C)
IWIA INFO DATE: ')
REPORT
{Lithuanian SSR)
1. Living Conditions in arji
fi. Living Conditions of Deportees in Siberia DATE Of INFO. 1
PLACE ACQUIRED
NO. DATEO- Of PAGES REQUIREMENT NO. REFERENCES
RD
i73
7
im* souki rvmuattoht tw mt ukmt ami oaiunrrr. n* afrtaiui or comm kir tu uvtmtii
SOURCE:
Emulation"
i'. About ten peroent .Of the inbsWtsitfcs .of Kaunas were Jew, althOttgh evento be found la Vilnius. The- Jews in Vilnius included those WOO werethe Vilnius ghettoj tbos* who had been hiding in Vilnlua during the war,gross, biase who'moved to Vilnius froat other parts of the USSRwar. Soure* heardreat number sf the Jews who moved to Vilniusfrom TashkentSSR- h* Jews in Kaunasof font stores on Vilnius Street and oo Stalin.foraerly Soviet women living. i* Kaur-ae wereeil dressed. Onopposite the Pasaka movie theater, thm were two dressmakers who"slwaya kept oaky asking elotheft far Soviet woman. Germans fromwars, living in Kaunas were not allowed to more to Vilnius. v
lona trust .ionnslng
large building
2.
There was very littlo hew construction in Kaunas after tkebeing cOnsirwjptsd inpposlt* th* iBaunss airf isldj
it would be the sitseebnieal school (assvtu mokyklk). On Had Army Boulevard,
formerly known a* the tikmorgn Highway, between Kaplniu Street, and Kiprna large building wasstrusxion; fit
was toattCryi Onlausew block of apartments had been built for activists and
Itvery difficult isoam or sn Apartment inrder wo*ersonsiet nationality were given preference in
STATE |X |aiMY JHAVT
|AEC
WbW-bW. DIHrlh-tlon mt FWdU-W. 1,
the issuance of these orders and, accordingly, were able to obtain apartsenta sore easily. individuals were allowed to occupy eight square meters of space sb lodgings.
changes in street and building names
*. the following postwar changes were made in kaunas street names:
oldname
latsvesboulevard
vytautoboulevard
ukmsrge highway and savaneriuarmy boulevard
lukslpstreet
psesldentostreet
juozapbviciauskapsuiuj boulevard
treet1-
ulado futvinskloseries
rcjtel versalis was renamed hotel gin tars a. the bouse of the new lithuanians (heolituanu rumal) on parados street became the house of the pioneers (plonlcrlu runmi). the president's house in kaunas was taken over byvdoffice.
industry
' -
were two. industrial combines in kaunas. the!flrst was named forincluded the tile factory in the vllijampole section of kaunas andfor the repair of furniture. the second combine was named forincl>ided the rsrama food procebsing plant and. the unlvernag. thelocated opposite tulpe cafe, formerly konrbdas-cafs,.onthe ronuva movie theater snd daukanto street. source knows offactories in lithuania, the rsaune factory inuburb ofthe ruta factory in siauliails).
salaries and deductions
worker who pressed tiles in the vllijaapole tile factoryile. at this rate, an experienced worker could earn meremonth. workers who carried tiles also workediecework basis,rubles foriles in one day; sn experienced workeray- by working veryils carrier couldoper month after deductions. the following deductions were made from
the salaries'of factory workers: far trade-union dues, onefor bachelor's tax, and twenty rubles for the government loan (sayem).
