Barakų kultūros knygos: lietuvių DP leidyba 1945 - 1952
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| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Book |
| Language: | Lithuanian English |
| Published: |
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Versus Aureus
2004
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| Online Access: | Inhaltsverzeichnis Abstract |
| Item Description: | Zsfassung in engl. Sprache u.d.T: Book publishing of Lithuanian displaced persons in West Europe in 1945 - 1952 |
| Physical Description: | 407 S. |
| ISBN: | 9955601051 |
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Record in the Search Index
| _version_ | 1804142907571044352 |
|---|---|
| adam_text | T UR I NYS
Vietoj jvado
...................... 7
I.
Lietuviai Vakara
Europoje
1945 - 1952:
tremtiniai
—
DP
—
emigrantai
......... 15
II.
Stovykliné leidyba
............... 47
1.
Nuo bumo iki vegetavimo
......... 48
2.
Leidéjai: nuo
lyderią
iki autsaideriij
... 78
3.
Nuo
rankraščio iki
knygos
......... 156
III.
Repertuaro pjüviai
............... 187
1.
Tipologinis
..................... 188
2.
Teminis
....................... 222
3.
Kalbinis
....................... 290
4.
Autoriai
....................... 300
IV.
Platinimas: nuo leidéjo iki skaitytojo
. 305
1.
leskant
кеііц
pas pirkeją
........... 306
2.
Reklama
ir
informacija
аріє
knygą:
neišnaudotos galimybés
.............. 340
3.
Kainos:
nuo
piatimmo
skatintoją
iki žlugdytoja
. 356
4.
Biblioteką
vaidmuo platinant knygas
. 366
Pabaiga: atsigrežus atgal
.............. 387
Abstract
......................... 395
395
Book publishing of Lithuanian displaced persons in West
Europe in
1945-1952.
translated by Elena
Maceviciüté
The press of Lithuanian emigrants, though existing over several hundred
years, for various reasons is poorly researched. The same is true for the
publishing of displaced persons in West Europe in
1945-1952.
The con¬
ditions to investigate it were created only after regaining the indepen¬
dence of Lithuania.
This research is based on the analysis of the periodical press of the
period, the authors and publishers introductions to the books, the emig¬
rants book itself, some archives of outstanding people and emigrants
organizations returned to Lithuania, and mainly the, so called, German
Archive at the Centre of Lithuanian Study and Research in the World
Lithuanian Archive in Chicago. This part of the archive holds material
from various DP camps and institutions.
All this was used for a complex analysis and summary of the deve¬
lopment of the DP book, the tendencies and regularities of this process,
and the organization of the book sector. The object of the work is the
DP (Displaced Persons) book, the activity of persons and institutions,
related to the book publishing, production, and dissemination. Approxi¬
mately
1100
emigrants books published in
1945-1952
are discussed in
this work. A separate edition of a book, but not a title, is considered as
a separate statistical item.
The object o( analysis is the development of a book and book
sector (publishing, production, and dissemination), its evaluation from
the point of view of the organization of practical activity using social-
cultural approach. A book is treated as a part of cultural history, a pro¬
duct of creative and working activity of persons dealing with book pro¬
duction and dissemination.
Lithuanians were a minority among
7
million people who remained
in foreign countries after the II World War. The UNRRA (United Na¬
tions Relief and Rehabilitation Administration) and military occupation
authorities of the allies (USA, Great Britain and France) took care of all
displaced persons (DP), as they were called. Most DPs returned to their
homelands soon, except
1, 5
millions hardcore DPs, who could not and
refused to return to their homelands. Almost all of them were from the
countries occupied or controlled by the Soviet Union. Lithuanians were
among them.
They have arrived to the West in different ways: some were brought
by Nazi for forced labor, some arrested as political prisoners, some evacu¬
ated by force from the front-line areas. One group consisted of people
who repatriated to Germany in
1941.
The most numerous group was of
those who fled from the second Soviet occupation in July-October of
1944.
396
Вагакц
kulturos
knygos
It is estimated that over
200 000
Lithuanians fled the country, but only
60 000
reached the West occupation zones. The end of the war found
them in various European countries, mainly in West Germany.
