BALTIC WORLDSBALTIC A scholarly journal and news magazine. June 2019. Vol. XII:2. Special section: Life in From the Centre for Baltic and East European Studies (CBEES), Södertörn University. the Archipelago. 50 pages June 2019. Vol. XII:2 BALTIC WORLDSbalticworlds.com The stories that need to be told Testimonies on the horrors The stories that need to be told. told. be to need that stories The of the Holocaust Death and life in the Lithuanian Jewish Shtetls Testemonies on the horrors of the Holocaust the of horrors the on Testemonies The last witnesses of the massacres in Pidhaitsi also in this issue Sunvisson Karin Illustration: PAN-BALTIC DREAMS / RUSSIAN SPY FILMS / SOROS ART CENTERS / ALBANIA AS UTOPIA / GULAG MEMORIES Sponsored by the Foundation BALTIC for Baltic and East European Studies WORLDSbalticworlds.com editorial in this issue Listen to the stories o remember and tell may be the only acteristic nature, the surrounding way to deal with a traumatic past. We water, and the isolation of the begin this issue with texts describing sparsely inhabitant islands, despite and recalling the massacres of Jews their being situated close to land Tin the surroundings of Nazi German. Grigory and often too dense urban centers. Kanovich, now 90 years old, is the last Lithu- The theme has an emphasis on anian author with first-hand experience of the research on entrepreneurship, and horrors. In his books he has in his wording discusses how to make a living in Continued use "tried to create a written monument of the Jews the archipelago and in best using in the shtetls". the resources that the environment of ecosystems For Baltic Worlds he tells about the difficul- in the archipelago provides, while Fishing was earlier ties in writing about the persecution of the also protecting and securing the always one of several Jews during the Soviet regime, and further the nature and ecosystems in the areas legs that underpinned the liveli- reluctance today to recognize that the Lithu- against exploitation. hoods and economies of costal anians turned against the Jews without being “families. Page 40 commanded to do so by the Nazis. There were, IN THE REVIEW section, we return however, also Lithuanians who helped and to dwell on the politics of memory saved Jews. We here publish such an encounter and how the past is treated. Tomas in an extract from Kanovich’s newly translated Sniegon reviews Gulag Memories by novel Devilspel. Zuzanna Bogumil and Francesco Baltic Worlds publishes a chapter from a Zavatti reviews Tourist in Utopia, forthcoming book in Swedish by Peter Hand- the biography of the Norwegian berg. He has during travels collected testimo- professor Rune Ottosen who tried nies from the last witnesses of the Holocaust. to come to terms with his own en- The stories shed lights on how humans do, or thusiastic belief in the communist rather do not, cope with the horrors such as system and his travels to ensure Post-Soviet massacres of children. This chapter is from the friendship and relations with the spy cinema village of Pidhajtsi in Ukraine. Hoxha regime in Albania during Historical trauma repre- the 70s. sented through visual art IN AN ESSAY Viktoriya Sukovato focus on the Followers, witnesses, and sur- can create a distance between cultural memory and trauma of WWII from vivors — they all have stories to be the subject of the trauma (the another viewpoint. She discusses how spy films told. ≈ “audience) and the traumatic can play a role of a collective psychotherapy for Ninna Mörner experience. Page 29 the post-war Societ society. Baltic Worlds includes, as always, a broad spectrum of articles and subjects in each issue. The theme section "Life in the Archipelago" throws us into a completely different setting. In a series of articles, we learn about the special prerequisites for economic, social, and cultural life in areas such as the archipelago. In the archipelago life is intertwined with the char- contents 3 colophon Baltic Worlds is published by the Centre for Baltic and East European Studies (CBEES) at Södertörn University, Sweden. Editor-in-chief Ninna Mörner Publisher feature reports Joakim Ekman 102 Berlin & Europe: 1989 and now, 4 Grigory Kanovich. The last Scholarly advisory council Joakim Ekman Lithuanian Jewish author with Thomas Andrén, Södertörn 104 Work for international scholarly first-hand experience of the University; Sari Autio-Sarasmo, solidarity, Ninna Mörner shtetls, Påhl Ruin Aleksanteri Institute, Helsinki stories reviews Universiy; Sofie Bedford, IRES, 12 In the footsteps of the 90 Writing the War. Literature about Uppsala University; Michael Holocaust. Death in the war in Donbas, Yuliya Yurchuk Gentile, Oslo University; Markus Pidhaitsi, Peter Handberg 92 Between memory and courage. Huss (chair), Stockholm University; 20 The dream of a Balto- Rune Ottosen’s Tourist in Utopia, Katarina Leppänen, University of Scandian Federation, Francesco Zavatti Gothenburg; Thomas Lundén, Thomas Lundén 95 The Gulag memory. The sites and places CBEES, Södetörn University; of commemoration, Tomas