Disclaimer. We’re sorry for the less-than-perfect sound in the first minute and a half. Rest assured, the rest of the conversation has our usual clear audio. Thank you for your understanding and for listening!

Guest: Rita Gabis
Host: Violeta Davoliūtė

In this episode of the EUROPAST podcast, Violeta Davoliūtė holds a conversation with author and poet Rita Gabis to mark the tenth anniversary of the publication of her critically acclaimed memoir: A Guest at the Shooters’ Banquet: My Grandfather’s SS Past, My Jewish Family, A Search for the Truth. Gabis was the first of several third-generation authors to explore the traumas of the Holocaust and the Second World War in the Baltic States through the lens of her family’s experience, including Julija Šukys, Siberian Exile: Blood, War, and a Granddaughter's Reckoning (2017), Silvia Foti, Storm in the Land of Rain: A Mother's Dying Wish Becomes Her Daughter's Nightmare (2022) and Linda Kinstler, Come to this Court and Cry. How the Holocaust Ends (2023).

In this conversation, Rita Gabis recounts her deeply personal journey into the silenced histories of her Lithuanian- Catholic and Jewish heritage, uncovering her grandfather’s complicity in genocide. Through extensive archival research, field trips and interviews in several different countries, Gabis brings to light the intimate tensions between memory and erasure, victimhood and guilt, personal affect and historical responsibility.

What is the role of family narratives in shaping historical consciousness? How are second and third generation descendants implicated in traumatic events of the past? Join us in this reflection on public history, intergenerational responsibility, and the ongoing search for truth and justice. 

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In the EUROPAST Podcast, we explore Europe's most pressing challenges of public history. We investigate the complex and contested spaces of public memory, memory activism and best practices for engaging the public in a dialogue about the past. The podcast series is part of a project that has received funding from the European Union under the WIDERA programme (EUROPAST project, Grant Agreement No. 101079466). More: www.europast.vu.lt Music: Istok Zapad, Whiteheads. ℗ Croatia Records, 2021.

[English below]

Svečiuose: prof. Dovilė Budrytė, Džiugas Siaurusaitis

Epizodo vedėja: prof. Violeta Davoliūtė 

Pirmajame lietuviškame EUROPAST tinklalaidės epizode projekto vadovė prof. Violeta Davoliūtė kalbina du žinomus Lietuvos žmones – Džiugą Siaurusaitį, aktorių, laidų vedėją, filmų įgarsintoją, ir prof. Dovilę Budrytę, Džordžijos Gvineto koledžo politologę, EUROPAST komandos narę. Dovilę ir Džiugą sieja buvimas bendraklasiais Salomėjos Nėries vidurinėje mokykloje besibaigiant sovietmečiui, tačiau skiria pačios Salomėjos Nėries, garsios lietuvių poetės, kolaboravusios su sovietiniu režimu, asmenybės vertinimas, požiūris į jos atminimo įamžinimą. 

Ar Salomėja Nėris ir elitinė jos vardo mokykla sovietmečiu simbolizavo laisvę autoritariniame režime, ar atvirkščiai – patį sovietinį režimą, prisitaikymą, neteisingumą? Kiek galima suprasti ir tapatintis su asmeninius ir valstybės politinius lūžius išgyvenusia poete? Kaip vertinti Salomėjos Nėries gimnazijos pavadinimo pakeitimą? Ar šalia mokyklos tebesantis paminklas Salomėjai Nėriai turėtų likti ar būti nukeltas? O galbūt yra vidurio kelio sprendimas? 

Kviečiame klausytis šios gyvos ir aktualios diskusijos bei dalintis savo nuomone! 
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EUROPAST tinklalaidė nagrinėja karščiausias Europos visuomeninės istorijos problemas. Joje tyrinėjame kompleksiškas ir ginčytinas viešosios atminties erdves, atminties aktyvizmą ir gerąsias visuomenės įtraukimo į dialogą apie praeitį praktikas. 

Ši tinklalaidžių serija yra EUROPAST projekto, finansuojamo Europos Sąjungos lėšomis (sutartis Nr. 101079466), dalis. Daugiau: www.europast.vu.lt 

Muzika: Istok Zapad, Whiteheads. ℗ Croatia Records, 2021. 



Episode 11: Preserve or Destroy? The Dilemma of Commemorating Salomėja Nėris  
  
Guest: Prof. Dovilė Budrytė, Džiugas Siaurusaitis 
Host: Prof. Violeta Davoliūtė 
  
In the first Lithuanian episode of the EUROPAST podcast, project leader Prof. Violeta Davoliūtė interviews Džiugas Siaurusaitis, an actor, TV presenter, and voice actor, and Prof. Dovilė Budrytė, a political scientist at Georgia Gwinnett College and a member of the EUROPAST team. Dovilė and Džiugas were classmates at the prestigious Salomėja Nėris High School in Vilnius at the end of the Soviet era, but they differ in their assessment of Salomėja Nėris (1904-1945) herself, the famous Lithuanian poet who collaborated with the Soviet regime, and their views on whether and how she should be commemorated.  
  
