Migrants and Refugees On the Curonian Spit

Published on Wednesday, 13 November 2019 22:15

Dr Vasilijus Safronovas 

Migrants and Refugees on the Curonian Spit: Resettlement in the Mid-20th Century

Since the times of the Prussian philosopher and naturalist Wilhelm von Humboldt, the Curonian Spit has been called a woodland paradise, the gem of the kingdom of dunes and a wonder of nature. For most authors, the spit was valuable primarily because of its beautiful landscape. But why do we call it 'Curonian'? Who were, and are, its inhabitants? We are invited here to reconsider the prevailing images, and see the peninsula as a place of constant migration, an area that was almost completely depopulated as a consequence of the Second World War, and the resettlement of which was exceptional in the postwar Lithuanian context.

In this research study Dr Vasilijus Safronovas tackles the subject of migration which can hardly be counted as being of minor importance today. The frequent changes of place of residence tha we can observe in today's mobile society contribute towards this as much as people fleeing or being forced from their homes as a result of social or economic problems or armed conflict. However, unlike the focus put on the topic of migration by the general public, studies by historians looking at mass displacement may only partly be considered an occasional phenomenon. In Lithuania such topic is relatively recent. A study by Dr Vasilijus Safronovas is not the first to examine mingration on the Curonian Spit (Kurt Forstreur, Friedrich Mager, Arūnė Liucija Arbašauskaitė must be mentioned) and here some previous issues are inevitably revisited. This book consist of three chapters covering a rather long period up to 1945, the prewar residents of the northern section, and the changes that took place prior to 1961. 

Tomas Balkelis, Vasilijus Safronovas, and Rasa Antanavičiūtė during the book presentation in Nida. Photo by Julija Navarskaitė

Read the digital book on ISSUU website