Review 241.indd - Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture

DP EXPERIENCES
The Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture together with
representatives of Chicago’s Latvian and Estonian communities are planning a series of exhibits and programs dedicated to
Baltic “Displaced Persons” who immigrated to the United States.
Sharing the memoires of displaced persons will be a part of the
Exhibit. We are very grateful for everyone who is submitting the
answers to our questionnaire. Here we would like to share the
memoires of Nijole Semenaite Etzwiler.
As I was only a child at the
time of our journey, my mother Stase
Semeniene has given me most of the information below.
Names and occupations/professions and ages of you and/or your
family members who fled from Lithuania.
Father Alfonsas Semenas,
electronics engineer and professor of engineering, then 38, now dead, mother Stase Lapaite Semeniene, English
teacher, then 28, now 96, and myself
Nijole Semenaite Etzwiler, then 5 now
73. My Lapas grandparents, as well as
both Lapas uncles Edvardas and Zdislovas, my mother’s younger brothers, all
escaped at the same time. As did my father’s mother, Prane Semenaviciene, his
sister Emilija and her husband Povilas
Gaucys and their little son Algis, only 2
at the time.
Only a few of my family did
not escape: my father’s sister, Valerija,
who with her husband Damasius was
sent to Siberia. My father’s father refused to leave and was left behind. My
mother’s brother Viktoras Lapas was
killed at Aleksoto Tiltas.
Where in Lithuania did you
and/or your family live before leaving
the country?
Kaunas.
When and under what circumstance did you and/or your family members leave Lithuania?
In 1944, as the Russians approached, mother, Stase Semeniene,
grandmother Elena Lapiene, and I escaped by train. My father Alfonsas Semenas, grandfather Zdislovas Lapas
and uncle Edvardas Lapas escaped on
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bicycles.
List the towns on your route
from your home to the DP camp(s).
We went through Gruenberg,
Bamberg, Poeneck, and Langendiebach,
where we lived in the burgomeister’s
house, on a farm. My father was able to
get a job at Telefunken.
Could you describe what the
escape was like? How did you travel (on
foot, by boat, train, other?).
The train we were on was the
last one out of Lietuva, a cattle train. We
took that to Koenigsberg, where we got
on a passenger train to Gruenberg. My
mother says the Germans called us “verfluchte auslander”, “damned foreigners.”
Name of the DP camp(s) in
which you lived and approximately how
much time you spent in each one.
We were in Hanau, near Frankfurt, a camp for Lithuanians, Polish and
Ukrainians. There were 6000 refugees,
3600 of them Lithuanians. We were
The Lithuanian Museum Review Jan - Mar 2013 Issue 241
there for a year. My father Alfonsas Semenas was the Stovyklos Vadovas, Director of the Camp. His brother-in-law,
my uncle Povilas Gaucys was chairman
of the Lithuanian Community.
Please describe the living
conditions. Did you live in a barrack,
a building, an apartment? Were there
other occupants in your living quarters?
How did you eat, prepare food?
It was a brick building and we
had a room to ourselves because my father was the Vadovas. We had a window
and flowers. I remember that we only
had one bed, and all I dreamed of was
to have not my own house or my own
room but my own bed. There was a soup
kitchen, giving out split pea soup. Mr.
Zukauskas was in charge of that. My
mother says we had powdered eggs daily. I was sent to bring back the soup in a
bucket and was distracted playing with
some friends. When I got to the kitchen, it had closed. I sat down and cried.
Someone opened up a window and
asked why I was crying. I said I was late
for the soup and they’d beat me when
I got home, and this kind person went
back into the kitchen and found enough
soup for me to take back.
Most memorable events from
life in the DP camp(s).
The British and US military
officers were very kind to the refugee
children. They held parties for us. For
one US Thanksgiving they asked my
mother to invite 10 kids to a dinner. I
also remember parties where they gave
each child a present.
Stase Semeniene and Nijole Semenaite at a “party” in the Hanau DP camp.
parents sponsored them.
