Vilnius University Will Award 41 Memory Diplomas in Honour of Those Expelled during the Occupation

On 28 June, 15:00, at St Johns’ Church, 41 members of the Vilnius University (VU) community who suffered from totalitarian regimes and were expelled from the University more than 80 years ago will be honoured with symbolic Memory Diplomas.

Currently, 259 people living not only in Lithuania but also in the United States, Israel, Poland, and France have been found and honoured with the Memory Diplomas.

‘For the eighth time, we are gathering to pay our respects and symbolically bring back to the Vilnius University community the members of the University who were expelled by the occupation regimes and local collaborators. It is like a symbolic return of a dream and hope that was long overdue. This year, as in previous Memory Diploma ceremonies, we are witnessing a heart-warming trend: while expelled students and members of staff rarely return to continue their studies, Vilnius University – which had historically different names in the Soviet era and today – remains the first choice of study for their children and grandchildren. The families manage to foster forgiveness, understanding the inevitability of historical circumstances under occupation and the pursuit of a university education,’ says the historian Prof. Jurgita Verbickienė.

This year, the Rector of Vilnius University, Prof. Rimvydas Petrauskas, awarded three Memory Diplomas to the relatives of VU students and staff members who suffered injustice during the occupation. The diploma of Jonas Kruopas, a lecturer at the Faculty of History and Philology, was received by his daughter Laima Kruopaitė-Burneikienė, the diploma of Adelė Žemaitytė-Čepelienė, a student at the Faculty of Economics, was received by her grandson Emilijus Žilinskas, and the diploma of Dmitrijus Kopelmanas, a lecturer at the Faculty of History and Philology, was awarded to his son, Henry Kopelman-Gidoni.

Most often, the information about former members of the VU community who lost the opportunity to work or study at VU due to totalitarian regimes comes from their family, relatives, course mates, and colleagues.

This year, the interest in the case of the former VU student Adelė Žemaitytė-Čepelienė and the launch of a historical investigation were prompted by an enquiry from her grandson Emilijus Žilinskas. He found out about the historical VU initiative quite by chance – a year ago, at his own graduation celebration, while waiting to be awarded his VU medical diploma.

'On that day, I watched the graduation ceremony at St Johns’ Church and remembered my dear grandmother, who, unlike me, did not have the opportunity to graduate from Vilnius University at that time. That is why today I am elated that my grandmother has been awarded a symbolic Memory Diploma, which, as I see it, even after her death, is a wonderful symbol of my grandmother's youthful dream to graduate from the University and be a part of its community,’ says Emilijus, the grandson of Adelė Žemaitytė-Čepelienė.

The names of the other 38 graduates will be read aloud during the ceremony and their diplomas will be handed over to the VU Museum, as neither the nominees themselves nor their relatives could be found.

Established eight years ago, a VU Memory Diploma is a symbol of acknowledgement of the mistakes made in the history of VU and a sign of respect for former members of the community who have suffered injustice. The diploma and the public ceremony are part of the ‘Recovering Memory’ initiative based on historical research. The main aim of this historical initiative is to assess the impact of totalitarian regimes on the VU community, discover the victims of such regimes and symbolically bring them back to the VU community.

Today, more than a thousand people – Lithuanians, Poles, and Jews – could qualify for a Memory Diploma. During the occupation, they were not allowed to work or study at the University simply because of their nationality, views, disloyalty to the regime, social origin, their own or their relatives' exile, or their links with Lithuanian partisans and resistance fighters.

VU invites persons who were expelled from VU due to political regimes after 15 June 1940 or who knew such persons to enquire at or complete the questionnaire to apply for a Memory Diploma.