OPEN ARCHIVES OF KAUNAS

*Gintaras: *Posters started to appear in Kaunas, just like in Vilnius, after the bloody events of January 13. They condemned the unjustifiable behaviour of the occupant army towards the residents of Lithuania. Since during these events I was in Vilnius, I could only capture these posters in Kaunas a week later, after I came back home from Vilnius. (2014)

*Alma: *Some time ago, this university was called Kaunas Polytechnic Institute and the campus was built only around 1975.  Specific dorms were designated for students from specific faculties and they would not be mixed. Different floors were divided for ladies and gentlemen. The discipline was strict. There was a lot of stress for students, when at 8 in the morning, someone would come to see if they have left for the lectures, and whether some rascals stayed in and slept. A few of us would go: laboratory assistants, rector or superintendent and, of course, the correspondent. Back then, we did not know the word 'journalist'.  The journalist was from the paper 'Tarybinis mokslas' (The Soviet Science).  He would travel with some old camera, thrown over his shoulder.  If he found someone sleeping, he would publish it in the paper immediately and the paper would travel around and be pinned on all notice boards in dorms and faculties. It is nice to remember what discipline it has been, when students would go to study wearing jackets, skirts, costumes and hats. Also, a lot of students would come from Latvia and Estonia. It is nice to notice the former students from Latvia still coming to see the dorm where they lived 20 or even 30 years ago. (2014)

*Alvydas Vaitkevičius: *I cannot stop myself from sharing certain interesting pages with the memories about our old War Museum. I found this with my family in a wonderful book by Jonas Dovydaitis “Žmogaus sparnai” (1971) dedicated to the birth and development of Lithuanian aviation and to the famous aviation designer Bronius Oškinis. These are his first impressions about visiting the War Museum provided in these pages.

Stasys: "Since I lived up the hill in the city, in Vaižgantas street, I used to go past the cemetery to work. This one time, one red-cheeked guy said you can’t walk through here – go around. I say: “Why? How come?” He yelled back to me: “I’m telling you you can’t. Get out of here, it’s forbidden, there’s no path here!” I look past him and I see a crane, some construction workers – they were demolishing the monument "We Died for the Motherland". I felt really bad, I wanted to do something mischievous to them, but I couldn‘t... When I came to take a look at it in the evening, everything was wiped out, there were barely any footprints left of the monument." (2019)

1 photograph Povilas and Vanda Tarnauskai, shareholders of the restaurant Versalis, with their daughter at the War Museum . 4th decade. From the family archive of Ludza Riaukienė.

(Saulius Eduardas Pauliukonis, actor of Šiauliai Drama Theatre, former actor of Kaunas Pantomime troupe, who worked in Kaunas Drama Theatre with director J. Jurašas and in Kaunas Musical Theatre).

*Asija*: “In the evenings, Laisvės Avenue was full of people. Families would go for a walk. It was a magnificent tradition. Lithuanian, Jewish and Russian families were walking in the avenue. The oldest members of the family would be walking in front of everyone else; parents following them and lastly a bunch of children were running after them. Slowly, constantly greeting each other, people passed through Laisvės Avenue and returned home. Women had to have a small handbag and a hat.” (2017).

*K. Laurinaitytė: *I had been visiting Merkurijus since very young days. It was like one of the monuments of Kaunas. That building had something to it.  It was more beautiful on the exterior than the interior. It was the first place, where my mother allowed me to walk with friends without supervision. (2014)

*Gintaras: *In Vilniaus Street, next to the underground passage, there is a building with niches, in which three little sculptures were placed. Unfortunately, they did not stand and entertain the passers-by for a long time. They were vandalized one night. It was around 1988, I don't remember for sure. But a place is never empty, and these three beauties occupy this place right now :) (2014)

Laumė café that was working during the Soviet times was famous for its good coffee and sweets but the most important thing there was the sense of community. Youngsters who lived in the spirit of Laumė became a subculture of sorts, a group that called themselves lauminiai.

*Gabrielė: *Early morning. Two-storey building. Unlocked door. So many lights. Corridors decorated with unclear pictures and all sorts of crafts on the windowsills. Little doors of lockers. Lessons, tasks, questions. The most delicious food, or maybe the most disgusting one. Women substituting for mothers. A hall with music, dances, concerts, plays and sometimes even exercises. The most interesting and unheard fairy-tales and stories. Two hours of numbing silence, while the rest is a spree. War of pillows and toys instead of silence. Discipline. Lessons, tasks, questions. A bunch of new friends. Boys and girls. Little beds and lockers with their names. Laughter, tears and anger. Pencils, crayons and toys. Lessons, tasks, questions. Little doors of lockers. Cold, sometimes just refreshing coolness. Sled, sometimes even the heat. Snow fights and angels. Sand castles and princesses. Post-nap dinner. Milk soup with noodles and a sweet slice of white bread. Doll house and police car. Knocking on the door. So many lights. Evening. (2017)* *

*Gintaras Vitulskis: *These pictures are from the 1930s: in one of them, there is a festive formation of yachtsmen (or maybe sea scouts) captured as seen from Aleksotas, and the other one with Aleksotas in the background. In 1932, the yacht club was established next to Aleksotas bridge in a building floating on a pontoon platform, the so called brandwacht. There were premises with administration, a restaurant and dressing room for sportsmen. Later this building was renamed and became Perkūnas Yacht Club. (2014)