Twenty-four Lithuanian cities were de- stroyed by the fascists. Above is the war memorial in Kaunas. By BERT WHYTE When Hitler launched his attack on the Soviet Union one of the first mas- sacres of civilians occurred in the tiny village of Ablinga, some 40 miles east of the Lithuanian seaport of Klaipeda (the former Memel) on the Baltic Sea. Of the 43 residents, 42 were killed, and the village itself was burned to the ground. The sole survivor, a six- year-old girl, has been mentally ill ever since. After the Hitlerites were defeated, Lithuanian sculptors came to the site of the former village and created an impressive, simple war memorial: aided by descriptions of the murdered villagers provided by people in the dis- trict who had known them, they carved in oak trees replicas of each individual who had died. Visiting this unique memorial, I read the following inscription on a plaque: 8 “It was nice, our village of Ablinga: quiet and hard working were its peas- ants. We plowed the land, we raised horses, we sang songs, we grew flow- ers. But in 1941, in the morning of June 21, predatory hawks, a gang of German fascists, attacked. They killed our men and women, our boys and girls, our infants and grey-haired old men. And our beautiful homes were turned into ashes. You who are alive, be on guard!” Silently we walked from tree to tree, examining the artists’ depiction of the martyrs: here a village elder, there a mother with her arms around her small children, a local musician with his violin... : Henry Zimanas broke the silence: “Czechoslovakia has its Lidice, France its Oradour,” he said sombrely. “But in Lithuania alone we had 24 vil- . lages destroyed like this one. And in Byelorussia . . . there were hundreds.” When Monica and I were introduced to Henry on our arrival at a holiday rest home near the ancient village of Nida, he immediately appointed him- self our informal host during our fort- night’s stay. We couldn’t have found ourselves in better hands. Henry Zibanas is the editor of Com- munist, the theoretical organ of the party in Lithuania. He is also a mem- ber of the Supreme Soviet of . the republic. For some 30 years he was editor-in-chief of -Tiesa, the party paper . published in Vilnius. A communist since 1934, Henry was leader of the wartime guerilla move- ment in the south of Lithuania from January 1943 (when he landed by glider) to the end of the war. The re- sistance movement was divided into two groups, working in the north and south, and the armed struggle took on a countrywide scope; embracing thous- ands of anti-fascists. On January 28, 1945, the day when Klaipeda was liber- 3 ra PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 1973—PAGE 10- i ” Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic ated, the last German soldier was thrown out of Soviet Lithuania. * * Neringa is a sandy spit of land about 75 miles long and from a few hundred yards to three miles wide, which cuts off Kurshsky Bay from the Baltic Sea. It is famous for its shifting sand dunes and its beautiful pine forests, with its denizens —.elk, fox, wild boar. (Dur- ing the period of German occupation Goering used to spend his holidays hunting wild boar near a village called © Black Beach). Kurshsky Bay teems with fish. Henry is an avid fishermen. He plied us with smoked fish and presented us with a smoked eel before we returned to Mos- cow. And he introduced us to many local communists — most of them also ardent fishermen. Aloyzas Puslys, the young and ener- getic mayor of Palanga, called for us one afternoon and drove us all around the sandspit. We visited the house (now a museum) where Thomas Mann spent three summers, 1930-32, writing « Joseph and His Brothers (Joseph und seine Bruder). A page of the manu- script in the author’s small, fine hand- writing is on display. And there is a framed quotation by Mann: “The indescribable uniqueness and charm of this landscape, the fantastic world of shifting dunes, the pine forests and birch groves inhabited by elk and lying between the bay and the Baltic Sea — all this created such an impression on us that we decided to build ourselves a dwelling in these distant parts .. .”. ; - At a local history museum we learn- ed that the first mention of Nida was made in 1387. — more than a century before Columbus discovered America! By 1529 it was considered a city. Then plague wiped out most of the popula- tion and drifting sand dunes buried the place. It didn’t begin rebuilding until the end of the 17th century. Today it is a charming resort village, whose population multiplies many times dur- ing the summer holiday season. * * * One day we drove with Henry Zima- nas to the end of the sandspit, took a ferry to Klaipeda, were introduced to Ignas Jurginis, deputy-chairman of the city council, and went on a tour of the busy harbour. Boarding the 15,000-ton Ostrov Ruski (Russian Island) we were warm- ly welcomed by Captain Albinas Bra- zunia, 43, who told us something about his ship. Built in Sweden, it is a refri- gerator cargo ship, 12,000. h.p. and with a speed of 18 knots. It takes sup- Lithuaninan’s rivers and lakes abound in fish i fishing fleet’s mother ship ae a seas sis off Newfoundland, Labrador, Sable Island, Norfolk, Dakar, Cape Town, Cape of Good Hope. “An ordinary trip lasts about 45 days,” said the captain. “We have a crew of 76, including 10 women. There are 12 ships of this type, all built in Goteborg and all called ‘Island. The Russian Island was christened there in 1968 by the wife of the Soviet ambas- sador to-Sweden.” : a The ship was spotless, gleaming —— its pistic covering on walls makes cleaning an easy task. We toured the bridge and examined the modern in- struments, then wére led through the kitchen, the officers’ and crew’s mess, with T.V. and film screens (about 30 films are taken on a trip, and ex- changed with those onthe mother ip). grace a splendid lunch of porsch, steak and potatoes — plus vodka, of course — Captain Brazunis told us, under urging, a little about himself.. om the ravages of war to the plenty of peace He finished school in Klaipeda in 1952, sailed for 10 years as a navigator and the last 10 as a captain. “Once we had engine touble and put - in at St. Johns, Nowfoundland, for re pairs,’ he said. “The Canadians were very pleasant, we had a chance to see a cOrmer of your country, and on our national holiday, November 7, school- children came aboard and presented us with flowers. We much appreciated this friendly gesture.” © AS for fishing off Labrador, the cap- tain quoted a Soviet saying, with @ grin: “Labrador is ice, icebergs and fog, and the fish are somewhere in the water.” * a ca Our holiday combined work and pleasure, I had been in Lithuania be- » fore, several years ago, and regrett that time prevented me from return: ing to Vilnius, Kaunas and_ other industrial cities for a second look. But perhaps the opportunity will come later, Se Guine leaders in Moscow i i tate Luis Cabral, Premier of the iS} Council of the newly-established re- public of Guine met last week in Moscow with Soviet President Pod- my. ; Being help to tht West African territory, Podgorny told a Kremlin banquet audience in honor of the dele- gation, “Our country is ready to con- tinue to give the necessary aid to Guine in her struggle for the consolida- tion of her sovereignty and for imple- mentation of the national reconstruc- tion and development program. “We resolutely demand that the Portuguese government end encroach- ments on the sovereignty and territo- rial integrity of Guine and that it im- mediately withdraw its forces.” In his reply, Mr. Cabral said: ‘We constantly feel the presence of the Soviet Union .. . in that defence poten- tial which can be found in the aid given to our development, and in the preparation of cadres essential to our struggle.” oe He said that his people would con- tinue their struggle until the last Portuguese soldier was cleared out of their country. Luis Cabral (left), Premier of the State Quncil of Guine with Soviet President Padgorny at their Moscow meeting.