Exchanging Portraits (Part 45)

Bridgeport, Chicago, about 1942. Suzana, a friend of Mr. Irene's maternal Aunt Martha, gifted this photo to Martha.

Related by Marriage: Parish Leadership

St. George's Parish, Bridgeport, Chicago, 1942. Mr. Irene's maternal Grandfather Stanley (standing, second from right and marked with the white "X") also took part in the church's leadership.

Related by Marriage: Women's Guild

St. George's Parish, Bridgeport, Chicago, 1942. Mr. Irene's maternal Grandmother Anna (marked with the white "X" in the fourth row) and her sister Petra (marked in the third row) remain active in the church's leadership.

Related by Marriage: Protégé

Panevėžys, Lithuania, about 1942. Mr. Irene's Dad poses with the manager of the family farm. 

Before World War II erupted, the plan was for Dad to assume the role of running the farm.

Touched

Kaunas, Lithuania, August 1942. This couple is one of my Dad's older cousins and her husband.

Thanks to my Kaunas Cousin for making this photo available to us.

Another Study Break

Kaunas, Lithuania, 1942 or 1943. Some of my Mom's medical-school classmates at Vytautas Magnus University share a laugh.

"Christmas in Siberia, 1942"

The experience of Lithuanian deportees.

See this post for how my family confronted this time frame.

Giggling

Location uncertain (possibly Kaunas, Lithuania), perhaps 1942 o 1943. Mom, in the center, doesn't remember what transpired here. But it looks like she and her friends were having a good time.

Related by Marriage: Happier Times on the Farm

Near , Lithuania, about 1942. Here's another scene from the farm that was Mr. Irene's Dad's boyhood home. Mr. Irene's Dad stands on the far right, with his hand on his hip. His mother, Veronica, is the second woman from the left. Older brother Ignas is in the background—he's the one wearing eye glasses. Younger brother Stacey is the little boy in the front. The man with his elbow on Mr. Irene's Dad's shoulder is the Farm Manager.

After the Soviets occupied Lithuania in 1944, they seized and redistributed the farm property.

The Soviets also emptied the banks of citizens' savings accounts. They considered savings accounts "bourgeoisie."

Folk Dancers

Southwestern Lithuania, about 1942 or 1943. A group of folk dancers from a local high school gathers around its accordianist.

Thanks to my Toronto Cousin for making this photo available to us.

Dare

Before my Mom fled Lithuania, she began her medical-school studies at Vytautas Magnus University. Mom forged many close friendships at that institution.

One afternoon, she and a friend "dared" two of their male classmates to comb their hair while someone snapped a photograph. Lithuanians consider it crass to engage in public in any acts of personal grooming—like hair combing, nail filing, or using a toothpick.

This blurry image captures that notorious "dare:"

 
Kaunas, Lithuania, about 1942 or 1943. My Mom, second from left, gestures to the wild and crazy guys. She sports the same coat she later wore as a refugee.

Wishful

Kaunas, Lithuania, between 1941 and 1943. What's on my Mom's mind here? I asked Mom whether this photo dated from the Displaced Persons time or from Lithuania. She immediately recognized the coat and said, "I did not have that coat in Germany."

Martha

This is Mr. Irene's maternal Aunt, "Aunt M." Her name was Martha. Click on the "Martha" label below to read more about her.

Bridgeport, Chicago, 1942. Martha smiles for the camera.

Sunny Skies in Troubled Times

Kaunas, Lithuania, 1942 or 1943. Medical students at Vytautas Magnus University enjoy the weather. My Mom, in a striped cardigan, stands just left of center in the middle of the group.

UPDATE: Mr. Irene observed that this photo is quite similar to the one I posted earlier from the same era. He wondered whether the two photos weren't taken on the same day.

It's possible, but the fact that my Mom is wearing the same outfit is no clue. People owned fewer items of clothing then, and it's likely that Mom just wore the same thing on two different days. Besides, the weather looks colder in this photo. Here, people are wearing outer coats.

What's so funny?

Mom doesn't remember what she and her medical-school classmates found funny here. The students were exiting the clinics at Vytautas Magnus University.

After the Russians occupied Lithuania in 1944, my Mom and her Dad, Jake, fled the country. Mom resumed her studies after World War II at the University of Erlangen in the American-occupied zone of post-war Germany.

Stripes must have been the fashion for women that season:

Kaunas, Lithuania, 1942 or 1943. Here's another group of college kids that looks as good as every generation of young people. My Mom is the second from right.