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Photographic stories about life in post-war Lithuania are probably most clearly reflected in the archives of the freedom struggle and in the pages of the press from that time. Undoubtedly, these are radically different narratives: the photographs of the guerrillas are one of the most important documents of the resistance to the occupation, attesting to the stories of the armed resistance, while in the official press pages the photographs played the role. of propaganda and consolidation of the occupation regime. .
But there is a huge gap between these different stories: the daily lives of postwar people, gradually moving down a more less common, albeit occupational, trajectory after the war and the tragedies, losses and disasters that accompanied it.
Photographs depicting this era are mainly found in family albums, which capture the most important moments in people’s lives: newborn christenings, weddings, commemorative photos, and funerals of loved ones. These are the everyday images of people after the war that were mostly captured by the previously little-known photographer Dzūkija Antanas Zenkevičius.
Born in 1925. In Tamuliškės village, Krokialaukis parish, Alytus county, the future amateur photographer studied carpentry at the Alytus School of Crafts. After the early death of his father, he, the eldest son in the family, had to tend the farm and help his mother raise four younger brothers and three sisters. Skillful, he set up a workshop at home, where he made a living by making furniture, coffins, and crosses.
However, in addition to being a carpenter, he also had another hobby: photography, which eventually became famous throughout the area. Having learned to photograph independently, at first he pointed the lens at his immediate surroundings – family, home. Later, as a photographer, the residents of the area were constantly invited to capture the most important ties of their family, the celebrations of rural life.
