OPEN ARCHIVES OF KAUNAS

*Judita: *"When I was young I used to live with my custodian in M. Valančiaus Street. There was a market in the old town that was always full of people. Rumours would spread very easily. Therefore, the women that worked in the market soon knew that I was Jewish. However, I was christened according to Christian traditions, so I became a Catholic. The women would warn me not to go back to my real family, because if I wanted to retract the christening and become Jewish again, then boiling milk would be poured down my throat because that is the only way to take the christening back."

*Liucija: *I remember, when my friend and I, we would go to the Picture Gallery to visit the exhibitions. Back in those days, we liked ceramic works very much. We used to buy large vases and bring tiny ones from other republics for ourselves or to give to our friends. Back in those times, food to nourish our souls on weekends were only exhibition halls or theatre. We would bring our children there as well. When the times changed and all sorts of events and travelling abroad became available, we visit picture gallery on a very rare basis. (2015)* *

*Asija:* “The most important place for me was the Sobor. Pretty much all of the most significant memories were associated with this building. I remember when a whole bunch of children ran to the Sobor, as a neighbour from a nearby house was getting married there. It was my first encounter with Lithuanian traditions and with the God in the church. I remember when we ran up the stairs and saw the bride with a veil, long white bridal gown and a church decorated with flowers.

*Jolita*: My grandparents lived "on the hill", in Vilijampolė. I used to visit them with my parents at first and later I went there alone. I used to take a trolleybus from the 6th Fort to get to Kaunas Castle, and then waited for bus No 4 to get to Kaunas Clinical Hospital; buses on this route drove more often too. If I'm not mistaken, it was also possible to get to my grandmother‘s Josvainių bus stop by taking bus No. 33 or No. 24. I do not remember the final destination of those routes, but it was somewhere "in the middle of nowhere"; the buses on these routes rode very rarely too. Once we rode bus No. 33 and got off at the Milikoniai store. For me it was like the end of the world - the last place for people to be found. There used to be an ice cream kiosk at the bus station of Kaunas Castle and I would often not buy a ticket for 4 kopecks so I could save some money for an ice cream. A cup of dairy ice cream cost 11 kopecks, sour cream ice cream cost 15 and fatty ice cream cost 19 kopecks. I never bought the latter though, since it had too much fat and it was too expensive. For some reason, the Castle ice cream kiosk often sold sorbets, which cost 6 kopeck. This kind of ice cream was the most desirable for us, since it was delicious and hard to find. After some time, I started to get off the bus more and more ahead of my stop and I would walk by foot through Vilijampolė and then up the hill. It is hard to believe it, but my entire childhood I spent with my relatives in Vilijampolė; I never heard the word "Jew" from them (or at least I do not recall), and most certainly no one ever mentioned the word "ghetto". I was stunned, when after a long time I saw the name "Slabotkė" on an American website and realized that all those years I had been riding the bus through the little streets of the ghetto. However, there was something in that district that fascinated me and it still does. My grandmother died in 1983. The family drifted apart. Šilainiai district started to rise. My childhood ended and so did my time in Vilijampolė. For thirty years, the orange bridge over the river Neris was the border of Kaunas for me. I realized that it might be time for me to cross it, especially when I started to get dreams about all those places I walked through as a child. I took a walk in the down side of Vilijampolė, and then I got to the Child Care service at the hillside. That building, with its massive gray walls, used to be both fascinating and intimidating for me as a child. I walked up the hill. Many places have changed, except for the territory of the fort on Pylimo Street in front of my grandmother's house; which was untouched and belonged to no one. Just like my grandma’s house did not belong to me anymore. Just like the pictures that I did not care for as a child and did not bother taking them as I left. (2017)

*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)

*Liucija and Daiva*: "Sonata" was an integral part of our youthful life, just like lessons, it was the same with dancing. I remember, during Čiurlionis' 100th commemoration, we have been traveling Lithuania with a performance. We were fifteen. We would get back late at night, and ran home from Panemunė bridge, while our frightened mothers waited at the stairwells with their nightgowns on. Next day – back to school, we go there - and get in trouble, because we are wearing makeup. No matter if we‘ve tried to clean that terrible smelly makeup, it would remain...

