The Art of Identity and Memory

"The Art of Identity and Memory provides rich and rare material on how Europe’s twentieth century was shaped by war. If the political and military history of Europe’s eastern frontiers have been extensively chronicled and analyzed, it is only in recent years that local scholars with access to archives and equipped with the requisite linguistic and critical skills have begun to unlock the cultural history of those regions that witnessed the most intense devastation. The publication of this book testifies to the emergence of a new generation of world-class scholars from the region, who are busily filling in the blank spaces of national historiographies with genuinely transnational approaches to the past." ~Violeta Davoliute, Joseph P. Kazickas Associate Research Scholar, Yale University, Senior Researcher, Faculty of History, Vilnius University

"After the devastations of World War II, the multicultural past of Vilnius and of Lithuania as a whole seemed to disappear behind the Iron Curtain. But this past is not dead; it is rediscovered and remembered, as the contributions to The Art of Identity and Memory impressively show. Through the prism of the visual arts and music, they unpack a tension between fascination with the region’s cultural history and grief for the losses incurred during the decades of extremes. With its focus on everyday life during wartime, Jewish culture and the Shoah, and Soviet war narratives, the book connects Lithuania to larger debates about the world wars and provides new insights into transnational entanglements." ~Joerg Hackmann, Alfred Döblin Professor of East European History. University of Szczecin

"This collection of articles is an impressive contribution to the field and a first step toward a Lithuanian cultural history during the two world wars. A wide range of topics is covered: German soldiers strolling through Vilnius in 1916, documentary films of the occupation in WWII, arts and music during war and after, and Jewish remembrance. Even the cultural activities of the Baltic exile community are included. A variety of images help the reader understand the paintings, photographs, book covers, and maps discussed in the articles. These studies represent the first in-depth research into a much-neglected theme and add an illuminating Lithuanian perspective to other national experiences." ~Joachim Tauber, Professor of European History, University of Hamburg

"The Art of Identity and Memory is an impressive collection. Set in the cross-disciplinary context of artistic analysis, history, and memory and regional studies, the nine contributors succeed in presenting a highly informative, rich, and reliable study. By examining major topics in the cultural histories of various facets of Lithuanian life during and between the two world wars, new and interesting questions have been asked and addressed. As a result, this pioneering richly documented volume successfully and respectfully refines and challenges previous scholarship. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to all those interested in Lithuanian history, cultural studies, and East European Jewish history." ~Mordechai Zalkin, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

"​We are glad that Lithuanian scholars, who have been reproached for lacking international reach time and again, have gained yet another solid platform for sharing their research with the world. We can only hope that the promising beginning to this series will turn it into a successful long-term project, which not only opens the door to the poorly known world of Lithuanian studies but also encourages researchers in Lithuania to advance their work. It seems that advancement will certainly be necessary for further publications, as the bar has been set quite high with this book." ~Arūnas Streikus (Vilnius University) in Knygų aidai, 2016 no. 4

"As the art historians Giedrė Jankevičiūtė and Rasutė Žukienė note in their foreword to this volume, Lithuania in the two world wars has been studied extensively by military, political, and social historians but has been given little attention by researchers of culture and art. With this selection of modern Lithuanian scholarship from an impressive array of disciplines, Jankevičiūtė and Žukienė have taken a welcome step toward correcting that omission. They have composed a collection of interest to a readership beyond that of students of modern Baltic history; the articles engage equally with film and music theory, memory studies, and narrative theory." —Michelle R. Viise, Slavic Review Vol. 77, No. 3 ~Michelle R. Viise