My mother’s youngest
brother Zdislovas Lapas
emmigrated to Canada instead, on a work program,
was very successful as an
electrical engineer and
eventually became Honorary Consul in Toronto,
Haris Lapas.
How did you travel to
the United States? What
was the ship name? What
was your port of entry
into the US?
We
sailed
from
Southhampton to NYC on
the USS Marine Jumper,
a converted troop ship. I
remember it as being fun,
with lots of Canadians on
the ship. I don’t remember any entertainment except for Bingo. Because
we were “British”, we did
not have to go through ElAlfonsas Semenas (sitting between two men) during an
event in the Hanau DP camp with British and Americanlis Island.
List the places you
army representatives.
lived when you first ar
How did you and your family rived and where you eventually settled.
members occupy your/their time in the At first we lived in Spring
camp(s)? Did you or any of your family Grove/Fox Lake, Illinois, on Uncle Almembers work? Attend school?
ex’s farm. My father had a job in Chi
My father Alfonsas Semenas cago and we soon moved there, living
was busy with the duties of running the at first with Uncle Alex’s ex-wife (imagcamp. Both he and my mother Stase ine a woman being so kind to her exSemeniene taught English at the high husband’s relatives), then on the north
school in the camp.
side at Belmont and Clark (present An
When and under what circum- dersonville), in a cold-water basement
stance did you and/or your family mem- apartment, and then Brighton Park.
bers leave the DP camp for the United Many years later they bought a house in
States? Did you have any sponsors in Marquette Park.
the US? If so, who were they?
Where did you and/or your
We went to England first. My family members work or go to school in
father, although a Lithuanian, was born the US?
in Scotland, so we were British subjects My father Alfonsas Semenas
and eligible to “return” to England. We had a job at Telequip electronics comlived in London for a year and a half pany, making TVs, but eventually he
and then emmigrated to the US under opened his own radio and television
the British quota, in 1947. My father’s store, Daina, in Bridgeport, on Halsted
uncles Frank and Alex Zakes were liv- Street. My mother Stase Semeniene
ing in Spring Grove, Illinois, and Alex first worked at Baby Ruth candy facsponsored us. A few years later, when tory (what a great job for a child’s parboth my father’s family, the Gauciai, ent to have!), and then Farnsworth Labs,
and my mother’s family, the Lapai, which was conveniently on our street,
were ready to come to the US, Alex on the North Side. Then she worked at
didn’t want to sponsor again, so my our television store Daina. When that
was sold, she worked in the camera department of Carson Pirie Scott and Co,
downtown. In her 70’s, after mandatory
retirement, she went to work at Balzekas
Museum, which she did until she was
88. And for most of the time, from 1952
until the present, she wrote articles and
editorials in Draugas, and was its first
Women’s Page editor for 40 years. My
first school was McLaren, near what is
now the UIC campus. Because I came
from school in London, I was ahead of
my age, 8, so they moved me up to 4th
grade. Then we moved north and I went
to Hawthorne, at that time at School
and Seminary. I was very happy there.
I started high school at Lakeview, but
then we moved to Brighton Park and I
went to Kelly, which I loved. I graduated in 1957, salutatorian of the class.
How difficult was it to learn
English?
Because I came from a year
in London, I spoke English fluently. I
remember in my London school being
confused at first but picking it up very
fast. My parents both spoke English, but
they tried to keep up only Lithuanian at
home.
When you first arrived, how
were you received by other Americans?
By other Lithuanians?
At Hawthorne school, they
thought I was from New Zealand because that was the most exotic place
they could think of. Otherwise, as a
child I was received just fine. My father
said he felt more at home in Chicago
than London because there he was always a “bloody foreigner”. My parents
immediately became part of the Lithuanian community, and soon moved to the
South Side to be closer to that community. But the most important welcome
that I remember is from our “American”
cousins, the grown children of Uncles
Frank and Alex Zakes. They went out of
their way to make us feel at home, to
teach us American customs, to include
us in their leisure activities and always
feel that we had family to turn to.
