Israelis of Lithuanian origin are demanding that Lithuania acknowledge its role during the Holocaust before it asks world support for its declaration of independence from the Soviet Union.
The Lithuanian government, headed by President Vytautas Landsbergis, has not spoken publicly of collaboration between Lithuanians and the Nazis during World War II.
Lithuania is trying to rewrite Lithuanian history of that era, according to Dr. Abba Gefen, chairman of the Organization of Israelis of Lithuanian Origin.
He said it was “most serious, especially now, when even the East German government has accepted their responsibility for the Nazi crimes and have asked forgiveness from the Jewish people and Israel.”
The organization is protesting specifically against turning the site of Holocaust atrocities in Kovno (Kaunas) into a museum of Stalin’s terror.
Lithuania, which was occupied by Soviet forces in 1939, declared independence when the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941 and, according to many sources, were enthusiastic collaborators in the killing of more than 46,000 Jews.
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