aware that we are an agricultural land. The farmer carries the entire country on his shoulders. That is why we must first examine the farmers—how are they living? What are today’s farmers doing and thinking? We can answer quickly: They are waiting with clenched teeth. They are waiting for better times! But those better times are not appearing…
…Those who live the best in our cities are the Jews! Thousands of litas rustle through their hands! They sit in the coffee shops dressed smartly and make new plans on how they can get more of our money. Let us declare our news one time loudly! We have been hiding our wounds for too long! Let us not be afraid to look with open eyes at the existing poverty and discord among us!…
…In the land of Klaipėda, the Lithuanians are being overthrown by the Germans, and in Greater Lithuania, the Jews are buying up all the farms on auction. What are we going to do if all the capital and land will be in the hands of the Jews?! . . .
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