Baltic Dreamin’ on Such a Winter's Day

(Vilnius, Tuesday, Wednesday) OK…maybe the title is a bit of a stretch but it has been cold and wintry since we got here although no snow. Still, it has been a bit of an assault on the thin Carolina blood of many of us. Fortunately, Dr. Morgan warned everyone that it would be cold so we are all well prepared.

Tuesday had an emotionally draining start. We walked about 15 minutes to our hotel to this unassuming, large building facing the main street. This was the former headquarters of the KGB (and the Nazis for a time during the war). The first thing Dr. Morgan pointed out to us were the pock-marks on the building side. That’s where the KGB would shoot Lithuanians and leave their bodies on the sidewalk in the hopes of catching a family member claiming the body. The walk inside the facility was equally grim. All around the building there are plagues with names and dates of birth and death. The names are of people who went into KGB headquarters but never came out. Many were younger than our students. Inside is equally bleak. Tiny 3x3 cells where a half-dozen prisoners were kept for interrogation. Slightly bigger cells where four or more prisoners were kept for months or longer with no heat, no toilet and concrete walls and floors; Torture chambers where prisoners were beaten, shocked, given psychotropic drugs and had unspeakable things done to them. But torture was officially banned by the government (isn’t it always?) so, instead of torture, the KGB could use a “means of physical influence” or “active interrogation.” It is amazing how governments will torture the language to try to convince the world that they are not torturing people.

And then there was the secret room. The room where some prisoners were taken and promised deportation to work camps only to be shot. It is a small, concrete room with a sloped floor so that blood would flow down a drain. A water pipe on one end of the floor helped keep the blood flowing, making it clean for the next killing. Many of our students stood on the spot where those their age stood a generation or two ago and had bullets callously fired into them by Soviets who were “just doing their jobs.” Behind where our students stood were the bullet holes that defined that Soviet era of repression here in Lithuania. Some of those killed were dissidents trying to free Lithuania from Soviet tyranny; Some were lawyers or professors—enemies of the state; and some were just ratted out by neighbors who thought they could gain some advantage—or save their own skin—by turning in their friends. For the world, the second war ended in 1945. For Lithuania, the war didn’t end until the Soviets left in 1990. Some here refer to those 45 years as the “war after war.” We all walked away from the KGB horror house shaken…and changed.

The afternoon was a pleasant change of pace as well as a real treat. We all took the long walk up the hill to the US Embassy. Like US Embassies everywhere in the world, this was a heavily fortified and ugly structure. We waited in the cold for up to 30-minutes to clear security but it was well worth it. While some groups get to meet with public affairs officers or low level officials—all of whom are interesting and informative—our group got to meet with the US Ambassador to Lithuania, John Cloud. Dr. Morgan has known Ambassador Cloud for a while and, despite a very busy schedule, he agreed to talk with us for almost one hour. It was a far ranging and candid discussion with questions about Lithuania, the EU and the role of the United States in the changing world landscape as well as questions about the diplomatic life and how to raise children while being posted all around the world. It was an honor for us to meet the man who speaks for our country here in Lithuania.

Tuesday night we were all free to discover the city. Wednesday was a day for independent study allowing students to discover whatever they wanted. For me, the day was best summed up by my colleague, Dr. Anthony Hatcher, who suggested there should be a song: "I Got My Virus in Vilnius." A catchy tune or, more accurately, a catching tune. Dr. Morgan was sick first, then one of our students, then me on Wednesday. Fortunately, it has been that extremely un-rare and inevitable illness known as “the sniffles” (or sometimes the variation known as “the crude”). This is why we all brought plenty of Dayquil and Nyquil (or the cheaper generics) so it hasn’t slowed us down any. Everyone will catch a cold sometime during this trip…. it’s almost guaranteed. And nothing to worry about.

Most of those who were feeling well on Wednesday went to a nearby castle and spent the day exploring that. A few stayed in town and went to the mall and explored Vilnius. All returned safe and sound.