Our neighbors were Scandinavian at first and had no idea where
Lithuania was. My parents were Catholics and sent me to catechism lessons. I
went to church at St. Sebastian’s on the
North Side and Immaculate Conception
The Lithuanian Museum Review Jan - Mar 2013 Issue 241
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Semenas family in Germany. Stase, Nijole, Alfonsas Semenas and Stase’s
mother, Elena Lapiene.
in Brighton Park.
Did you correspond with relatives in Lithuania?
At first my father sent postcards to his family with cryptic messages to let them know he was safe and healthy. His youngest sister and
her husband were sent to Siberia. His father was left behind in Lithuania.
After the sister returned to live in Vilnius, and my grandfather joined
them, my dad and his sister in Chicago, Emilija Gauciene, sent packages
to them. It wasn’t until much later, in the 1960’s, that they could write
normal letters to each other.
When did you feel established in the US?
I felt at home in the US from the beginning, but for my parents
it was difficult for a long time, having lost their country, their profession and their former life. Because they both spoke English, it was easy
to adapt, and having their family close, as well as the Lithuanian community in Chicago, helped them eventually create a new life. My father
loved Chicago and was very proud to be a part of it.
Did you participate in Lithuanian activities in the US?
Baltic women in a DP camp in Germany with an English soldier.
Stase Semeniene is fourth from left.
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My parents were very active in Lithuanian
activities in Chicago. My father was a member of
ALIAS (Lithuanian Engineers Association), Lithuanian professors association, and several other organizations. My mother was a member of Lietuvos
Dukterys, BALF, Chicago Lithuanian Women’s
Club, Draugas, Balzekas Museum and other organizations. They were supporters of children’s charities and the Lithuanian Opera. As a child, I was
not active in Lithuanian organizations, but I always
enjoyed going to Sokiu Sventes and the Lithuanian
Opera. As an adult I became a strong promoter
of Lithuanian culture, exhibiting at fairs and festivals, joined a Lithuanian folk dance group, and
now am the vadove of that group, Zaibas of Madison, Wisconsin, as well as vadove of a children’s
group, Zaibutis, of Baraboo, WI. I am also a charter
member of Madison Vilnius Sister Cities and have
served on its board, as did my mother when she
retired from Chicago.
Did you or your family members visit
Lithuania during the Cold War or later?
We never went to Lithuania during Soviet
rule.
My father died in 1966, so never got to return to Lithuania. We never dreamed that we would
be able to return in our lifetime and still think it is
a miracle. My mother and I have been there 5 or 6
times. The first time, in 1993, was very emotional.
We cried on landing. Everything was new to me,
and wonderful; to her it was very changed, but she
accepted it all and kept going back. Through her
generosity, my whole family, my husband, our 3
sons, 2 daughters-in-law and 4 grandchildren, all
have been there.
List any other thoughts, impressions,
memories, that you would like to share with others.
Although we suffered the great loss of
home and country, our family was very lucky that
so many of us were able to escape the soviets and
build a new life here. We lost my mother’s brother
Viktoras Lapas, who died as a partisan in 1943, at
the age of 23, and we never saw my Semenavicius
grandfather again. But the aunt who was exiled to
Siberia is still alive at 101, living in Vilnius with
her son who was born in Siberia. Except for my father who died at the age of 60, the rest of our family lived into their 80’s and my mother is still alive
at 96. While we were refugees, both the Germans
who took us in, and then the British and Americans
at the camp in Hanau, were very kind to us. When
I think of what others lost in the War, I consider
myself and my family blessed.
Nijole Semenaite Etzwiler
Lithuania celebrates 90 years
since recovery of Klaipėda, its
“Window to the West”
KLAIPĖDA
REVOLT
As Lithuania marks 90 years
since the recovery of Klaipėda Region this year, historian Algimantas
Kasparavičius says it almost impossible
to overestimate this move. Following
a staged revolt which led to the recovery of Klaipėda, he says, Lithuania was
turned back to the West, gained the status of a maritime state, and was inspired
for a long battle with Poland for Vilnius.