The biggest part of Lithuanians stayed in many camps scattered
over the zones of the USA and Great Britain. In France they stayed in
the apartments requisited from Nazi supporters. The majority of camps
were situated in the unfit for the purpose one-storied army or workers
barracks, which became a symbol of the camp life.
The DPs were deprived of legal rights. The inviolability of their
dwelling was violated, the right to a free work and movement non-exis¬
tent. The movement among zones was especially restricted. The rights
of DPs were violated during various check-ups that were started in
1946
under the name of screening . It was announced that the purpose of
these screenings was to reveal Nazi supporters who were dismissed from
the camps and lost the name and rights of DPs. Actually the UNRRA
sought to diminish the number of DPs and encourage repatriation.
Repatriation was one of the few subjects, on which the UNRRA,
the West and the Soviet officials agreed. One of the first after-war con¬
cerns of Lithuanians (as well as Latvians and Estonians) was to persuade
the West, that they were not Soviet citizens. The success of these efforts
was not only a huge moral victory: it saved thousands of lives.
The situation did not change much after June
1947
when
IRO
(International Refugee Organization) took place of UNRRA. One of its
aims was to settle down the DPs through emigration; however, repatria¬
tion seemed a simpler way out than finding countries, which could ac¬
commodate DPs, therefore stimulation of repatriation was one of the
main tasks of
IRO.
Beyond the camps Lithuanian DPs met hostility of local inhabitants
that was instigated by German press, which described DPs as criminals and
parasites. The politicians supported slander about DPs.
At the beginning the hope of quick return home compensated suf¬
fering. Lithuanians founded this belief on the Atlantic Charter that was
declared by the US President F. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister
W. Churchill on the 14th of August
1941.
They waited for a new war
that would allow Lithuania to regain freedom. However, soon hope was
replaced by pessimism, as all the attempts to draw the attention of the
mighty towards the fate of Lithuania remained fruitless. The emigrants
had to be contented by stifled comments of the Western politicians that
they still did not recognize the occupation of the Baltic States.
Lithuanian treated the camp life as an unpleasant but inevitable
stage of the way home and used it for a proper preparation. DP was a
unique page in a Lithuanian political emigration story. Most of the Lit¬
huanian DPS were the intellectual elite of the nation
-
writers, journa¬
lists, lawyers, medical doctors, educators, statesmen, and public wor¬
kers. They believed that the emigration would soon be over and turned
Abstract
397
the camps into the isles of pre-war Lithuania with preserved political,
social and cultural institutions that could be transferred to the liberated
homeland.
The Highest Lithuanian Liberation Committee (VLIK) tried to
regulate life of the DPs and represented their interests in international
organizations. It was established November
15, 1943,
as a main resis¬
tance centre and the only highest institution for defense of the nation s
rights. The Lithuanian Refugees Community (LTB) was created in No¬
vember
1945
on the basis of Lithuanian Union
-
the largest public orga¬
nization of Lithuanian DPs created in West Germany during the war. It
took care of the internal affairs of the community and represented it
before the military authorities and social care agencies. The Lithuanian
Refugees Community united the districts; the districts consisted of camps
communities. The Community assisted the officials of the allies who
administrated the camps through their individual members or elected
committees of DP camps. Later in many places the administration of
the camps was entrusted to the DPs. Similar organizations were active
in other countries as well. There were also other public organizations.
The cultural activities of DP were especially intensive. Spontane¬
ous initiative manifested itself after five long years under Soviet and
Nazi occupation. The artists arranged the exhibitions in camps and towns
already in
1945
(statistics show that there were
83
Lithuanian artists in
the West). Musicians were very active. There were many art gatherings
and they had arranged several hundred concerts for the compatriots and
the outsiders. Drama actors staged performances, took part in celebra¬
tions, and established theatre studies. The writers had revived The So¬
ciety of Lithuanian Writers in Exile during a Congress in
1946.
Nume¬
rous periodicals reflected the life of DPs: only in
1946 220
periodical
publications were registered
(41
were printed in printing houses, others
copied by rotator or type-writer). The Union of Lithuanian Journalists
was also established. Dps quickly created their own education system
that included kindergartens, elementary schools, gymnasiums, vocatio¬
nal schools, many courses of professional training, and the Baltic Uni¬
versity that was run together with Latvians and Estonians.
