- September 25, 2013
- 355
Danuta Nazarenko-Lipska : 1988 – the year of rebirth of polishness in Lithuania
“On the way back to Poland we were transporting illegal Xerox machines. There were Soviet soldiers standing on the border. I told the girl to sit and not to move, for we had the whole stuff underneath our clothes” – said to zw.lt Danuta Nazarenko-Lipska, one of the founders of the Sociocultural Association of Poles in Lithuania. On Sunday (29 September) the ceremony of the 25th anniversary of the Association’s founding is to take place at the House of Polish Culture in Vilnius.
What can we expect from the ceremony of 25th anniversary of founding the Sociocultural Units of the Association of Poles in Lithuania (Polish: Oddziały Społeczno-Kulturalne Stowarzyszeń Polaków na Litwie, OSSKPL)? After all, it was the first independent organization in the whole Soviet Union.
1988 was the year of rebirth of polishness in Lithuania. It especially refers to the Fuel Apparatus company in Vilnius. It was Jan Andrzejewski who united us. I worked at the architecture and artistic department at that time so I was the one who was engaged in advertisement. All of invitations, acknowledgements, various leaflets and newspapers were written by me. First announcements were placed next to an entrance gate of the company. People reading about Adam Mickiewicz’s 200th birth anniversary just cried because the information was written in their native language. They prayed. That was so touching.
What did the organizational site look like at those times? Flow of information, for instance, the Internet didn’t exist yet, how people were informed about the meetings…?
That’s what I owe to Mr. Andrzejewski. He united us. We gathered in different units. We discussed current issues there: what had to be done, how we should behave. We wanted Lithuania to be free. We fought for freedom in Lithuania. Nobody told about it at that time. Maybe some people only thought of it.
Sąjūdis (Reform Movement of Lithuania) was, as far as I remember, founded later than the Association. What did the contacts of Lithuanian activists look like?
Yes, we were in touch with the Lithuanians. Sąjūdis was already established at the Fuel Apparatus company, but it wasn’t strong enough at that time.
The company’s Unit was named…
… the Władysław Syrokomla Unit. It was the first Unit in Lithuania and in the Soviet Union. We were afraid, of course. We were persecuted. I even got fired.
What was the reason for firing you?
I was fired for polishness. For work I was doing. I did that social work after my basic duties. We stayed late in the evenings. It was sort of half-legal work.
Later on the Association was turned into the Association of Poles in Lithuania and the activists’ paths diverged…
Yes, that happened later. The paths diverged because of political or economic reasons.
And were there arguments or conflicts among Poles between 1988 and 1989?
No, nothing like that. We had one goal. We walked the same path and were thinking the same way. We were just going through the rebirth process. We were looking for the way to freedom together.
What were the first, official Association’s assumptions? For as we know, at first Sąjūdis didn’t demand officially for independence.
We wanted Vilnius traditions to be revived. The traditions of our fathers. It was forbidden earlier. We organized various evening meetings and holidays.
How many guests, do you think, will come at the Sunday’s ceremony?
We’d like to invite all the supporters and members. We’re waiting for everyone, maybe somebody will bring more materials. Nobody is going to be omitted.
Is there a plan to publish a book or album dedicated to those events?
We have more than 40 boards in A1 format. These are genuine materials. There is everything: photographs, inscriptions, documents. So everyone is invited to come to the House of Polish Culture to see it. The exhibition can be seen within limited time. It’s a large collection. We even had the sorting service who had their own armbands. And Mr. Andrzejewski has saved it all. It’s amazing.
Can you tell the difference between the generation of Poles in Lithuania from that time and the nowadays’ one?
Absolutely, the differences are huge. Now everybody has everything. We are free. We live in a free country.
Guests from Poland who were supporting you at that time are also invited for the Sunday meeting. How were the connections with Poland established?
Yes, they were supporting us financially and mentally. When it comes to connections, we went with children once, for the People’s Tribune (Polish: Trybuna Ludu) days, which took place in Warsaw, Cracow and Częstochowa. We went there as “Wilenka”. On our way back we were transporting the Xerox machines. There were Soviet soldiers standing on the border. It was great danger. I told the girl to sit and not to move, for there was the whole stuff hidden underneath our clothes. We were very nervous because the machines were big and heavy. Well, we transported various things in various ways.
Mr. Jan Andrzejewski talking to zw.lt mentioned that after the official part the sentimental discussion will take place. Do you think you will succeed in reviving atmosphere of that time? Won’t the future divisions be noticeable?
I hope we’ll succeed. They will see themselves, the work we did. So I think everybody will understand it and come back to their roots.
Tłumaczenie by Elżbieta Szafarz w ramach praktyk w Europejskiej Fundacji Praw Człowieka, www.efhr.eu. Translated by Elżbieta Szafarz within the framework of a traineeship programme of the European Foundation of Human Rights, www.efhr.eu.