7. ranslator en the rubblan*lsngusge newspaper,pelvls (nemunasublishedonth in kaunas by the ministry of the riverubles per translation. orker in the customs artel (sic, muitu arteleje)onth. wages were lower in the country than in the city. an assistant teacher in the country earnedubles per month.
market cocditlons
6. the following prices prevailed in kaunas as of
(in rubles?
sugar,
sugar,
coffee, good
coffee, third
coffee, mixed with barley and oats
potatoes, in
potatoes, ln
butter, in government
Butter, on market In winter ,
on market in summer
dark
white
Hoja'
(smotelis)
in government shop in Bummer
in government shop in winter
on market in summer
on market in winter t
in gcrernment shopj cheapest
sifted s
cheapest quality
good quality
to 43
smoked
ground
ground
suet
young
not fattened
with Jam, cheapest
chocolate
chocolate
plain
Sugar could he purchased .in five-kilogram quantities. Therecarcityin Kaunas before holidays. Butter was in short supply, andup in the morning before shops where butter was sold. The butter soldshops was of better quality than that sold on the market. Thenot always pure butter. The' bread supply in Kaunas was adequate. Theshortageinvhen flood waters inundated
parts of Kaunas, especially nestuelo: Street and Prleplaukos Street, The Paraia bakery on Priepjaukoa Street waa inundated,read shortage, he Parana bakery was moved into tbe center of Kaunas. Macaroni was difficult to .obtain. Meat shortages occurred before Easter and Whitsunday.
U. The supply of electricity In Kaunas was cot steady. Sometimes whole days passed with no electrical current being available. This vas especially true oo Baglnos Street, where thero was seldom any electricity during the day or afterhours. Light bulbs on sale in Kaunas vere of Ob ram manufacture.
Transportation
The rebuilding of the Al eke etas bridge in Kaunas was completed in lOAQ on the anniversary of the October Revolution.* Prior toerryboat crossed the riveroint near Velveriu Street. The fare wasopeks,
The bus fare from Kaunas to*Ukmergeistance of slaty kilometers, vas tweuty-five rubles.
Entertainment
1*. There vaa no opera company ln Kaunas. However, In summer the Vilniuscame to Kaunas. Its repertoire included Tray lata and MadameI "Of the ballet, Don ftu&otc, starrl!*Huagaatchfrd person whose first name was
15- rogram of national folk dancing vats presented1 andnternational women's Day, at the mijampole Tile Factory'slocated atonavos Street ln Kaunas, national costumes vere presented to the worker -lancers by the trade union. The havelis aad other Lithuanian and - Estonian national dances vere performed.
l6. The tile factory alsohoir. The choir sang Soviet songs, including Trls Dlenas Trin Kaktia (Three Days, Three Sights) snd Vejeli push (Slow, Little Wind). Other Soviet songs, which were sung only on Soviet holidays, wre Mes Pleeiajase Paaaulv> (We Are Going Forward in theMei gt^ -XSiiSIS/ Kaip Velc >'e Followed th* Flag Which Lednd the constructionMars Talklnlnkai (March of the Collective Workers). 0
(Lithuania, Our Fatherland) was
rangla Zeme, KurloJ Muo Aaziu
Country Where Tour Fathers
Lived for Ages). Most Lithuanians sang onlyevyne (Letthe Fatherland) and other familiar Uthuaniar. songs, tneTuctlngVerklueep) aod Marlls, Msrlja.
wiv worrerember of tho Communist Party and three workers were KOBJoanl menbers. '
percprxsge
KCEUJOao: mes&err among the welters in the Liepsns hatch Factory Ir. Kaunas was higher than ln moat places.
18. A* of1 no new members were being accepted Into the Communist Party Party members In Kaunas wero few in number and Were Verycomplained about their low wages, saying that if they bought clothingno money left to buy food. Efforts were being made to recruit morestudent| vas forced to Join th* Komsomol before he
- was allowen uj stuay aWieine at tjm university ln Kaunas.
A camp for German prlsoners-of-war was located atuburb of Kaunas. The camp was closely guarded.