Gradually it became clear that the return home was postponed for
an indefinite period. The cultural and educational work acquired incre¬
asing importance. One of the greatest achievements of
1947
at that time
was the final determination of the cultural activity and a structured sys¬
tem of education, though everybody acknowledged that these were the
results of individual initiatives. In the eyes of Germans Lithuanian (also
Latvian and Estonian) DPs achievements were extraordinary in compa¬
rison with others.
During the course of time, it became clear that the only salvation
from the lire in camps was emigration. Already in
1946
Lithuanians
departed for Great Britain, Australia and other countries. In
1948
the
398
Вагакц
kulturos knygos
USA allowed DPs to enter into the
country
and mass emigration started.
People left camps as if those were on fire. At the end of the process
some
7000
Lithuanians stayed in West Germany, but they were less
active than
6000
ones living in Great Britain. Soon the public and cultu¬
ral life of Lithuanians in West Europe became modest in comparison
with activities in the USA, which turned into a new centre of Lithuanian
emigration.
The publishing by DP was started before the end of the war when
the allies initiated gathering the DPs into camps. From this moment on
publishing as a part of the political and especially cultural life of the DP
suffered the difficulties common to the DPs situation in general. One of
those was the fact that the DP publishing was deprived of rights from the
legal point of view. A special permission from military occupational
authorities was required for the establishment of a publishing house or
printing a book. Some books published without permission had an insc¬
ription in English that they had appeared as manuscripts , for private
use , or for private need of the author . Thus a publisher indicated that
the usage of the book would be limited, however, actually several hun¬
dred copies was a significant number in a small DP market. The system
of permissions disappeared by the end of
1949.
The emigration had maintained the approbation of a religious bo¬
ok. The high priests who had left Lithuania used to appoint censors who
expressed their opinion about a book indicated by a sign
nihil
obstať .
After that the high priests gave their permission to print
-
imprimatur .
To tell the truth, it was a mere maintenance of centuries-old tradition
however, it created obstacles for those who tried to foster it.
The LTB Education Board s Book Publishing Commission also
performed certain censorship functions as it required that the authors
and publishers should send the publications for schools for reviewing
and approbation. According to the Book Publishing Commission it did
not constrain the initiative of authors and publishers but schools could
use the books only if the Commission allowed. The Commission also
approbated children s books.
The copyright was mainly the affair of the conscience of publis¬
hers, authors or compilers. Publicly only a few demonstrated concern
about this and there were many violations of copyright.
General DP deprivation of legal rights also influenced publishing.
The work of publishers was disturbed by moving DPs from one camp to
another. To find suitable conditions for work inside camps was also
difficult.
Almost from the very beginning when the first books appeared the
issue of organization a united centre for the regulation of publishing was
put on the agenda. On one side, it was necessary because of a huge
amount of literary trash, on the other
-
because of the need to co-ordina¬
te publishing and avoids duplication. However, the public organizations
Abstract
399
of DPs were against the idea. The last attempt to organize a centre was
the establishment of the Cultural Foundation, which tried to co-ordinate
the actions of the publishers.
The difficulties of the publishing were outweighed by the condi¬
tions that stimulated it. Education and rapid formation of education
system, adult self-education, and mass study of foreign languages tradi¬
tionally influenced the orientation, amounts and contents of publishing.
The active literary life and of demand for fiction was another important
stimulus. The important pillars of publishing were propaganda and reli¬
gious literature.
The book publishing in exile was prospering at least during the
first three post-war years. This was determined by the shortage of bo¬
oks, lack of spiritual serenity, dissatisfied national aspiration, various
troubles and rumors that were killing the hope and disrupting morality,
the wish to escape for a while from the pressure of uncertainty and
passivity, and limitless leisure time. When people could not engage in
any activity each book became an important event on the background of
a dull everyday reality.
Despite the confusion of the first peaceful months publishing was
growing and by the end of
1945, 33
publishers have issued at least
107
titles. Approximately
18
books appeared monthly.
In
1946
the increase was evident:
333
books were published, i.e.,
almost
28
titles monthly. The contemporary observers stated that the
publishing houses established in
1945
felt paper shortage; otherwise the
amount would have been greater. The number of publishers was also
impressive
- 121.
