Lithuania

Lithuanian students retrace Holocaust history on memorial day, confront country's role in massacres

Around 600 non-Jewish Lithuanian students participated in the March of the Living commemorations held in Vilnius and Ponary, Lithuania, where 70,000 people were killed during the Holocaust.

|ByMILLA WOLMAN
Lithuanian teenagers marched to sites where Jews from their towns were murdered during the Holocaust.
French and Lithuanian soldiers fire French self-propelled Caesar Mk-I howitzer in Pabrade training area, Lithuania September 16, 2026.

Lithuania prepares evacuation plans as PM warns of growing Russian threats

"We're thinking about a variety of scenarios; not all of them are being discussed very much publicly," Lithuanian Prime Minister Sinkevicius told the BBC.

|ByREUTERS
Police officers of the "Military Gendarmerie" stand guard in an area near the village of Tarnawa-Kolonia, eastern Poland, 30 July 2026, where a flying object hit the ground and exploded in the early hours of the day, the fire service reported.

Russia hits truck near Polish border in latest strike near NATO

Russia has begun targeting Ukraine's border crossings with its Western allies in recent weeks, part of a growing campaign by both sides to erode the other's economic infrastructure.

|ByREUTERS
The Malisoff family sits for a photo in 1907. Pavel Malisoff and his wife Michla sit in the center.

How a new tool in Lithuania helps people read letters from their Jewish ancestors

The tool also has the potential to support the descendants of Jews who were persecuted during the Holocaust as they prepare materials to confirm their eligibility for repatriation or citizenship.

|BySHIRA LI BARTOV/JTA

Vilnius marks 700 years, but Lithuanian Jews reflect on darker era

Vilnius 700 events are scheduled through the end of the year, ensuring that the tensions over history and memory in the city continue to simmer.

SEPTEMBER 24, 2023ByEMILY TAMKIN/JTA
LITHUANIA’S PRESIDENTIAL palace in the foreground, as seen from the tower of Vilnius University.

Lithuania must acknowledge its role in the Holocaust - opinion

The annihilation of an entire Jewish civilization in Lithuania is an indelible stain on that nation’s history. However, I firmly believe that memories of Jewish Lita must endure.

SEPTEMBER 23, 2023ByDANI DAYAN
JEWS DIG a trench at the Ponary Forest killing site outside of Vilnius.

Yad Vashem chairman 'encouraged' by Holocaust remembrance in Lithuania

Dayan was invited as the keynote speaker for a special meeting of the Lithuanian Parliament and to participate in commemorative activities honoring the Holocaust victims in Lithuania.

SEPTEMBER 21, 2023ByZVIKA KLEIN
Yad Vashem Chairman Dani Dayan speaking at the Lithuanian parliament, September 21, 2023.

Traveling abroad to visit graves of Jews who died overseas

What makes a trip even more exhilarating is the opportunity not only to see a new part of the world but also to perform a mitzvah (commandment or good deed) at the same time.

AUGUST 26, 2023ByHESHIE , ROOKIE BILLET
THE GROUP after a Jewish Star replaced a cross at the grave.

What can the Middle East expect from the NATO summit? - analysis

The NATO summit in Vilnius this week will address Russia's invasion of Ukraine as well as Sweden's bid to join NATO.

JULY 10, 2023BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Lithuanian Army soldiers hold Lithuanian and NATO flags during the celebration of the 15th anniversary of Lithuania's membership in NATO in Vilnius, Lithuania March 30, 2019.

NATO flexes muscle to protect Vilnius summit near Russia, Belarus

"You know where you are situated geographically, and you know pretty well where the threat is coming from", said Lt Col Steffen Lieb, commander of the Patriot deployment.

JULY 8, 2023ByREUTERS
A member of Lithuanian Riflemen's Union and a Border Guard officer patrol along Belarus border in Kaniukai, Lithuania July 7, 2023.

Give Ukraine quick path to NATO after war, Lithuania leader tells allies

Ukraine has been pressing NATO to declare at the July 11 and 12 summit that Kyiv would join the alliance soon after the end of the war and to set out a roadmap.

JULY 4, 2023ByREUTERS
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda attend a joint press conference with Polish President Andrzej Duda, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine June 28, 2023.

Lithuanian president to meet Zelensky to discuss NATO summit

Ukraine's staunch European ally, Lithuania, will be purchasing air defense systems for Ukraine and meeting with the Ukrainian head of state to discuss NATO.

JUNE 28, 2023ByREUTERS
Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda speaks as he attends the European Union leaders' summit in Brussels, Belgium, October 20, 2022.

'Lithuanian Slaughter of Its Jews': Testimonies from Holocaust survivors - review

The Lithuanian Slaughter of Its Jews is an invaluable addition to the historical record of the annihilation of Lithuanian Jewry, and it makes available vital information for English speakers.

JUNE 17, 2023ByEFRAIM ZUROFF
The main entrance to the Vilnius Ghetto in Lithuania during World War II.

Grapevine June 16, 2023: Not really another snub

Movers and shakers in Israeli society.

JUNE 16, 2023ByGREER FAY CASHMAN
LITHUANIAN PRIME MINISTER Ingrida Simonyte and Chemi Peres, chairman of the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation, chat as they overlook the sea directly below the Peres Center in Jaffa.