Lithuanian Hotline A Book Presentation by Val Krumplis and Fran Šlutas
- Date: Friday, October 13, 2017 @ 7 pm
- Valentinas Krumplis presents his co-authored book Lithuanian Hotline
- Light refreshments will be served.
- Location: Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture, 6500 S. Pulaski Rd.
- Admission: Donation
Authors Valentinas Krumplis and Pranė Šlutienė dedicate this book to all the American Lithuanians and all Lithuanian immigrants all over the world who found the time, the energy, and the finances to create a mass media storm to draw attention to the aspirations of Lithuania to be free of the Soviet Union in 1990.
About the Book
A 100 year anniversary of Lithuanian Independence will be celebrated in 2018. Lithuanian people all over the world will celebrate this Anniversary and reflect on how hard it was to win this liberty and freedom in 1918. Lithuania enjoyed two decades of independence and was able during that period to educate a generation of patriots who then had to experience the loss of independence due to World War ll.
Our historical, traditional enemies, the Germans-Nazis and the Russian Communists invaded and occupied Lithuania. After World War ll, the Russians-The Soviet Union incorporated Lithuania into their system of slave states and terrorized Lithuania for fifty years. Mass deportations, executions, collectivization was the method of operating a slave state.
After 50 years of slavery Lithuania began a movement to become free of the Soviet Union. That Patriot Generation that grew up during independence first fought as partisans in Lithuania, others fled the Soviet invasion and scattered all over the world.
The Lithuanian immigrants took with them their love of Lithuania and passed it on to their children and grand children. So…when the struggle for independence was heard in America the Lithuanian immigrants did all they could to get America to recognize Lithuanian Independence.
Their efforts in America are described in the “Lithuanian Hotline” book by Prane Šlutienė and Valentinas Krumplis. The book contains articles describing our efforts and photos of our demonstrations and pickets. The book is about the created news center Hotline and how it contacted politicians, organized letter writing, and phone call efforts to get the world to know about Lithuania’s struggle for freedom. The center organized demonstrations, contacted politicians and called for all Lithuanians to get active and help Lithuania get free.
The book contains 176 pages and has Lithuanian translations of political letters, and declarations. It was put together to give a glimpse of patriotic efforts by Lithuanian immigrants of their efforts to get America to recognize Lithuanian independence.