"Letters of Pain and Hope from the Land of the Cold", an exhibition by Prof. Mažylis

On 18 June 2021, Prof. Liudas Mažylis, Member of the European Parliament, opened the exhibition titled Letters of Pain and Hope from the Land of the Cold dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the mass deportations that took place on 14–18 June 1941.

The exhibition displays letters sent to the Mažyliai family from labour camps. It features authentic unedited letters containing real stories of survival, pain, hunger, and cold, which are full of family nostalgia, memories and immense hope.

‘When your nation has experienced an attempt to exterminate it and when this attempt has destroyed hundreds of thousands of destinies, with children, women and men dying, we must constantly remind the public of this ordeal and share these tragic experiences, not least to prevent history from repeating itself,’ Prof. Mažylis, the author of the exhibition, says.

The exposition includes letters addressed to Antanina Mažylienė by Juozas Sirutis, Petronėlė Sirutytė-Lastienė, Ona Matulaitytė-Stulginskienė and Jonas and Ona Siručiai.

The exibition is Initiated by Kazys Starkevičius, Member of the Seimas.