These numbers can be explained by relative stability of DP life: the
camps were established, many people found temporary housing, the edu¬
cational system was developing, the cultural and public life was rising,
and private attempts in removing publishing barriers were successful.
However, quantity was not turning into quality. The protests against bad
quality of books were loud during
1946.
There was an unexpected decrease in publishing in
1947 -
only
286
titles had appeared. The difference with
1946
was A7 titles. The
number of the publishers also decreased
(96).
At that time, the administ¬
ration of permissions in the zones of the USA underwent a critical chan¬
ge, the market demand was partly satisfied, and therefore the profit was
not as immediate as earlier, the private initiative diminished. At the
same time it was acknowledged that the acute need for books was cate¬
red for, the complaints about bad quality of boob were still expressed.
The situation was explained by shortage of active and enterprising peop¬
le. Besides, the belief in favorable publishing conditions for the future
and the possibilities to realize the plans became prevalent.
It is worth noting, that the whole DP community lived with the
same belief that the things would become better in
1948.
The hope was
kindled by statistics showing that by the end of
1947, 206
titles were
prepared for publishing. However, in June of
1948
the currency reform
400
Вагакц
kulturos
knygos
in Western Germany had negative influence and the financial possibili¬
ties of public institutions to support publishing became significantly smal¬
ler. The salaries of working DPs were enough only to cover basic needs.
The book trade was suffering and the publishers had no money to cover
printing costs. Earlier a publisher used to sell out one book and start
printing another immediately. This practice had to be changed. At that
particular moment publishing was regarded as a commitment
-
not a
business.
Some of the publishers managed finances quite successfully and
finished the current jobs but they also could not continue their activity
unless the book trade was revived. The latter was still diminishing. The
publishers looked for different ways out. Some proposed to publish only
valuable books by collecting preliminary subscription fees and using tho¬
se to cover printing costs. In
1948, 216
titles appeared, i.e., the diffe¬
rence in comparison to
1947
was
70
titles (almost the same as between
1946
and
1947).
The number of publishers decreased again, but not so
evidently
(87).
Alas, all the efforts of the publishers to adapt to changing condi¬
tions were not enough. The situation in
1949
became worth. For some
time the publishers managed to use the currency differences on the black
market, but finally the growing rates of the German Mark negatively
affected everybody. The final blow for the cultural activity of DPs was
mass emigration of
1949.
Only
80
titles appeared that year and the
numbers of publishers decreased by half
-
only
46
were left.
The publishing was constantly decreasing during later years: in
1950
only
50
books were published, in
1951 - 30.
Though most of the
publishers emigrated (by
1950
only
22
were left, and by
1951 - 15),
besides some that stayed several new ones also occurred. They were
trying to adjust to changing conditions, looking for new methods of
work. In England and Italy they had started to create their own printing
industry. Besides in
1950-1952
the demand for Lithuanian book in Wes¬
tern Europe had increased again. The publishers had transferred their
business to the USA. The books published overseas were too expensive
for the Lithuanians in Western Europe. The publishers who oriented
their work to the global Lithuanian community had seized the opportu¬
nity of the cheap printing work. Because
ofthat in 1952
the publishing
production started to grow, though insignificantly:
16
publishers publis¬
hed
40
books.
In general over
1000
titles were published by Lithuanian DPs du¬
ring the post-war period (in
1945-1952).
The main publishing centre was West Germany. There it was con¬
centrated in three occupational zones with different conditions for work.
Most unfavorable conditions were created in the British zone. It was
related to the political situation in Great Britain where the Labour party
had won elections in
1945:
it undertook socialist reforms and strictly
controlled DP zones.
Abstract
401
The conditions for Lithuanian cultural activity in the French zone
were favorable, as the relations with officials were good. The amounts of
publishing there were limited by a small number of Lithuanians in that
zone
(2500).
However, publishing centers there were more productive
than others (Freiburg published
19
titles, Tubingen
- 66),
though the
number of known books (approximately,
100)
was smaller than in the
British zone
The most intensive publishing was going on in the American zone,
because there were more Lithuanian emigrants than in the others, besi¬
des, the control were very mild. Many publishers worked there. The
main publishing centers were:
Memmingen
(59
books), Augsburg
(55
books), and Munich
(51).
