Peace and freedom are most precious values, Lithuanian PM says in honor of war victims

VILNIUS - Peace and freedom are the most precious values, Lithuanian Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas said on Thursday as the end of World War II in Europe is commemorated on May 8.

"Today, we remember the victims of World War II, the millions of people whose lives were cut short in a tragedy caused by totalitarian ideologies that destroyed countries, communities and families," Paluckas was quoted as saying in a statement released by the government's press service.

The continuation of this war meant new shocks for Lithuania, disasters that were hidden under the banner of the supposed liberators and included Soviet deportations, repressions, and the deaths of many thousands in the struggle for Freedom, Paluckas said.

"We must remember that in the blinding darkness of war, there were still people who, despite the dangers, created light through their own efforts, people who rescued the persecuted victims of the Holocaust, who helped those affected by the hardships of war, who, at the crossroads of difficult choices, remained on the side of humanity. Their supreme moral example will never be overshadowed by the dust of time, no matter how many years will pass after this tragedy," the Lithuanian prime minister underlined.

"As we pay our respects to the victims of war, today we also keep a warning for our own and future generations as peace and freedom are the most precious values we must preserve and defend by all means," the prime minister said.

A memorial wreath will be laid in his name at a ceremony in Macikai, Silute District, on Thursday to honor the victims of war. The ceremony will be attended by President Gitanas Nauseda and Speaker of the Seimas Saulius Skvernelis.

Citizens from more than 20 countries were imprisoned in the camps, operated by the Nazi and Soviet totalitarian regimes in Macikai for 15 years, using the same buildings and infrastructure. 

From 1941 to 1944, during the Nazi occupation, the Stalag Luft VI POW camp operated at the site. It held American, British, Belgian, Canadian, Polish, French, Australian and Soviet prisoners.

Between 1944 and 1946, the Soviets imprisoned Germans, Romanians, Hungarians, Austrians, Dutch, Poles, Czechs, Danes, Belgians, Yugoslavs, Portuguese and Greeks there.

In 1945, the Soviet occupation authorities turned the former POW camp into the Gulag Silute (Macikai) camp. Until 1955, it held Lithuanian citizens, including clergy, cultural and educational figures, partisan supporters, farmers who failed to meet quotas, escapees from exile, and women with their children born in the camp.

Many victims died from mistreatment or were executed, and mass graves are still being discovered in various locations in Silute District. Available data suggest that around 6,000 people of various nationalities died in the Macikai camps.

World War II victims will also be honored at the Paneriai Memorial in Vilnius. In the capital, at the Taras Shevchenko monument, people will also be invited to remember those killed in Ukraine.

May 8 marks the end of World War II in Europe, commemorating the joint efforts of Allied nations that brought the war to a close and Germany's signing of the unconditional surrender in 1945.