Did Salomėja Nėris and the school named after her symbolise freedom under Soviet rule, or, on the contrary, did it symbolise accomodation to the Soviet regime itself? To what extent is it possible to understand and identify with the poet who experienced personal and political breaking points? How should we view the recent renaming of the Salomėja Nėris Gymnasium? Should the monument to Salomėja Nėris next to the school remain or be removed? Is there any middle ground on this issue? 
  
We invite you to listen to this lively and topical discussion and share your opinion! 
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In the EUROPAST Podcast, we explore Europe's most pressing challenges of public history. We investigate the complex and contested spaces of public memory, memory activism and best practices for engaging the public in a dialogue about the past. 

The podcast series is part of a project that has received funding from the European Union under the WIDERA programme (EUROPAST project, Grant Agreement No. 101079466). More: www.europast.vu.lt  

Music: Istok Zapad, Whiteheads. ℗ Croatia Records, 2021.

Guest: Prof. Thomas Cauvin
Hosts: Prof. Violeta Davoliūtė, Rūta Vyšniauskaitė, Giorgio Ruggeri

What happens when historians step outside the archive and into the world? In this EUROPAST episode, Professor Thomas Cauvin invites us into the evolving world of public history—a way of doing history that is participatory, collaborative, and rooted in the present. We talk about the challenges of teaching public history and the powerful potential of working beyond institutional walls. 

Thomas Cauvin is a Professor of Public History at the University of Luxembourg and Head of the Public History and Outreach Research Area at the Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History (C2DH), as well as one of the leading voices in public history.

In this episode we do not offer easy answers but tackle crucial questions: Can public history exist in non-democratic contexts? What are the limits of participation? And how can historians meaningfully respond to today’s crises without pretending to solve them? If you care about how history lives in public life, this is a conversation you do not want to miss!

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The podcast series is part of a project that has received funding from the European Union under the WIDERA programme (EUROPAST project, Grant Agreement No. 101079466).
More: www.europast.vu.lt  

Music: Istok Zapad, Whiteheads. ℗ Croatia Records, 2021.

Guest: Prof. Machteld Venken
Host: Rūta Vyšniauskaitė

In this episode, EUROPAST team member Rūta Vyšniauskaitė joins Prof. Machteld Venken to discuss participatory source creation amid Russia‘s war against Ukraine. Prof. Venken is a Professor of Contemporary Transnational History at the Centre for Contemporary and Digital History of the University of Luxembourg and one of the leaders of the project U-CORE, that documents the testimonies of displaced Ukrainians.

The podcast conversation delves into the importance and complexity of collecting and disclosing testimonies amid war, the ethical challenges that researchers and witnesses encounter in this process and the political meaning of this participatory practice in the context of Ukrainian efforts to reinvent the country's cultural and mnemonical identity.
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In the EUROPAST Podcast, we explore Europe's most pressing challenges of public history. We investigate the complex and contested spaces of public memory, memory activism and best practices for engaging the public in a dialogue about the past.

The podcast series is part of a project that has received funding from the European Union under the WIDERA programme (EUROPAST project, Grant Agreement No. 101079466).

More: www.europast.vu.lt

Music: Istok Zapad, Whiteheads. ℗ Croatia Records, 2021.

Guest: Dr. Corinna Kuhr-Korolev;
Host: Prof. Violeta Davoliūtė.

In this episode, Prof. Violeta Davoliūtė speaks with Dr. Corinna Kuhr-Korolev, historian and curator at the Leibniz Centre for Contemporary History Potsdam. Their conversation explores the role of cemeteries as sites of memory and education, focusing on the German War Cemetery in Kaunas.

They discuss the challenges and ethical dilemmas of curating exhibitions on such sensitive locations, given their complex and controversial legacies. The talk also delves into the difficulties of representing the socialist past in Germany and the Soviet era in Lithuania, questioning whether current exhibitions and other public history initiatives are able to get to the core of those historical experiences. The researchers also touch on contemporary German politics, including shifting perspectives on migration and right-wing populism, against the background of the elections coming up on February 23.

Learn more:

• German War Graves Commission project: https://www.volksbund.de
• Exhibition The Sweet Life (of the Nomenklatura) | House of Histories: https://lnm.lt/en/events/the-sweet-life-of-the-nomenklatura/ 

In the EUROPAST Podcast, we explore Europe's most pressing challenges of public history. We investigate the complex and contested spaces of public memory, memory activism and best practices for engaging the public in a dialogue about the past.

The podcast series is part of a project that has received funding from the European Union under the WIDERA programme (EUROPAST project, Grant Agreement No. 101079466).