The other camps published from
10
to
40
titles.
The scope of publishing in other West European countries was
much smaller. They were defined by large Lithuanian colonies and the
attitude of local authorities towards them. In France, for example, any
DP activity was restricted because of close relations of the local authori¬
ties with the USSR. So, only
5
books were registered there. Because of
these reasons only
5
books of Lithuanian emigrants were registered in
Sweden. Various restrictions and a small colony determined publishing
in Denmark (three books published) and in Switzerland (two); shortage
of intelligence and hard work in coal mines were main factors in Bel¬
gium (two books). Before the start of mass emigration nine books were
published in Austria and ten (from the total of
11) -
in Italy. Because of
the emigration the publishing increased in Great Britain where by the
end of
1952, 10
books appeared.
The numbers show that publishing in West Europe (except West
Germany, Great Britain and Italy) was fragmentary, but in general, pub¬
lishing by Lithuanian DP was not occasional or exceptional phenomena.
The books were published by all Dps from East Europe: Poles, Esto¬
nians, Latvians, Ukrainians and others. For the representatives of some
nations, like Poles and Russians, the conditions were much harder than
for the Baltic peoples. Comparing the numbers of Lithuanian emigrants
with others, it may be stated that their publishing was more productive
and reached the scale that was not predicted by the greatest optimists.
There were many publishers who took part in publishing. There
were special publishing institutions and others, for which publishing was
only one of the less important activities or profit sources. They were
different in many aspects: motives, aims, types and amounts of produc¬
tion, forms of properties. According to these differences there were six
groups of publishers: private, cooperative, the publishing houses of pub¬
lic organizations and institutions, and other foreign publishers, as well as
joint stock publishing companies; the editing boards and owners of pe¬
riodicals; party, political, public, foreign, and professional organizations
and societies, institutions and confessions; educational institutionsiin-
dividual persons; the camps of DP and anonymous publishers.
402
Вагакц
kulturos
knygos
Publishing
houses usually were separated from the printing and
trade enterprises and worked independently as in Lithuania. Because of
the difficulties of the period some publishers printed books by copying
machines themselves, the others sold their own books (or sometimes
also books published by others). The continuation of Lithuanian tradi¬
tion was also commercial character of publishers, signifying that they
were professional and specialized institutions.
Many DP publishing houses had their programs, characterized by
the aim to publish the most needed books for the reader. The DP mar¬
ket demanded textbooks, fiction, and religious literature. They were
also publishing books according to the orders and could deviate from
the programme.
Most of the publishing houses were privately owned by publishers
only. The boom of private publishing was a result of pre-war Lithuanian
achievements. The independent publishing business was motivated by
commercial stimuli and the awareness of the cultural and educational
function of this business. The input of
15
private publishers into the
development of DP book is significant: over
200
books. They acted as
icebreakers cleaning the way for Lithuanian DP book and becoming an
example for other publishers.
The best-known private (and in general Lithuanian DP) publishing
house of that time was
Patria ,
which belonged to Jonas Lenktaitis.
Jonas Lenktaitis, who started his publishing activities in Vilnius in
1939,
revived his publishing house in
1945.
In
1945-1950
(before emigration
to the USA)
Patria
had issued at least
45
books: works of Lithuanian
writers, educational literature, books about Lithuania in foreign langua¬
ges, and other books. Among them there was the first fiction book of
DPs translated to German ( The song of scythes by S. Zobarskas), the
first folklore reader in the history of Lithuanian literature ( Lithuanian
folklore reader by J. Balys), the largest novel The emigration years
(607
pages), the biggest DP book ( German-Lithuanian dictionary by
V. Gailius,
1148
pages).
The most productive was the publishing house Sudavija (estab¬
lished in
1945)
that belonged to the brothers Aleksandras, Pranas and
Vladas Sulaiciai.
Sudavija had published
50
books in
1945-1949.
It
had a significant publishing programme that was dominated by fiction,
children
s
books, and educational literature.
Another private publishing house
Venta
was established in
1946
by
Liúdas
Visman
tas.
It issued
10
books and after having gone bankrupt
in
1949
was sold to the previous co-worker J. Remeikis. By the end of
1952
Venta
had published nine books. It worked in the West Germa¬
ny till the end of
1960s.