J^LIGILJN LSAR SSB
who practlcedreligion were not offlcUlly suppressed In theand the religious seal of the Lithuanians was stronger than ever. many churches had been closed. In Kaunas, Soviet aviators werethe archbishop's home, tho entrance to which was always guarded. Thein Kaunas had been closed and was being usedranary. Aplace (bendrabutls)pecial technical school (speclallaad been set up in the JeSult monastery in Kaunas. The Sarltku
Church of the Marian Fathers in Kaunas had heen closed. Construction work on the Church of tae Resurrection in Kaunas was never completed. Thevas full of wrecked automobiles and scrap metal. Source also beard tbat the church in Ukmerge) had been closed.
garrison church (Igulos basnyela) ln Kaunas was still open, as was the
Zallakalnl* church on Auks talc in Street,
priests were attached to the latter persuua viaying-outslde the Eallahalnls church; It was too small to aeeommpaate all who wanted to attend. The Ausros Vartal shrine ln Vilnius aad not been removed andelievers knelt in the street before it.
he ohurebes in Lithuania had to pay very high taxes. As a
remit, persona Who attended churchreat deal of moneyservices. |ane to ten rubles into the
collection tray on an Easter Sunday, supplies Tor tbe church had to be purchased with the priest's own money.
Zk. Priests were imprisoned If their sermons were ambiguous. Source heard that many priests were in hiding ln Lithuania and that many of them bad beenThey were never told the reason why they were being deported. The printing of prayer books was prohibited, and it was impossible tohem in Kaunas. Sometimes lt was possible to purchase religious medals and rosaries froa old women at the enxranme to the Kaunas Basilica.0 it was Impossible to purchase such Items ln local shops.
25. Lithuanians were farced to work on church holidays, though most of them left work during the day to visit church. One Christmas Komsomol members visited the factories to see if anyone was missing from work. After the check had bean made, most of the workers went home, flour ce heard that the kelkhosnlkl did not work on the kolkhosy on church holidays,
Propaganda against the Vatican was carried on in the movies, theater, press, and on the radio. It was stated that the Vat lean na using religioneans of exploiting Catholics. In artieles and cartoons, the Vatican was represented aaenter of spies.
27. Source beard that0 there were still soma farmers in the Sirvlntai Rayon who had not yet Joined kolkhocy. It was rumored in the market that private farmers had toax0 rubles for sixty hectares of land. such farmers faced almost certain deportation.
2fi. HeaunasiKolkhox was located in the village of Seredtlus) and consisted of what were formerly two separate kolkhoxy, Nemunas Kolkhos and Ausrs Kolkhoz. The sdminlstrstor of the combined kolkhozithuanian
woman who formerly lived in another part of the ussr.
the administrator waa afraid to live at the kolkhoz center ana went tosmall neighboring team each night.
29- ery difficult to force the kolknosniki to work. When tho kolkhoxolkl failed to appear for work, the brigadiers did not know what to do, nlnce they were well aware that xealous brlgadlera were carried off by the partisans, because tbe kolkhoacikl refused to work,0 beet and potato nerveat oo Newuras Kolkhoz waa not collected until Sovenber. esult, sixteen wCrkera from various factories. Including workers from tbe tile factory in Vllljampole, were brought to Heaves* Kolkhox to harvest these products. The wet beets were atored Inay that it was evident that tbey would rothort time. The brigadier indicated that he did not care if they rotted, so long as the harvesting was completed quickly. The brigadier gave orders to tbe workers in the morning and then disappeared for tbe rest of the day. The workers were given their seals on tne kolkhox, and most of the time tbey were working with their feet In deep mud and water. They were even forced to work on All Sslnta* Day. This made tbe local inhabitants angry, and they told the workers that tbey ahould be ashamed to workoliday. On some occasions, soldiers were called In during the harveat; on other occasions, istreblteU were used to foroe the kolkhosnikl to work.