More: www.europast.vu.lt

Music: Istok Zapad, Whiteheads. ℗ Croatia Records, 2021.

Guest: Prof. Saulius Sužiedelis
Host: Dr. Indra Ekmanis

EUROPAST podcast brings you a bonus episode from our colleagues at Baltic Ways, a podcast by the Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies, produced in collaboration with the Baltic Initiative at the Foreign Policy Research Institute.

Join Baltic Ways for a discussion with Dr. Saulius Sužiedelis, professor emeritus of history at Millersville University of Pennsylvania and a leading expert on the history of World War II and the Holocaust in Lithuania. Dr. Sužiedelis speaks about his work as a researcher, the complexities of historical narratives, and the future of Baltic studies. This discussion was recorded in February 2021.

Guest: Prof. Michael Bernhard
Host: Prof. Violeta Davoliūtė

Is the past alive in the present? How have different European countries dealt with their past, and what implications have these approaches had on the state of their societies in the present? How can the recent U.S. elections affect memory regimes and the state of democracy in Central and Eastern Europe? 

The EUROPAST project lead, Prof. Violeta Davoliūtė, discussed these questions with Michael Bernhard, a professor in democratisation and development at the University of Florida, for the EUROPAST podcast. He is the inaugural holder of the Raymond and Miriam Ehrlich Eminent Scholar Chair in Political Science at the University of Florida, and he has longtime experience teaching at Penn State University, University of Warsaw and Harvard University.

In the EUROPAST Podcast, we explore Europe's most pressing challenges of public history. We investigate the complex and contested spaces of public memory, memory activism and best practices for engaging the public in a dialogue about the past.

We invite you to listen to the most recent episode of the EUROPAST podcast. Enjoy!

Guest: Agnieška Avin;
Hosts: Rūta Vyšniauskaitė, Ignė Rasickaitė.

In the 6th episode of the EUROPAST Podcast, project researcher Rūta Vyšniauskaitė sat down with Agnieška Avin, a PhD candidate at the Institute Of Sociology At The Lithuanian Centre For Social Sciences. She is also an activist for Roma integration, working as an educator at the integrative children’s day-care centre “Padėk Pritapti”.

The episode focuses on Agnieška's engagement in social sciences and interest in the Roma community in Lithuania, their linguistic diversity and cultural history. It also touches upon the positive developments in the integration of the Roma community in Lithuania as well as the enduring challenges that this community faces, such as society's prejudice and distrust, lack of awareness about the Roma community and misinformation.
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In the EUROPAST Podcast, we explore Europe's most pressing challenges of public history. We investigate the complex and contested spaces of public memory, memory activism and best practices for engaging the public in a dialogue about the past.

The podcast series is part of a project that has received funding from the European Union under the WIDERA programme (EUROPAST project, Grant Agreement No. 101079466).

Learn more about the project: www.europast.vu.lt 

Music: Istok Zapad, Whiteheads. ℗ Croatia Records, 2021.

Guests: Dr. Rasa Antanavičiūtė, Živilė Miežytė.
Hosts: Rūta Vyšniauskaitė, Ignė Rasickaitė.

How does one curate an exhibition on the unspoken stories of marginalized people, and why is it important to highlight the beliefs that make life in the city inconvenient?

Hear a conversation about it in in the 5th Episode of the EUROPAST podcast in which project esearchers Rūta Vyšniauskaitė and Ignė Rasickaitė are joined by Rasa Antanavičiūtė and Živilė Miežytė from Vilnius Museum where an exhibition titled "Inconvenient Vilnius" takes place.

Learn more about the exhibition: https://vilniausmuziejus.lt/uncomfortable-vilnius/?lang=en
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In the EUROPAST Podcast, we explore Europe's most pressing challenges of public history. We investigate the complex and contested spaces of public memory, memory activism and best practices for engaging the public in a dialogue about the past. More: www.europast.vu.lt

Music: Istok Zapad, Whiteheads. ℗ Croatia Records, 2021.

Guest: Prof. Emilia Koustova.
Host: Prof. Violeta Davoliūtė.

In the fourth episode of the EUROPAST Podcast, Professor Violeta Davoliūtė talks with Emilia Koustova from the University of Strasbourg about the European Gulag Memories project and her experience learning about and researching Soviet repressions in Eastern Europe. What is the state of oral history research into Soviet repressions and the Gulag system? How can oral history help change our understanding about Central and Eastern Europe? What is the state of the relations between Russian scholars and scholars in the West?
 
In the EUROPAST Podcast, we explore Europe's most pressing challenges of public history. We investigate the complex and contested spaces of public memory, memory activism and best practices for engaging the public in a dialogue about the past.
 
Music: Istok Zapad, Whiteheads. ℗ Croatia Records, 2021.