OPEN ARCHIVES OF KAUNAS

*Greta:* To me, VMU equals study years. When I was still at school, I dreamed of studying in Vilnius, but VMU has been re-established for just several years, and it was so tempting, since it had a new study programme, and it was a completely new university without any Soviet traditions, full of promise that things here would be different, Western.:)  During the admission, Liucija Baškauskaitė (!) spoke to me (besides entrance exams, there was also an interview about motivation). Later lectures were delivered by a famous anthropology professor Arvydas Žygas (whose then incomprehensible yet enchanting lectures I started attending while still at school). There was also now-legendary Gintaras Beresnevičius (there was a rumour about him that he feared audiences, because he seemed shy and confused), an English teacher from Los Angeles, Amanda, a strict Frenchwoman Miriam (both connected to Kaunas by temporary romantic ties) and many others. Now I think, that there has been this promise of freedom in the air, the feeling that I have been missing for all my years in school. Since the number of students was ten times smaller, everyone knew one another or at least had seen one another before. Lectures were attended by people of different specialities and courses, so you could feel like a part of the community. It is no wonder that if you meet a person today from these times, even though you have not interacted with him or her, you feel the sense of kinship and this can be confirmed by all graduates from the first years.

*Arūnas*: “I spent my childhood and youth in Kaunas. I managed to find a few photos. It makes me happy that people captured in them are still alive and well. So are the lions. The first photo was taken in 1956. From the left: me, my cousin Vytautas, my cousin Laimutė and sister Rūta. The second one was taken in the spring of 1969. While studying in Kaunas Polytechnic Institute (KPI), we had a big beat band Meteorai and before a trip abroad, we decided to shoot our promo photos in the garden of the Museum of War which was dear and interesting for us. From the left: me, keyboard, drummer Antanas Mačys, guitar players and vocals Gerardas Balaišis and Jonas Toleikis. Some of them have not parted with music to this day. We all wanted to be the Beatles in those times. We were restless. So, I am sending you another photo, without lions, capturing the attempt to fire at the central office of KPI with one of the museum's cannons...” (2018)

*Riddle for our website visitors:*

*Asija*: ”A protest happened in Ramybės (Serenity) Park, after which it was decided to remove the cemetery located in the park. Three schools were located near the cemetery and we (students at the time) saw everything from very close. Male teenagers could not miss such an event. They scavenged graves and brought found bones into the classroom in order to scare girls. Braver ones went deeper into the graves and showed everyone crosses or rings they had managed to find. This was a most horrifying period of Kaunas history. It united us with the Lithuanians.” (2017)

*Asija:* “The most important place for me was the Sobor. Pretty much all of the most significant memories were associated with this building. I remember when a whole bunch of children ran to the Sobor, as a neighbour from a nearby house was getting married there. It was my first encounter with Lithuanian traditions and with the God in the church. I remember when we ran up the stairs and saw the bride with a veil, long white bridal gown and a church decorated with flowers.

*Fruma: *"My first childhood memories connected to Kaunas are very warm. My grandparents lived in the heart of Kaunas, near Town Hall Square. At the time, buses did not run during holidays, so we used to get from Šančiai district to the Old Town on a carriage (at least we called it so) or on a bričkelė* with a roof you could lift. I remember exactly where the bričkelė stood with harnessed horses. Many years after there was a taxi stop at the same place in the Old Town". * One-horse holiday cart

*Raimonda Pauzienė (51):* [In Juozas Naujalis Music School] everyone was trained to be a musician. Only several people would not later apply for studies in the conservatory. There was this one girl in my class who strained her arm and went to a different school. Students from other schools used to say that they do not know what to do after studies, but for us it was all clear. Everyone knew that children from Naujalis or Čiurlionis schools were different. They had a different motivation, different extracurriculars, motivation to go to the theatre and concerts. Later they also tried to enrol their children in unconventional schools, because they understood how important like-minded people and friends were. Music changes a person. /.../ [At school], the focus was on music. A year before graduating from school, we basically completed all subjects of general education and practiced for musical exams only. We used to spend most of the time with the teacher of our speciality. I remember my teacher as a specialist with fondness, even though it was a difficult [experience].  However, when I communicate with my pupils, I try to behave in a completely different manner. /.../ [Then] the rules were very strict... You could get a warning for not bringing a handkerchief [to school], for crying during the lectures. My teacher was very strict. And teacher Kumpikienė has remained the same to this day. Of course, now I am thankful for everything, even though sometimes certain things went over the top. If you failed to bring a hair pin or a handkerchief, you got a warning. Your nose was runny, you were crying, because you pitied yourself, since you were embarrassed for not being able to do something, [you got] a warning. /.../ For a child, this school was really too strict. Relationship with teachers was not friendly. Even though our classroom tutor was very gentle. She was a teacher of Lithuanian language, she would bring us to camp by some lake. And others... You could not speak with teachers like you can now. It seems that children can speak to them more.

*Liucija: *I remember, when my friend and I, we would go to the Picture Gallery to visit the exhibitions. Back in those days, we liked ceramic works very much. We used to buy large vases and bring tiny ones from other republics for ourselves or to give to our friends. Back in those times, food to nourish our souls on weekends were only exhibition halls or theatre. We would bring our children there as well. When the times changed and all sorts of events and travelling abroad became available, we visit picture gallery on a very rare basis. (2015)* *

The ice rink in front of the State Institute of Physical Education was a favourite place for the youth of Žaliakalnis

*Saulė: *After high school, I got into Kaunas Stepas Žukas Technical School of Applied Arts. It was still called like this in 1996. We, students, would simply call it Stepžukė. My years of studies were probably the happiest of my youth. In high school, I felt different and I couldn't wait until I graduate, and in Stepžukė I felt like myself. This place on a hill with a fenced territory was like a protected area where I felt very well. A group of us working with glass was a small one, so this communication was very warm, we would usually spend our time together and go to concerts.

*Gintaras: *"One detail stuck to my mind from the dismantling of Leninas monument: next to Donelaičio Street, under a tree, I saw an elderly couple, probably of Russian nationality. They held arms and... cried silently. Even though everyone was in good mood, but I felt pity looking at them: they believed him for their entire life, and now, there was emptiness in front of them...." (2014)

*Alvydas Vaitkevičius*: A note on the monument of Salomėja Nėris: I remember it standing there. I needed to check the dates and facts: the final collection of poems by Nėris called Lakštingala Negali Nečiulbėti (The Nightingale Cannot Stop Singing) was published at the end of June 1945. While still at the hospital, the poet had some time to enjoy it. On 7 July 1945, Salomėja Nėris passed away in Moscow and on July 9, she was burried in Kaunas. The poet was burried in the garden of the Museum of History. In 1998, the remains of the poet were solemnly reburied in Petrašiūnai Cemetery. It is said that photographer Romas Juškelis was the only one who captured the reburial.