“The return of Lithuanians to
Klaipėda after a break of 500 years, in
the civilization terms, meant for Lithuania the same as the Unification of Germany for Berlin, the incorporation of
Bavaria into the State of Germany or the
defeat of the Swedes and the establishment of Saint Petersburg for Russia,”
the historian said.
January 24, 2013 marks 90
years since the Supreme Committee for
the Salvation of Lithuania Minor was set
up. Three days later, it asked Lithuania
to come to rescue, and on 9 January, a
thousand of volunteers from Lithuania,
dressed as civilians, crossed the border.
Kaunas called this move a local revolt, and on 24 January the Seimas
of Lithuania satisfied the Committee’s
The Klaipėda Region (Klaipėdos kraštas) or Memel Territory
(Memelland or Memelgebiet) was defined by the Treaty of Versailles
in 1920 when it was put under the administration of the Council
of Ambassadors. The region was to remain under the control of
the League of Nations until a future day when the people of these
regions would be allowed to vote on whether the land would return
to Germany or not.
The original Scalovian and Curonian territory was conquered
around 1252 by the Teutonic Knights, who constructed Memelburg
and the city of Memel (Klaipėda). In 1422, a border was drawn up
between Prussia and Lithuania under the Treaty of Melno, and this
border existed up to 1918.
The then predominantly ethnic German (Prussian Lithuanians and
Memellanders constituted the other ethnic groups) Memel Territory,
situated between the river and the town of that name, was taken by
Lithuania in the “Klaipėda Revolt” of 1923. It was annexed by Nazi
Germany in March, 1939 and immediately reintegrated into East
Prussia, just half a year before the outbreak of the Second World
War. In the final stages of the war in 1945 it was occupied by Soviet
forces, and was formally annexed by the Soviet Union in 1946,
cleared of its native German population, and made a part of the
Lithuanian SSR in 1948. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in
1990, it has been part of the Republic of Lithuania. The border, that
was established by the Treaty of Versailles along the river, remains
in effect as the current international boundary between Lithuania
and the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia.
request on the incorporation of Klaipėda
Region. Until then, under the Treaty of
Versailles, Klaipėda was put under a
French administration. Soon afterwards,
the Conference of Ambassadors recognized Klaipėda as an autonomous region
within Lithuania.
Kasparavičius notes that the
Klaipėda Revolt was in fact organized
in Kaunas and that around 70 percent
of rebels were riflemen, students, volunteers, or simply civil-dressed troops
from Lithuania proper, and that this
Lithuanian revolt was pre-coordinated
via diplomatic channels with Berlin and
Moscow.
“It is understandable that the
whole situation was fabricated and it
was clear for European political leaders: nobody ever believed this legend
of the Klaipėda Revolt. And diplomatic
protests were weak and were rather a
décor. Strong protests came only from
Poland but the county was restrained by
the Kremlin factor, and the Western allies were afraid to spark another war,”
the historian said.
In his opinion, the Lithuanian government’s moves to recover
Klaipėda can today be evaluated “only
positively.”
“Without the recovery of
Klaipėda, interwar Lithuania’s economic progress would have been impossible. Without Klaipėda, Lithuania’s
political-diplomatic struggle for Vilnius
would have been practically doomed.
And without Vilnius and Klaipėda,
Lithuania’s statehood remains only an
ideological chimera. Besides, the march
to Klaipėda was important for the Lithuanians psychologically as it showed that
Lithuania can compete with Poland in
certain areas, and that inspired them for
a long battle for Vilnius,” Kasparavičius
said.
Based on the 1925 census data
from Klaipėda Region, 141,000 people
lived in the region at the time, including
64,000 Germans, 37,000 Lithuanians,
and 34,000 “Klaipėda residents” who
spoke Lithuanian at home.
Kasparavičius says that within
the next 15 years, the volume of international shipping in Klaipėda more than
doubled from 700 ships in 1923 to 1,550
ships in 1938, and cargo turnover rose
more than four times, with almost 80
percent of Lithuania’s total foreign trade
going via Klaipėda in 1938.
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