Sniegon Kazimierz Musiał, University of essay 97 Politics of colonization, Russian imperial Gdańsk; Barbara Törnquist Plewa, 29 Memories of the war in governance, Susanna Rabow-Edling Centre for European Studies, Lund Soviet and Russian spy 98 Art History outside the nationalist University cinema. Evolution of trauma, paradigm, Annika Öhrner Corresponding members Viktoriya Sukovata Aija Lulle, University of Latvia; Michael North, Ernst Moritz Arndt University Greifswald; special section Life in the Archipelago Andrzei Nowak, Jagiellonian University, Kraków; Andrea Petö, Archipelago as a context, Paulina Central European University, introduction Rytkönen, Tommy Larsson-Segerlind, 37 The Baltic Sea Region Budapest; Jens E. Olesen, Gustaf Onn, Lars Degerstedt, and Mauri Archipelagos and Islands. Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University, Kaipainen Conditions and challenges, Nadir Greifswald; Olga Schihalejev, Tartu University Kinossian & Paulina Rytkönen essays Copyediting/proofreading 50 Shit-pits and the archaeology peer-reviewed Anya Luise Brinich, Matthew of a lost economy, Johan Hegardt Hogg, Kate Lambert, Semantix; articles 57 Entrepreneurship in the Stockholm 40 Continued use of ecosystems: Bridget Schäfer Archipelago. A historical perspective, Challenges for fishing and Layout Christian Widholm farming communities, Håkan Sara Bergfors, Lena Fredriksson, Tunón, Marie Kvarnström, Joakim features Serpentin Media Boström and, Anna-Karin Utbult 67 3 islands – 3 entrepreneurs. Jacks- Illustrations Almkvist of-all-trades keep the Stockholm Moa Franzén, Karin Sunvisson, 61 New research agenda. Agents Archipelago alive, Susanna Lidström Ragni Svensson of change in peripheral regions, 87 The Archipelago Business Subscription Nadir Kinossian Development project gave new Sofia Barlind 74 A comparative study of insights, Annemari Andrésen Printed by entrepreneurial responses 89 App speeds up anchoring on busy Elanders Sverige AB and local development on islands. The students' perspective, Printed: ISSN 2000-2955 three islands: Facing business Ninna Mörner Online: ISSN 2001-7308 challenges with the Stockholm Contact Baltic Worlds [email protected] The content expresses the views of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the views of Baltic Worlds. 4 feature LITHUANIAN AUTHOR “I HAVE TRIED GRIGORY KANOVICH, SURVIVOR OF TO CREATE THE SHTETLS: A WRITTEN MONUMENT TO THE LITHUANIAN JEWS” by Påhl Ruin e is the last Lithuanian Jewish author with first-hand Kanovich has lived in Israel since 1993, and his son Sergey has experience of the shtetls, the small Jewish towns that helped in translating our questions into Russian and then trans- vanished from the face of the earth in 1941. lating the answers into English. First his father only answered ”I have tried to create a written monument to the three of the questions, and he was too tired to continue. But the Lithuanian Jews”, says Grigory Kanovich in an interview with following day came the rest of the answers. Baltic Worlds. ”He is delighted that the English-speaking world is now able Kanovich turns 90 this summer. At 85 he stopped writing to read his books”, says Sergey, who is also a writer and cur- when he published his last book, Shtetl Love Song. The book rently walking in his father’s footsteps by trying to give life to the Devilspel, from which an extract is published in this issue of Jewish culture before the war through work with the Lost Shtetl Baltic Worlds, was written back in 2002 but not translated into Museum in the small town of Šeduva in northern Lithuania. English until now. ”I have said many times that Lithuania has enough traces of heslavas deliberated constantly about how he could save Elisheva from those who wished to purify the nation. He thought about her when he was in the Extract from meadow, too, with the intoxicating odour of Devilspel harvest“ in his C nostrils, as he carefully lifted the hay and lay it by Grigory into the cart as if it was alive. The clouds descended lower and lower. On the horizon, far beyond the meadow, they had Kanovich. already merged with the majestic crowns of the trees. From time to time the horse raised its head and looked up in alarm; Translated by Yisrael it wouldn’t be long before they dropped their burden – the Elliot Cohen for Noir Press. first rainstorm the bomb-wounded earth would receive. Release of the English Without waiting for Elisheva to bring his afternoon snack, version June 2019. Lomsargis got up on the seat of the cart. Speaking tenderly, feature 5 The old part of Grigory Kanovich’ home town Janova was demolished in 1941. as if to a member of his family, he urged his raven beauty on, suffered not only from a diseased liver, but also from a flow of Stasia, Stasite, Stanislava. Stasite understood from his tone pointless questions in her blood. where to go and how. She understood whether he wanted “I’m learning from her.” her to trot or gallop, whether in the direction of the farm or to “If it’s no secret, what are you learning? I would imagine Mishkine.