The Murder and the Silence: Uncovering Lithuania’s Holocaust Collaboration

When the best-selling author and journalist Ruta Vanagaite (born in Šiauliai, Lithuania) discovered that her own relatives were complicit in the murder of Lithuanian Jews during the World War II era, she became determined to awaken the consciousness of her countrymen. In this effort, she co-authored Mūsiškiai (Our People: A Journey with an Enemy, with Dr. Efraim Zuroff), a book that uncovers Lithuanians' wartime atrocities. In the face of the hostility that her work has caused, Vanagaite is undertaking an international campaign for truth and justice. In her appearances and speeches all over the world, she discusses with various audiences her struggle to break the silence and the enormous controversy her work has stirred. Mūsiškiai has deeply affected public discourse about Nazi collaborators and the search for truth among many young Europeans. Join Ruta in an event co-hosted by the Hunter's Human Rights Program, Russian and Slavic Studies, and the Center for Jewish Studies.