Another Party at the German Villa

Kaunas, Lithuania, April 26, 1927. The American Consul to Lithuania wrote:

This storm had abated somewhat when Professor Ranzoni and I went to the Morahts' where we were invited for the dinner they were giving President and Mrs. Smetona and the Minister President and Mrs. Voldemaras. Lily was unable to go . . . There were again 13 persons at the table, my second experience of this kind within 24 hours . . . this was the President's first appearance in a private gathering since his election. Mrs. Smetona has always wanted to accept such invitations, but the Foreign Offie steadfastly objected on the ground that it would be improper for the President to appear socially at legations since by so doing, he would be obliged to accept all such invitations, whether he wishes to or not. But Mrs. Smetona finally had her way, as usual. She accepted the Moraht invitation on the condition that the party should be informal; so to keep up the fiction of informality, no invitations were send out and the guests were requested to come in afternoon clothes. Everybody did this but Professor Voldemaras, who wore a Tuxedo. The party was rather stiff at first, but after the first glass of wine, everybody became lively and the animation became greater as time passed. After dinner, the ladies played bridge. Mr. Moraht retired to a quiet corner with the President and talked for over an hour. Professor and Mrs. Voldemaras left and midnight and the President and his wife an hour later. Mr. Moraht compelled the professor and me to stay one. We left at about half-past one after a very enjoyable and interesting evening.

 Thanks to the Consul's Granddaughter for making this photo and narrative available to us.

Presidential Memento

Kaunas, Lithuania, July 7, 1928. The American Consul to Lithuania wrote, "At five o'clock, Lily and I called on Mrs. Smetona and played dice as usual, after having coffee. Lily bought a photograph of President Smetona a few days ago and she asked Mrs. Smetona to request the President to sign it. The adjutant went to his office and brought the picture back signed."

Thanks to the Consul's Granddaughter for making this photo available to us.

At the Opera

Kaunas, Lithuania, March 22, 1927. The American Consul to Lithuania attends the opera. The Consul wrote:

This evening we heard Carmen at the opera with Kovno's best singer, Petrauskas. At one time, he sang with the St. Petersburg opera, but somehow drifted to Kovno after the war [see here and here]. He is an excellent singer and actor. ... The orchestra did well considering its small size. ... The scenery was good, it having been painted by a Kovno artist who went to Spain to find appropriate scenes. We were in the diplomatic box with Mr. and Mrs. Balodis (the Latvian minister), Mr. Oiderman (the Estonian representative, and Mr. Balutis, who is about to be appointed Under Secretary in the Foreign Office which will give him almost the rank of a cabinet minister. ... President and Mrs. Smetona were in the box next to us. ... The theater was completely filled and the audience was most enthusiastic, calling Petrauskas and others before the curtain many times after each act.

Thanks to the Consul's Granddaughter for making this photo available to us.

Another Independence Day

Today, February 16, 2013, is the ninety-fifth anniversary of Lithuanian Independence. Although modern Lithuanians also celebrate January 13 as the anniversary of the country's uprising against Soviet occupation, people of the Displaced-Persons generation still commemorate February 16 as the date Lithuania first shook off the Russian yoke in 1918.

Here's footage of the tenth anniversary celebration of Lithuanian independence, in 1928:

The goateed man in civilian dress is Lithuania's President, Antanas Smetona. Smetona's name again is in the news because authorities seek to rebury his body in Lithuania.

("Smetona" is also the Lithuanian word for "sour cream." During Smetona's tenure, the government discouraged people from using the President's name to refer to a dairy product. The preferred word for "sour cream" became "grietine.")