*Elena:* "While drinking my morning tea, I read an article[https://www.lrytas.lt/kultura/istorija/2017/07/29/news/i-kino-teatra-ne-filmu-o-mesos-ar-teisingumo-paiesku-2075561/] about the old Kaunas movie theatres:" It's incredible, but today in Kaunas, out of almost 40 old movie theatres, only one had survived and is still operating. The rest became ghosts or a place where other activities are being developed. " As I‘ve read those words, an old story came to my mind. I couldn't wait to finish reading and find out what was that small and cozy movie theatre; I was lucky enough to go there once (when I came back, after a while, I didn't find the movie theatre there - there was a court instead). Apparently, the theatre was demolished in 2006, and the court got established here due to its strategically convenient location. Definitely, A. Mickevičiaus Street is in the very heart of the city, and all the important institutions are easily accessible: on the other side of the road - Kaunas interrogation isolator, next to it: Kaunas University of Medicine, where I have studied as well. I remember while looking through a window in a pharmacology laboratory, you could observe isolator‘s post office operations: through a slatted window of the third floor, a rolled paper note tied to a string – slowly moving down, until it finally reaches the window of the second floor. Someone’s hand grabs the note and a few minutes later - ties the answer, pulls the string for a few times, and the message starts traveling up. All-day long: up and down, up and down... And that story about the movie theatre goes like this. Back in 2006, “Vilnius Ghetto“ was released. Since the movie was created by a Lithuanian film studio, and I am really interested in this historical topic, I‘ve decided to go. As I‘ve read in a poster - the film had to be screened in a movie theatre near the university - it so convenient going there after the lecture. I remember it was warm and green. An evening. I took a bus going down the Parodos hill road, got off on Kęstučio Street, turned to Mickevičiaus Street, as I‘ve passed the interrogation isolator - went inside the university. So silent in there. The lecture was canceled. I‘ve crossed the road, bought a ticket, and entered a small, cozy auditorium. It was empty - I could sit wherever I wanted. I chose to sit in the middle of the sixth row. I remember thinking, that I’d never watched a movie being the only visitor in an empty movie theatre. I was ready to enjoy the moment, while a guy came in unexpectedly, a moment later - a girl. That ‘s OK, I thought, they should sit in the last row. They stood next to the entrance. The guy viewed over the auditorium, a moment after – he did hurry to take a seat ... next to me ... in an empty auditorium. I was so surprised, I didn’t say anything, I just smiled with my eyes, while looking at the screen. The girl approached and quietly sat next to him.

*Indrė Žakevičienė: *The most memorable event for me was the commemoration of February 16 in 1989 in Santaka Stadium and the “analogue” of the Baltic Way 25 years ago in the Museum of War. The vehicle that was bringing us to the Baltic Way got stuck somewhere halfway. The driver got nervous, turned around, brought us back to Kaunas and let us go; there was no chance to reach our destination in time on foot. Out of desperation, we went to the War Museum and found a group of like-minded people; we held hands in front of the Eternal Fire, people had a radio, we listened to the translation from the Baltic Way at full volume. (2014)

The first building of Garrison Officers' club during the Interwar period was in a two-storey building designed by an unknown architect at the corner of Laisvės Alėja and A. Mickevičiaus Street (currently the premises of the Union of Political Prisoners and Deportees). When Kaunas became the temporary capital, it required new representative spaces that would allow the development of cultural conversations, so at the officer's initiative, the decision was made to build a new building for the Garrison Officers' Club. Exclusive people participated in the events that took place in the Building of Kaunas Garrison Officers' Club, and it reminded gatherings of bohemians, as they communicated as a separate community with its unique ideology and habits.

*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)* *

*Jonas*: “At the beginning of July 1962 and after graduating the 1st High School of Ukmergė (now the High School of Jonas Basanavičius), My classmate Vytautas Juknys and I, Jonas Navikas, arrived at Kaunas for the first time (!). After submitting our documents to the graduate admissions committee at the Central Office of Kaunas Polytechnic Institute (KPI) to enroll in the programme of radio engineering at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, we reached a beautifully-shaped building on the other side of K. Donelaičio Street, which was then the History Museum. After looking around for some time, we noticed that individuals or groups usually take photos next to the lions. Having a photo camera at our disposal, we took photos of one another unaware of the fact that this place symbolizes the city of Kaunas. After coming back from Kaunas, you could show it with pride as a proof that you have visited Kaunas... These were the hot topics back then, when television was only making its first steps in Lithuania, and sightseeing tours were popular among both adults and school students. It is difficult to compare with contemporary technologies that have entered our daily lives...

*K. Laurinaitytė: *I remember Dainų Slėnis since I was six, because this was when I started singing in the choir and participating in the Song Festivals. I have been spending time here since childhood, so this place seems so natural and maybe even commonplace, yet pleasant.