The first stories I heard about Dora pivot on her forward-looking viewpoint. More provincially wired people found her views and behaviors scandalous. Others recognized that Dora simply was born about sixty years too early.
Despite Dora's progressive nature, she did not get out of Lithuania after the Soviets occupied the country in 1944. Many relatives fled in July 1944. We are not sure why Dora stayed behind. One explanation is that no relatives offered her and her husband a way out. Another explanation is that her husband refused to flee, and she stayed with him.
Most of those who left Lithuania that summer thought they would return home in a few weeks. People assumed the Soviets would occupy the little country for a few months, and eventually, the Germans would push the Soviets out again, as they had before. As a result, people—including my Mom—left the country with few belongings. Most refugees hid their cherished possessions with relatives or buried them in the countryside. My Mom did not even think to pack her hand-woven national folkdress. How I would have loved to have that!
Mom did pop a winter coat and two pairs of shoes into her suitcase. She still doesn't know why she packed those items. Smart move.
Kaunas, Lithuania, 1936. It's Aunt Dora! She's no longer either a Gibson Girl or a Flapper. Instead, she's updated her style to the glam Hollywood trends.
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