We invite you to join the civic initiative “Memory is Alive Because it Testifies” and to light candles of unity, remembrance and victory all together in the windows all over Lithuania on January 13, 2021. At 8.00 a.m. for ten minutes.
The International Commission for the Evaluation of the Crimes of the Nazi and Soviet Occupation
Regimes in Lithuania invites Lithuanian educational institutions, state establishments, organizations, foreign embassies
and all the people of goodwill to commemorate the civic victory against the aggressor thirty years
ago and to join the civic initiative “Memory is Alive Because it Testifies”.
The initiative’s symbol is a candle, which symbolizes light, justice, memory and bonfires of freedom defenders
Location: all across Lithuania
Date: Jan. 13, 2021 (Wednesday).
Time for the civic initiative: 8.00–8.10
The civic initiative “Memory is Alive Because it Testifies” commemorates the January of 1991, when Lithuanian citizens, empowered by the pursuit of unity and freedom, achieved a historic victory. The nation resisted the aggression of the Soviet occupiers and local collaborators and their attempt to exercise a takeover by the military force, and defended the independence of the restored state.
The victory of Lithuanian citizens against the aggressor in 1991 is the most outstanding event in the recent history of our country – it was an essential turning point in the path of restoration and consolidation of independence, determining not only the future of our country but also fundamental international geopolitical processes. In those days, the fates of all the nations and states enslaved by the Soviet empire were largely decided, and the future of Europe was largely decided. And we can be proud of this victory.
It was the victory of the Nation. And the Nation is not only the people who lived in that historical moment, but also the previous generation that laid the foundations for the pursuit of freedom – volunteers of independence struggles, post-war partisans and resisters – this is the generation that grew up in independent Lithuania.
In 2021, the civic initiative “Memory Is Alive Because It Testifies” will be held in Lithuania for the fourteenth time. The initiative is supported by the President of the Republic of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda.
A proposal for the initiative: A candle is placed in the middle of each window. The candles should be a few centimeters high to avoid the window frame blocking their flames. At 8 a.m., the lights are turned off for ten minutes, and the candles are lit.
Note. It is important to light the candles at the same time (8.00–8.10) so that the candle flames flare all over Lithuania at the same time. It looks especially effective in the morning, as it is still dark, and candle flames will draw people’s attention and remind the importance of the day.
We kindly ask the ones who intend to join the civic initiative “Memory is Alive because It Testifies” to register: https://www.komisija.lt/renginiai/kvieciame-dalyvauti-pilietineje-iniciatyvoje-atmintis-gyva-nes-liudija/