Tarp simpatijos ir pragmatikos: Rafaelio Lemkino ryšiai su Lietuva ir lietuviais
Between Sympathy and Pragmatism: Raphael Lemkin’s Ties with Lithuania and Lithuanians
Author(s): Zigmas VitkusSubject(s): History, Social Sciences, Jewish studies, Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, Studies in violence and power
Published by: Vytauto Didžiojo Universitetas
Keywords: Raphael Lemkin; Human rights; Genocide; Genocide Convention; Lithuanian diaspora; Baltic states;
Summary/Abstract: Drawing on ego-documents, the periodical press, and historiography, this article examines the previously unexplored connections between Raphael Lemkin – the Polish-Jewish lawyer who coined the term “genocide” – and Lithuania and its people, as well as the nature and evolution of these ties. The study reveals that during the interwar period, Lemkin’s relations with Lithuania were episodic and primarily driven by professional interests. At the beginning of World War II, Lemkin spent four months in Lithuania as a refugee, an experience he later reflected upon in his autobiography. In the 1950s–1960s, these sporadic connections evolved into a more systematic collaboration, united by shared political goals, interests, and perspectives on the fate of nations under Soviet rule. The article employs descriptive, reconstructive, and interpretative methodological approaches.
Journal: Istorija. Lietuvos aukštųjų mokyklų mokslo darbai
- Issue Year: 141/2026
- Issue No: 1
- Page Range: 56-81
- Page Count: 26
- Language: Lithuanian