The publishing house Giedra established by A. Giedraitis pub¬
lished almost twenty books in
1945-1949
(publisher also produced and
sold stationary and published periodicals).
The other private publishing houses published fewer books, but
some had distinguishing features. Gabija (owner
-
J. Sodaitis) started
Abstract
403
working in
1947
and was known as a producer of cheap pocket books.
Tremtis (owner S. Miglinas) was one of the last DP publishing houses,
established in
1950
it has published six books by the end of
1952.
Mig¬
linas tried to introduce order into the publishing of changing emigrants
community and base it on subscription.
Aufbau
(owner T. Vizgirda)
worked for two years
(1947-1949)
and had a huge plan to issue a series
in
30
volumes Lithuania. Country and Nation on history and art in
English. Only six were actually published.
Zalgiris (owner J. Akstis) that had worked only for a year publis¬
hed seven books, the publishing house owned by J.
Narbutas
and P. In-
dreika
-
six, Lithuania (Owner K. Jura), Publishing House of Lithua¬
nian Books (owner P. Abelkis, and Teviske (owner J. Slajus)
-
five bo¬
oks each, Pasvaiste (owner B. Jacikevicius-Varunas)
- 4
books in
1948-1949,
and Mundus (owner P.
Leonas)
- 2
books.
There were two co-operative publishing houses. One of them was
Aistia . It was established by five persons in
1946
and at the beginning
published a newspaper Tremtiniu zinios (Exile news). Aistia had
published
17
books in
1946-1949.
Another cooperative publishing house Pradalge published only
three books.
Four publishing houses worked as joint stock companies. The first
one started in
1945
was Atzalynas (managed by S.
Cepas
and L. Giri-
nis). In
1945-1948
it had issued
20
publications and a magazine trem¬
tiniu mokykla (Exile School). Another one - LUX
-
published
18
bo¬
oks and a magazine Tevynes
sargas
(Guardian) in
1947-1950.
High
priests of Catholic Church who emigrated from Lithuania took care of
its finances. In
1946
in Italy a publishing house with the identical name
published only five books. In
1945-46
Baltija
issued only three books
(it also published four periodicals) and
Talka
- 5
boob in
1948-1949.
The most productive among publishing houses of public organiza¬
tions and institutions was the Press department of the Papal delegation
for Lithuanians in Western Germany and Austria. It had published
21
boob and a magazine Auka (Sacrifice) in
1946-1949.
The Press de¬
partment of the Scouts Fraternity had issued
10
books, the publishing
house of Ateitininkai
-
eight, Book publishing house of the World Lithu¬
anian Community for German region started in
1951 -
five books.
Only the numbers of published boob are known about some pub¬
lishing houses. Among those Aitvaras had published nine books, the
others just one or two. It might be that some were fictitious. There were
several dozens Lithuanian or Lituanistic books published in by local
(Austrian, German, French, Swiss, Swedish) or other foreign publishers
(e.g., two Latvian DP ones). They appeared as a result of contacts with
Lithuanians.
The boob were also published by the owners and editorial boards
of periodicals (the most active was the newspaper
Musu
kelias
- 18
404
Вагакц
kulturos
knygos
books), parties (e.g., the Foreign Delegation of the Lithuanian Social-
Democratic Party), political (VLIKand others), public (LTB units, scouts,
etc.), international, professional and national minorities organizations
and institutions, confessional institutions and gatherings, educational
institutions, private persons, DP camps and anonymous publishers. They
were motivated by different incentives: propaganda of their goals, need
for the book in activities, necessity to publish their own works, stimula¬
tion of creativity, profit seeking, etc.
The economic situation at the beginning was favorable for publis¬
hers (currency devaluation, black market); various DP bodies supported
publishing, some publishers profited from other businesses. The reform
of the currency changed the conditions and publishers had to look for
new forms of work, to offer publishing services, to merge publishing
houses, or look for collective supporters. The print runs also differed
during various periods from some copies to
10 000
copies. The number
of copies decreased after the currency reform and the start of mass emig¬
ration.
