The National Museum of Lithuania invites you to an exclusive meeting with two Danish authors – historian Brian Traantoft Rasmussen and journalist Thomas Græsbøll Svaneborg. They will present their new book Escaping Stalin, which reveals the little-known story of Baltic refugees at the end of the Second World War. The event will also feature Dr. Dalia Cidzikaitė, one of the authors of the book “Manėm, kad greit grįšim” and a representative of Lithuanian Americans in Lithuania.

Welcome addresses will be delivered by Grete Sillasen, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Denmark to Lithuania. The discussion will also feature Dr. Dalia Cidzikaitė, one of the authors of the book We Thought We Would Soon Return and representative of Lithuanian Americans in Lithuania, as well as Algirdas Tamašauskas, who may be the last surviving Lithuanian refugee from the war years in Denmark. He arrived in Denmark with his mother in 1945. During their flight they lost contact with his father, whom they did not see again for more than thirty years until he visited the family in Copenhagen. Algirdas speaks Lithuanian, lived in the country for several years around the turn of the millennium, and more about his story can be found in the book. The discussion will be moderated by historian Dr. Giedrė Milerytė-Japertienė, Deputy Director General for Research and Dissemination at the National Museum of Lithuania.

An Untold Story

For the first time, Escaping Stalin so broadly illuminates the fates of thousands of Estonians, Latvians, and Lithuanians who, at the end of the war, bravely decided to cross the Baltic Sea and seek temporary refuge in Denmark, as their homelands were occupied by the Soviet Union.

Drawing on meticulous archival research, letters, diaries, and interviews with refugees and their descendants, the authors reconstruct a dramatic yet hopeful narrative about loss, hope, courage, and the sense of belonging.

A Lively Dialogue on Freedom and Democracy

The meeting at the Castellan’s House will offer an opportunity to hear not only historical facts but also the behind-the-scenes of the research, the authors’ insights, and their personal relationship with these stories. This perspective allows a fresh look at the Lithuanian experience in a broader European context – through the eyes of a Danish historian and journalist.

This book is not only a testimony of the past but also a timely reflection on the price of freedom, on the fear of losing independence, and on the role of culture in strengthening a democratic community. The authors’ narratives allow us to feel how the refugees’ experiences resonate with the present: they remind us how fragile freedom can become and how important fellowship and mutual solidarity are.

Additional context on this subject is provided by the book published by the National Museum of Lithuania, Lithuanians in Displaced Persons (DP) Camps, 1945–1951, which tells the story of Lithuanian life in DP camps after the war. It enriches the understanding of refugee experiences and allows these narratives to be viewed within a broader field of historical memory.

The event is organized by the National Museum of Lithuania and the Danish Cultural Institute, in cooperation with the Embassy of Denmark in Lithuania, as part of Denmark’s cultural program during its Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2025.

The meeting with the authors and the book presentation will take place on October 16 at 5:00 p.m. at the National Museum of Lithuania’s Castellan’s House. The event will be held in Lithuanian and English, and after the official program, guests will be invited to an informal gathering with the participants. The event is free of charge and open to all.