[ad_1]
As soon as he saw the steam locomotives at the Railway Museum, the exiled G. Olšauskienė did not stop his tears: he remembers the long journey in animal carts, the lack of food and water, and the inhumane conditions.
Edvinas Šulcas / Genovaitė Olšauskienė on the steam locomotive at the Railway Museum
“Immediately after looking, I remembered when the train stopped, our step, it was possible to go down for a short time and do my physiological affairs.” There is a paddle under the wheels, and it is not clear who is next to you: whether a man or a woman does not matter at all, ”G. Olšauskienė shared his memories.
She says that her father was an intelligent man interested in politics and therefore felt that the family was in danger of exile. He warned his wife, who still managed to collect some food and money on the trip.
According to G. Olšauskienė, due to the inhumane conditions in the cars, the meat started to spoil quickly, but there was no other option, so people were happy to be satisfied, even when the worms settled in the meat: And yes, there are no requirements there and it cannot be.
G. Olšauskienė’s family moved to Siberia not in the first wave, but in 1948. The largest mass deportation took place that year, during which some 40,000 people were deported in cattle cars. people.
The interlocutor, who was only 14 years old at the time, remembers that when he arrived to take their families to midnight, he did not understand what was happening.
However, the sense of community that emerged during the trip encouraged the constant care of those around him. She says she had taken her accordion on the trip, and in the rare cases when the cars stopped for the men to bring water, the caretakers let her out and told them to have fun, to play. She says she realized that the music of the thirsty and weakened passengers would not entertain, but she tried to play as long as possible so that the cars were still open and as much fresh air as possible could get into them.
Edvinas Šulcas / Genovaitė Olšauskienė in the wagon at the Railway Museum
G. Olšausnienė’s story does not end here: when she was taken into exile, she tried to escape and so she was separated from her parents and put in prison, where she had to spend her childhood without children.
The interlocutor affirms that she already understood that this was wrong, and that only “murderers and thieves” should sit in jails, so to all those who asked why she was sitting in prison, she did not blink, “for murder” .
The entire story of the former deportee, in a sensitive first-hand story.
VIDEO: Sensitive story of deportees: worm meat, thirst and shortness of breath in cars, and childhood in prison for trying to escape
The ex-deportee remembers with sensitivity how he lost his father in Siberia, but is glad he managed to bring at least his remains to Lithuania.
However, many deported Lithuanians remained to rest far from their homeland, in cemeteries that ended in forests and bushes.
According to Aistė Eidukaitytė, a representative of the Mission Siberia project, during the expeditions, managing an abandoned cemetery, unknown destinations are often revealed: relatives of deportees living in Lithuania, after discovering exactly where their ancestors rest, sometimes decide to go themselves. And expedition participants often receive requests to bring at least a handful of Lithuanian lands to exile cemeteries.
According to A. Eidukaitytė, locals in Siberia respectfully remind Lithuanians that even in such conditions, tormented by cold and hunger, they were concerned with how to sew national costumes and preserve Lithuania. They even say that Lithuanians have taught them household chores like salting bacon and pickled gherkins.
More exciting stories about the fate of the deportees and the efforts to preserve their memory, in a conversation with A. Eidukaityte.
VIDEO: Lithuania was also prized in exile: it sewed national costumes and taught locals how to sauté bacon and pickled cucumbers.
[ad_2]