The camp life also influenced the editorial work. Only some pub¬
lishers employed editors, the quality judgments were made by publishers
themselves. Typographies were ruined, therefore over
200
books appe¬
ared in manuscripts, typed on typing machines, or mimeographed. Prin¬
ting of books in German or other foreign typographies caused problems
because of paper, Lithuanian type, type-setting, and accountancy. The
polygraphic quality of books was low at the beginning. It became better
around
1948.
Some known Lithuanian graphic artists lived in exile and
they influenced the change
-
bibliophilie
elements appeared in some
books.
The analysis of the typology of the DP book shows high percenta¬
ge of textbooks and other teaching material
(20%)
prepared in Lithuania
and in exile. The research literature was very scarce and of low quality
because of the difficulties of the period. Only some of them are worth
mentioning: A Guide of Lithuanian Language by S. Barzdukas, J.M.
Laurinavicius, and P. Skardzius (considered to be the most significant
research work by DP), dissertation Burying in Lithuania in prehistoric
times by M. Gimbutiene. High print runs were characteristic of the
flow of reference books, especially dictionaries
(22
titles), calendars
(46),
and advertising publications.
Subject analyses of the repertoire had shown that humanities and
arts dominated. The life of art was reflected in
200
publications. Among
those exhibition catalogues ( Lithuanian art in exile ), books about the
work of individual artists (V.K. Jonynas, V. Kasiulis, etc.), books with
their illustrations (V.K. Jonynas, P, Augis, A. Dargis, etc.), and folklore
art albums were most valuable. Musical literature included over fifty
titles. Literary research, philosophy, history, biographies, and memoirs
were numerous, as well as publications of social science. Over
100
titles
of religious books were published.
Abstract
405
Publishing
of fiction was smaller than that of humanities, but it
was the most significant from the point of view of quality. The prose had
dominated all other genres
(81
titles). Mainly little prose by classical
writers and exile authors (P. Andriusis, A. Skema, M. Katiliskis) was
published. Out of
30
novels the most important were Crosses by V.
Ramonas
and The sons of sky and earth by V. Kreve. Among
70
collections of poetry most were patriotic verse or written by debutantes.
Usually they were rather weak, but the the first books by a group of
significant exile poets
(ƒ.
Mekas, V.Slaitas, H. Nagys, A. Nyka-Niliu-
nas) were also published. The annual of the Writers Society Years of
Exile including works of
70
authors should also be mentioned. There
were many children among DPs, but the number of books for them was
too small (over
50
titles).
Besides Lithuanian books there were the ones published in foreign
languages. Most of them reflected the necessity to remind the world of
Lithuanian occupation, to popularize the name of the country, wish to
keep up with other DPs who realized that a book is an important ambas¬
sador between nations.
150
books were published in foreign languages
(17%
of the whole number of titles). Most of them were in German
(45
title) and English
(50
titles), some in French
(14)
and other languages.
35
books were published in several parallel languages. Many of those publi¬
cations were
propagandistic
ones and included reference books about
Lithuania and the fate of Lithuanian DP. However, some research and
cultural books were also published in foreign languages (art books pub¬
lished by T. Vizgirda were of exceptional quality).
The authors, co-authors, translators, editors and compilers inclu¬
de
430
persons. The average author of Lithuanian DP could be charac¬
terized as a
45
years old, male, graduate of a university in humanities in
independent Lithuania, first book published in Lithuania, with two bo¬
oks published during DP period.
The distribution of books was a big problem because the popula¬
tion was disseminated in several countries. In an empty space a system
was created and the sales organizations (or distributors as they were
called) played an important role in it. The distributors of books were the
editorial offices of periodicals, the committees of the camps, etc. and
individuals who maintained a press stand or a small book-shop and ser¬
ved one camp. Usually every publisher was co-operating with several or
some tens of independent distributors. The distributors received books
from the publishers, sold them and took a percentage of profit for their
services. The rest of money was returned to the publisher. Sometimes
the system of unofficial subscription was also used (publishers required
the preliminary payment for books from distributors). Before the cur¬
rency reform speculation cases were also often.
After the reform the situation has changed essentially. The selling
of books had decreased; the distributors had delayed the settlement of
accounts with the publishers. The later could not pay the printing houses
406
Вагакц
kulturos
knygos
in time. Nothing could change the situation
-
neither requests of publis¬
hers, not the decision of the LTB that the local committees should be
responsible for distributor s commitments. The distribution stagnated
without regard to the decrease of the prices and other promotion means.
