Museum of Genocide Victims
Encyclopedia
The Museum of Genocide Victims in Vilnius
, Lithuania
was established in 1992 by order of the Lithuanian Ministry of Culture and the President of the Lithuanian Union of Political Prisoners and Deportees
. In 1997 it was transferred to the Genocide and Resistance Research Centre of Lithuania
. The museum is located in the former KGB
headquarters across from the Lukiškės Square
, therefore it is informally referred to as the KGB Museum.
The museum is dedicated to collecting and exhibiting documents relating to the 50-year occupation of Lithuania
by the Soviet Union
, the Lithuanian resistance, and the victims of the arrests, deportations, and executions that took place during this period.
, as following:
Article 1. Actions by which it was meant to physically eliminate all or part of inhabitants belonging to some national, ethnic, racial or religious group... .
This allows for the qualification of virtually any law enforcement action, including capital punishment as a genocide.
. The building, completed in 1890, originally housed the court of the Vilna Governorate
. The German Empire
used it during its World War I
occupation of the country. After independence was declared, it served as a conscription center for the newly formed Lithuanian army and as the Vilnius commander's headquarters. During the Lithuanian Wars of Independence, the city was briefly taken by the Bolshevik
s, and the building housed commissariats and a revolutionary tribunal. Following Żeligowski's Mutiny
of 1920, Vilnius and its surroundings were incorporated into Poland, and the building housed the courts of justice for the Wilno Voivodship.
Lithuania was invaded by the Soviet Union in 1940, and following an ultimatum, became a Soviet Socialist Republic. Mass arrests and deportations followed, and the building's basement became a prison. In 1941 Nazi Germany
invaded the country; the building then housed the Gestapo
headquarters. Inscriptions on the cell walls from this era remain. The Soviets retook the country in 1944, and from then until independence was re-established in 1991, the building was used by the KGB, housing offices, a prison, and an interrogation center. Over 1,000 prisoners were executed in the basement between 1944 and the early 1960s, about one third for resisting the occupation. Most bodies were buried in the Tuskulėnai Manor
, which underwent reconstruction and is selected to host the second Museum of Genocide Victims.
In addition to housing the museum, the building now serves as a courthouse and as the repository of the Lithuanian Special Archives
.
The non-violent aspect of the resistance is represented by various books, underground publications, documents, and photographs. The collection pertaining to the Forest Brothers
' armed resistance includes documents and photographs of the partisans. A section devoted to the victims of deportations, arrests, and executions holds photographs, documents, and personal belongings; this collection is continually expanded by donations from the public, seeing the museum as the best means of preserving the materials.
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
was established in 1992 by order of the Lithuanian Ministry of Culture and the President of the Lithuanian Union of Political Prisoners and Deportees
Lithuanian Union of Political Prisoners and Deportees
The Lithuanian Union of Political Prisoners and Deportees was a political party in Lithuania during 1990-2004.-History and cativities:The organization was established on July 30, 1988 under the name "Tremtinio klubas", "Club of the Exiled". Later it became a political party.On October 7, 2004 it...
. In 1997 it was transferred to the Genocide and Resistance Research Centre of Lithuania
Genocide and Resistance Research Centre of Lithuania
The Genocide and Resistance Research Centre of Lithuania is a state research institute in Lithuania dedicated to investigation of the crimes against humanity and other persecutions during the Soviet and Nazi occupations , including mass deportations, the Holocaust in Lithuania, and annihilation of...
. The museum is located in the former KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
headquarters across from the Lukiškės Square
Lukiškes Square
Lukiškės Square is the largest square in Vilnius, Lithuania, located in the center of the city. A major street in Vilnius, Gediminas Avenue, passes by the southern border of the square...
, therefore it is informally referred to as the KGB Museum.
The museum is dedicated to collecting and exhibiting documents relating to the 50-year occupation of Lithuania
Occupation and annexation of the Baltic states by the Soviet Union (1944)
The Soviet Union reoccupied most of the territory of the Baltic states 1944 in the Soviet Baltic offensive during World War II. The Soviet offensive regained control over the three Baltic capitals but failed to capture the Courland Pocket where the retreating Wehrmacht and Latvian forces held out...
by the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, the Lithuanian resistance, and the victims of the arrests, deportations, and executions that took place during this period.
Genocide definition
It should be noted that Lithuanian law uses the expanded definition of genocideGenocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
, as following:
Article 1. Actions by which it was meant to physically eliminate all or part of inhabitants belonging to some national, ethnic, racial or religious group... .
This allows for the qualification of virtually any law enforcement action, including capital punishment as a genocide.
Holocaust-related exposition in the museum
The first exposition mentioning the extermination of jews in Lithiania during the WWII was opened in the museum in 2010.History of the building
During the 19th century, Lithuania was part of the Russian EmpireRussian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
. The building, completed in 1890, originally housed the court of the Vilna Governorate
Vilna Governorate
The Vilna Governorate or Government of Vilna was a governorate of the Russian Empire created after the Third Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795...
. The German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
used it during its World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
occupation of the country. After independence was declared, it served as a conscription center for the newly formed Lithuanian army and as the Vilnius commander's headquarters. During the Lithuanian Wars of Independence, the city was briefly taken by the Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
s, and the building housed commissariats and a revolutionary tribunal. Following Żeligowski's Mutiny
Zeligowski's Mutiny
Żeligowski's Mutiny was a sham mutiny led by Polish General Lucjan Żeligowski in October 1920, which resulted in the creation of the short-lived Republic of Central Lithuania. Polish Chief of State Józef Piłsudski had surreptitiously ordered Żeligowski to carry out the operation, and revealed the...
of 1920, Vilnius and its surroundings were incorporated into Poland, and the building housed the courts of justice for the Wilno Voivodship.
Lithuania was invaded by the Soviet Union in 1940, and following an ultimatum, became a Soviet Socialist Republic. Mass arrests and deportations followed, and the building's basement became a prison. In 1941 Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
invaded the country; the building then housed the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
headquarters. Inscriptions on the cell walls from this era remain. The Soviets retook the country in 1944, and from then until independence was re-established in 1991, the building was used by the KGB, housing offices, a prison, and an interrogation center. Over 1,000 prisoners were executed in the basement between 1944 and the early 1960s, about one third for resisting the occupation. Most bodies were buried in the Tuskulėnai Manor
Tuskulenai Manor
Tuskulėnai Manor is a neoclassical manor in Žirmūnai elderate of Vilnius, Lithuania.-Structures:The Tuskulėnai Manor is the oldest architectural monument in Žirmūnai. The present manor was built in 1825, following a design by Karol Podczaszyński in the neoclassical style, by the order of the...
, which underwent reconstruction and is selected to host the second Museum of Genocide Victims.
In addition to housing the museum, the building now serves as a courthouse and as the repository of the Lithuanian Special Archives
Lithuanian Special Archives
Lithuanian Special Archives is an archive in Lithuania for the storage of documents from the period 1940-1991. Numerous KGB and Lithuanian SSR Ministry of Interior documents were left in Lithuania after it gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, and are now held here...
.
Collections
Forest Brothers
The Forest Brothers were Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian partisans who waged a guerrilla war against Soviet rule during the Soviet invasion and occupation of the three Baltic states during, and after, World War II...
' armed resistance includes documents and photographs of the partisans. A section devoted to the victims of deportations, arrests, and executions holds photographs, documents, and personal belongings; this collection is continually expanded by donations from the public, seeing the museum as the best means of preserving the materials.