1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910822561503321

Autore

Švedas Aurimas

Titolo

Life should be Transparent : Conversations about Lithuania and Europe in the Twentieth Century and Today / / Aurima Švedas, Irena Veisaitė ; translated from the Lithuanian by Karla Gruodis

Pubbl/distr/stampa

New York : , : Central European University Press, , 2020

Baltimore, Md. : , : Project MUSE, , 2020

©2020

ISBN

963-386-359-7

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource

Disciplina

891/.928303

Soggetti

Holocaust survivors - Lithuania

Jews - Lithuania

College teachers - Lithuania

Theater critics - Lithuania

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Includes index.

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- CONTENTS -- Introduction. Engaging Memory and History -- Acknowledgements -- Conversation I. Life Should Be Transparent -- Conversation II. We Could All See That Lithuania Was Trapped -- Conversation III. What Had Happened to the World? -- Conversation IV. To Forgive and Build the Future—These Are the Duties of the Living -- Conversation V. I Was Surrounded by Very Good People -- Conversation VI. I Needed a Change -- Conversation VII. I Saw My Work as a Kind of Mission -- Conversation VIII. The Theatre Suits My Interests and Temperament Perfectly -- Conversation IX. People Developed Close Relationships within “Islands” -- Conversation X. Why Was Faust Redeemed, Even After Making a Pact with the Devil? -- Conversation XI. I Felt a Powerful Connection with My Spiritual Brothers -- Conversation XII. I Regret Nothing, But I Continue to Pay Dearly for My Decisions -- Conversation XIII. It Is Probably Only Possible to Feel a Part of History Once in One’s Lifetime -- In Lieu of an Epilogue. More and More Questions, But Fewer and Fewer Answers -- Appendices. Voices from the Past -- Appendix I. What Questions Matter the Most to



Me Now? -- Appendix II. Texts and Statements -- Appendix III. Letters -- Appendix IV. Post Scriptum -- Key Biographical Events -- Photos -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

"This book of thirteen conversations introduces us to the life of an exceptional person-theatre critic, Germanist, and long-time chair of the Open Lithuania Fund board Irena Veisaitė. The dialogue between Lithuanian historian Aurimas Švedas and a woman who reflects deeply on her experiences reveals both one individual's historically dramatic life and the fate of Europe and Lithuania in the twentieth century. Through the complementary lenses of history and memory, we confront with Veisaitė the horrific events of the Holocaust, which brought about the end of the Lithuanian Jewish world. We also meet an array of world-class cultural figures, see fragments of legendary theatre performances, and hear meaningful words that were spoken or heard decades ago. This book's interlocutors do not so much seek to answer the question "What was it like?" but instead repeatedly ask each other: "What, how, and why do we remember? What is the meaning of our experiences? How can history help us to live in the present and create the future? How do we learn to understand and forgive?" A series of Veisaitė's texts, statements, and letters, presented at the end of the book suggest further ways of answering these questions"--