Memory Politics in Lithuania: 'Double Genocide' Perspective in Memory Sites and Narratives

• In Event: Contested Legacies of the Past and Politics of Memory in the Baltic Region

Abstract

This paper aims to discuss the complexity of Lithuania’s national memory narratives and the international Holocaust remembrance efforts in understanding the complex collective memory in a post-Soviet space. The concept of “Double Genocide” has shaped Lithuania’s memory politics, reflecting contested narratives of historical trauma from the Holocaust and Soviet occupation. This perspective, which compares Soviet and Nazi crimes, has influenced official and public representations of the past, particularly in memory sites and narratives. This narrative has been prominent in Lithuania since the fall of the Soviet Union. The paper examines how the Double Genocide discourse is embedded in Lithuania’s commemorative landscape, focusing on key memory sites such as the Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights and the Ninth Fort Memorial. It explores how these sites frame historical events and how memory sites have limited acknowledgement of the holocaust that took place in Lithuania. It discusses the political and academic narratives that support or challenge this memory framework, analysing speeches, textbooks, and public debates. It considers how state policies, EU memory norms, and local historical experiences shape Lithuania’s memory politics.

Author

• Gifty Ann Babu, Jawaharlal Nehru U (India)