PARTISAN ACTIVITIES IK THE UTWAMIAH SSR
Ukmerga Rayon in. Tbe partisans had
ctsb5arm in svaren uf feed. PIve partisans entered tbe farmhouse, while two others, equipped with telescopes, remained outside. Two of tbe partisans In the house Were Germans. The Lithuanian partisans in tbe group were wearing Lithuanian Army uniforms with the yellow infantry piping and the Lithuanian insignia (vytis).
bere was much talk of partisan activities In the rayons ofKalsiadorys. There was.also word0artisan bunker whichblown up in an action near Slsullal. In0 source heard thathia wife, and bis brother were killedolkhox in Groaeciai,
four kilometers fromUkmerge. The nurdera reportedly were ccamltted by partisans, On another occasion, In Qroxeclai, partisans warned the administrator of a hen tbe warning was not heeded, the partisans burnedolkhox abed. Bourse heard that in0 partisans in tbe Dkaerge Rayonibrary and burned Communist books and pictures of Lenin and Stalin.
33. Partisans eonetimes visited famillea in Kaunas. One partlaaa traveled seven-teen kilometers to Kaunas to listen to radio brcadcaata. Another partisan cam* to Kaunas toriend thereedicine cabinet which was
needed In the bunker.Village wcaatnl |regularly baked
n ukmerge Rayon, the administrator
bread far tbe parti
olkhoz and his daughter were arrested for supporting the partisans. The daughter had given tbe part-loans some butter from the dslry. The Ccaaomlats calledsweetheart of bandits." Local inhabitants Informed tbe partisana about tbe activities and living quarters of Cavsunist off lo is Is and soldiers. Source also heard that the Soviets sad paid agenta who reported on tbe movements of tbe local inhsbltsnta.
33- Persona who had been deported to Siberia were sllowad to correspond withrelatives in tbe Lithuanian SSB, and packages could be sent toSiberia,-
A new post offloe wss established in Tallysna (not located) shortly after inhabitants of Shlrsfltepnd (not located) usually received their nail at tbe past office in Ivanovo, twelve kiltawjters from Shirokgpsd. However, after the new post office wss set up, packages for Hhlrokopad inhabitants were sometimes sent te Tsliyaoa, thirty kilometers away. On otherackages came direetly to the Ivanovo post office and were delivered to ShJrokopad.3
The bread supply ln Siberia. consisted of heavy, coarse breed. Siberianappreciated receiving packages which contained flour, since thin enabled them to bake lighter bread which could be eaten by persons who were old and sick. Deportees were allowed to observe Christmas in Siberia by having Chrlstflms trees in their hones. Therehortage of textbooks in the schools of Siberia. There were three Lithuanian wcsssn teaching school Id Taliyan* and one Lithuanian woman teaching in Shlrokopad. Machinery was used ln cutting timber In the Siberian forests. Lithuanian deportees bad good living conditions in Tallyana. Most of them were employed as woodcutters, or in the loading and unloading of timber. In winter they vere well paid for this work. They worked according to norms and received double pay for fulfilling theercent. The Work waa difficult,erson bad to be healthy to be able to do lt. reported mcnbers of the Intelligentsia also did forestry work in Siberia: The women got easier work to do: burning branches in the woods, stripping the bark from trees, repairing roads, etc. Woodcutters, loaders, and unloadersubles per month. Other workers did oot receive this much. Teachers1 working conditions were not had. Quarters, electricity, and fuel were provided for them. Their wages were computed on the balls of the number of hours tbey taught. Living conditions were more difficult in Tallyana than in Shlrokopad. It was difficult to buy food in Tallyana becauae tbe transportation facilities were so poor.
reported tbatasario Street is now
LiepostreetStreet Is now Kipro Petrausko Street.
(Comment: Bee| which reported that tbe bridge fromto Aleksotaspwhlch at first was constructed ofhadto steel. It is probable that the press report mentioned in
referred to the reopening of the Aleksotas arid*
fcssj HAf. XU PB MJjjsS bridge, though there seems to he some discrepancy ss to tbe actual month9 when the reopening took place.
Previous resorta state that the deportees went toTomsk regions. There are villages near Tomsk with namesthese.
Original document.
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