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“Didžiausias Holokausto siaubas yra tas, kad nusikaltimus padarė normalūs žmonės. Prieš Holokaustą jie buvo normalūs, po Holokausto jie buvo normalūs, bet vykstant Holokaustui jie padarė pačius baisiausius nusikaltimus. Tai galima pasakyti kone apie visus nacių nusikaltėlius.”
― Mūsiškiai
― Mūsiškiai
“Ši kelionė su priešu yra svarbi knygos „Mūsiškiai“ dalis ir sykiu savotiškas susitaikymas ar gal net atsisveikinimas su Lietuva, perduodant Holokausto atminimo fakelą lietuviams, taip pat ir knygos autorei Rūtai Vanagaitei, kuriai užteko drąsos pripažinti, kad ir jos giminės dalyvavo Holokauste. „Mūsiškiai“ yra bandymas atskleisti, kad vietinių ir iš kitur atvežtų žydų žudynės buvo Lietuvos tragedija, kuri mes šešėlį ant šios gražios šalies tol, kol toji tragedija nebus pagaliau įsisąmoninta ir pripažinta. Tik tuomet, kai jūs, lietuviai, suprasite, kad mano tauta, išžudytieji žydai, nors kitokio tikėjimo, tradicijų, gyvenimo būdo, buvo taip pat ir jūsiškiai, - tik tuomet jūsų šalyje prasidės tikrasis išgijimo procesas. To aš tikiuosi ir meldžiu.”
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“Kas mums, lietuviams, atsitiko? Juk mes šitaip gerbiame mirusiuosius? Jūs matėte Kavarsko kapines, kur palaidoti mano giminės? Tai kone botanikos sodas. Mes giminėje pykstamės, kad ne taip ir ne tais augalais apsodintas kapas, ne toks paminklas stovi.. Per Vėlines važiuojame šimtus kilometrų, kad uždegtume žvakelę ant kiekvieno giminaičio kapo, net ir ant to kapo, ant kurio niekas kitas neuždega.. Kodėl mes negerbiame masinių kapų, žuvusių, t. y. nužudytų, žydų kapų? Kodėl norime juos užmiršti? Nes “žydai - ne mūsiškiai? Ar dėl to, kad mūsiškiai juos nužudė, ir kuo tankesni krūmai dengs šitą gėdą, tuo mums bus lengviau?”
― Mūsiškiai
― Mūsiškiai
“[A relative came to Ruta at one of the bookfair and said she was a relative of Leonas Stonkus, whom Ruta described as having confessed that he “had shot only one Jew”.]
“No,” she says. “Not just one.”
“How do you know?”
“You see, when there were family parties, Leonas used to get drunk, and he would grab an imaginary machine gun and shoot at everyone present. Later, when they came to arrest him, when he saw the police, he said, “I have been waiting for you for thirty years.” Leonas was a very handsome man. And his son was also very handsome, and horribly unhappy. Later Leonas’s son committed suicide. His father was still alive serving his sentence.”
Story after story makes clear something I didn't expect when writing the book: The fate of the majority of the killers was horrible. But not just their fate; the fate of their children was often tragic as well.
My good friend from Samogitia comes up to the booth and says that the faces of the children of the local murderers were different somehow; they were marked in a horrible way. They were heavy drinkers, just like their fathers who had shot Jews. There was something wrong with them: They were born deaf, or they became very ill and died young. They were killed in an accident, or they committed suicide.”
― Mūsiškiai
“No,” she says. “Not just one.”
“How do you know?”
“You see, when there were family parties, Leonas used to get drunk, and he would grab an imaginary machine gun and shoot at everyone present. Later, when they came to arrest him, when he saw the police, he said, “I have been waiting for you for thirty years.” Leonas was a very handsome man. And his son was also very handsome, and horribly unhappy. Later Leonas’s son committed suicide. His father was still alive serving his sentence.”
Story after story makes clear something I didn't expect when writing the book: The fate of the majority of the killers was horrible. But not just their fate; the fate of their children was often tragic as well.
My good friend from Samogitia comes up to the booth and says that the faces of the children of the local murderers were different somehow; they were marked in a horrible way. They were heavy drinkers, just like their fathers who had shot Jews. There was something wrong with them: They were born deaf, or they became very ill and died young. They were killed in an accident, or they committed suicide.”
― Mūsiškiai
“Taip, mūsų tautą kankino kiti. Draudė kalbą, tikėjimą, neleido keliauti po pasaulį. Bet jei mūsų tautoje buvo ir budelių, kodėl turėtume bijoti šios tiesos? Ar ji sugriauna mūsų likimus? Galbūt mums perštės, kai galvosim apie savo prosenelius, apie kuriuos kai ką sužinojom, nebus taip malonu žiūrėti į paveldėtus antikvarinius daiktus, kurie nežinia kaip atsirado jų namuose. Tegu peršti. Bet žinosim, kad tas perštėjimas yra mūsų atsiprašymas ir atgaila. Žinosim, kad tiems, kurie gyvens po mūsų, neperštės dėl mūsų gyvenimo ir mūsų sprendimų. Mes neprikelsim nė vieno iš kapo, nesutaikysim budelio su auka, bet galbūt išmoksime “pamokas, kad tai, kas įvyko, nebepasikartotų.”
― Mūsiškiai
― Mūsiškiai
“Saulius Berzinis: You bought a tooth? It was possible to buy a tooth?
Regina Prudnikova (interviewed in April 1988): Yes, yes, [a gold tooth]. I got it cheap. When the Russians invaded, I bought it from this one woman.
SB: Where is that tooth now?
RP: Right here (points to a gold tooth in her mouth). They melted it down and made it truth for me. That woman's husband shot Jews, and sold me the whole crown.
SB: So you bought the crown along with the whole tooth?
RP: Yes, with the tooth.
SP: So that means you profited from the Jews, too?
RP: How did I profit? I paid for that tooth
Credit to: Jeff and Toby Herr Collection at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington DC.”
― Mūsiškiai
Regina Prudnikova (interviewed in April 1988): Yes, yes, [a gold tooth]. I got it cheap. When the Russians invaded, I bought it from this one woman.
SB: Where is that tooth now?
RP: Right here (points to a gold tooth in her mouth). They melted it down and made it truth for me. That woman's husband shot Jews, and sold me the whole crown.
SB: So you bought the crown along with the whole tooth?
RP: Yes, with the tooth.
SP: So that means you profited from the Jews, too?
RP: How did I profit? I paid for that tooth
Credit to: Jeff and Toby Herr Collection at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington DC.”
― Mūsiškiai
