American Jets Begin Baltic Air Policing

On Friday, January 3rd, the U.S. Air Force took over the +NATO Baltic Air Policing mission from the Belgian Air Force at Zokniai Air Base. The Belgian air commander handed over a symbolic key to the Baltic airspace to the Americans. A detachment of more than 150 troops will police Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian skies for the next four months. Lithuanian Air Force air base commander Major Gintautas Slovikas welcomed his American colleagues in Zokniai and presented them with a loaf of bread as a sign of hospitality. Read more here.

Air Policing is a purely defensive mission. Since the 1970s, NATO has established a comprehensive system of air surveillance and airspace management means, provided by its member nations. The Alliance ensures constant surveillance and control of its assigned airspace 24 hours a day and 365 days a year.
NATO members without their own Air Policing assets are assisted by other NATO members. Luxembourg is covered by interceptors from Belgium, while Slovenia and Albania by Italian aircraft.
Since March 2004, when the Baltic States joined NATO, the 24/7 task to police the airspace of the Baltic States was conducted on three-month rotation from Lithuania's First Air Base in Zokniai/Šiauliai International Airport, near the northern city of Šiauliai. Starting with the Turkish deployment, rotations changed to a four-month basis. Usual deployments consist of four fighter aircraft with between 50 and 100 support personnel. 

The Hill of Crosses: Commemorating Suffering, Survival, and the Human Spirit in Siauliai

 Another installment from Dr. Windy Petrie, Associate Professor and English Department Chair at Colorado Christian University, who was a Fulbright grantee to Lithuania in 2006.

During my time in Lithuania, I had the opportunity to visit the northern city of Siauliai to speak about American Woman Writers for the 50^th anniversary celebration of the Humanities at the university there.  After my speech, one of the professors who teaches there took us to the Hill of the Crosses.  I had no idea what to expect from the name, and, frankly, even if I had, the site, and the sight, would still have completely blown my mind. You drive a ways out of town, then down a little side road, and a spreading clump of hills come into sight. When you get out of the car and walk up to them you see that these hills, these mounds, are entirely composed of crucifixes, one piled atop another, and you try to imagine just how many must be there to create such height, such breadth, and you can’t conceive what the total number must be. Or at least I couldn’t. And then you start imagining how each cross placed there was placed by an individual, who made the trip from near or from far, each for a personal, individual, reason.  And you really, really, can’t conceive of that.

This place is truly amazing. It is thought that the tradition might have begun when the town was founded in 1250 AD, although existing records mention them in the early 1800s, possibly due to a local rebellion against the presumption of the czar in the 1830s. People brought crosses in honor of those who had been lost in the fighting at that time, and have continued to bring them during all local and national struggles for liberty since then. It has also served as a site for Christian pilgrims for many years now. It's no wonder that these hills, representing to an extent the collective protest, faith, and hope of the people, grew so large during the Soviet occupation (and grew larger after each Soviet dismantling via bulldozing, blockades, and intentional flooding) and continues to grow today.

Lithuania has had a very complex National history, having been claimed by nearly all of the regional powers at one time, or another, in its long history. Russia, Germany, Poland, and I believe even Sweden, have all staked a claim to Lithuania and its people in the last 500 years. Even Napoleon occupied Vilnius during his losing bid to invade Russia. Lithuania has remained, through it all, a very independent people. Think of it: they were the last people to accept Christianity in the whole of Europe. They fought off the German Teutonic Knights for what I believe ended up being more than a century. More recently, Lithuanians engaged in clandestine, guerrilla warfare with the Soviets for decades after WWII. And they were the first Baltic nation to claim and secure independence in the early 1990's.

As a non-violent means to defy the Soviets during their occupation of Lithuania, the Hill of Crosses became a historical monument to the human spirit. For hundreds of years, individuals have been bringing crosses of all sizes, some taller than a man and others smaller than a key, made of every imaginable material from precious metals to scraps and rags, to express faith and loss in times when such expression was forbidden. 

After the breakup of the USSR, the Hill of Crosses gained worldwide fame. Pope John Paul II visited the sacred site in 1997, and declared the Hill an international site of devotion. At that time, it became known not only a spiritual symbol of Lithuanian tenacity, but a contemporary shrine. When I visited, I saw many new additions to the Hills, bearing labels from all over the world.

On the Road with Ellen Cassedy!

From February 20 – March 6, PAS welcomed author and journalist Ellen Cassedy. Cassedy came to Lithuania to talk about her book “We are Here: Memories of the Lithuanian Holocaust”, which was originally published in English and has recently been published in Lithuanian. She presented her book all across Lithuania at schools, libraries, and cultural centers. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to accompany her as she spoke across the country!

In her presentations, Ellen spoke not only about her book, but brought information about the Jewish history of Lithuania and explained her story of coming to Lithuania to explore her family history and the initiatives taking place here in civil society. The rich Jewish history of Lithuania was not something that I was very familiar with before having the opportunity to hear about it from Ellen and the many historians, leaders, students, and professionals that she met with. Ellen Cassedy is Jewish and Lithuanian on her mother’s side of the family. Her relatives were in Siauliai ghetto during World War II, eventually moving to the United States when the war concluded. “We are Here: Memories of the Lithuanian Holocaust” looks at many components of Lithuanian society and history. It is a personal narrative, beginning with Cassedy’s journey to Lithuania to learn Yiddish at Vilnius University. During this exploration she discovered many things about her family history and the history of the Nazi and Soviet past in Lithuania. During the search for this information, Cassedy came across the leaders who work to explore the history, as well as work to create tolerance and understanding for the future of Lithuania. Her book describes not only her experience in Lithuania, but also these individual examples of action. In her book she writes about all of these experiences and people, looking to Lithuania’s past, present, and future.

During her presentations to students, Cassedy challenged them to think about the history of Lithuania and to consider how it can be used to create a more tolerant future; the same way that the leaders who inspired her on her first journey to Lithuania work to do. As a student myself, I was inspired by her presentations and by the work of the people who are really trying to make a difference and shape a positive future. Ellen presented information about the Lithuanian involvement in the Holocaust, as well as the action and inaction of many knowing bystanders. Cassedy challenged students not to be bystanders and to form a society where speaking up and standing up is expected. Cassedy also had several meetings with individuals and leaders across Lithuania, learning about the different initiatives taking place. These leaders work in various areas, including tolerance, education, and the preservation of history and Jewish culture. Upon returning to the United States to continue her book tour, Cassedy will have new information and examples of people who are working in Lithuania to continue moving the country forward towards tolerance, rather than backwards to times like the genocide of the twentieth century. With these examples and experiences, Cassedy will return to the United States to speak about her book, as well as the future of Lithuania, with additional insight, understanding, and hope. It was an amazing experience to be able to see Ellen Cassedy in action. Accompanying her helped me learn a lot about Lithuania, Jewish culture, and Jewish history. I’ve just started to read her book myself and so far it is very good!