The situation was aggravated by mass emigration. The publishers did
not always delivered books to the distributors in time.
With the beginning of emigration the publishers grew concerned
about reaching the customers in other continents. The attempts to crea¬
te distributing chains serving all the colonies were made, but in reality
only separate networks of publishers-distributors existed in different coun¬
tries. Their relations were based on mutual agreements, but the trade
was complicated because of different restrictions on sending books to
other countries and international transfer of money. The greatest com¬
plication was the diminishing demand for books.
The main means of book marketing and advertising was periodical
press. It published an increasing number of book reviews and informa¬
tive messages, but the quality of them became worth after the reform.
The attempt to publish a special newsletter was not successful. The usual
information means about books
-
publishers catalogues
-
were forgot¬
ten. The potential buyers received the information on new books in the
advertising letter with the lists of published or prepared books, prices
and the addresses of publishing houses, or after the start of emigration,
the addresses of their representatives. The ads usually tried to appeal to
patriotic feelings. However, the publishers themselves admitted that pro¬
motion was a neglected area of the activity.
During the first post-war years the price of books was a factor of
distribution as it was not very high
- 5
RM
approximately (that was the
price of one cigarette on the black market). After the reform in
1950
the
price was
4
DM, later
6
USD. This was already a significant amount of
money, especially for the majority of DPs who had no work and existed
on small allowances. The differences of currency in various countries
were also a problem.
The libraries in exile were one of the ways of book distribution.
They belonged to educational institutions, various organizations, local
authorities, private persons, and archival organizations. The majority
among educational libraries belonged to the elementary schools and gym¬
nasiums. The collection of Kybartai high school library that was brought
from Lithuania had become the foundation of several collections distri¬
buted among bigger Lithuanian high schools. LTB Educational Board
was in charge of them and later organized a central library on their basis.
The camp libraries were established by local committees. Among insti¬
tutional libraries the ones belonging to Lithuanian consulates should be
mentioned. DP books also were acquired by local libraries of the coun¬
tries. So DPs had brought the books from Lithuania or started collecting
personal libraries in exile. Many books survived only in the archival
Abstract
407
agencies
(Lithuanian Bibliographic Service, Lithuanian Bibliographic Ar¬
chive in Berne, Baltic Bibliographic Institute at the Baltic university).
The library collections were not very big: from several hundreds to two
thousands (including periodicals). They were established in the prenises
that were available, but not very convenient. The maintenance require
inventiveness, sometimes furniture was self-made.
The DP publishing became a source for later Lithuanian publis¬
hing in exile. The publishing houses started in West Europe ( Gabija ,
Pasvaiste , Sudavija . etc.) continued the work in the USA. Some
persons active at that time later became prominent figures in emigrants
publishing (L. Kapocius, V. Civinskas, S. Zobarskas, and V. Vijeikis).
The subject areas of emigrants publishing were also defined during post¬
war years. Fiction, social, political, religious, and art literature domina¬
ted publishing of that time. Historical and memoir literature started
growing. The group of authors (especially writing fiction) also started
growing in West Europe. There were some young writers who knew
modern European literature well and later influenced not only literature
of the emigrant authors but also the literature in occupied Lithuania.
Comparatively young age of authors who published in Western Europe
in the fifties is one of the reasons why it is named the golden age of
Lithuanian emigrant literature. In later decades were published some
books that for some reasons did not appeared in Western Europe during
1945-1952
years period.
The decline of demand of emigrant books that began in
1948
des¬
pite all efforts progressed. The emigrant book production gradually lost
its commercial base. Nevertheless the drive acquired in
1945-1952
was
so powerful that, despite loosing strength, it continued for decades.
|
| any_adam_object | 1 |
| author | Misiūnas, Remigijus |
| author_facet | Misiūnas, Remigijus |
| author_role | aut |
| author_sort | Misiūnas, Remigijus |
| author_variant | r m rm |
| building | Verbundindex |
| bvnumber | BV036430402 |
| callnumber-first | D - World History |
| callnumber-label | DK505 |
| callnumber-raw | DK505.36 |
| callnumber-search | DK505.36 |
| callnumber-sort | DK 3505.36 |
| callnumber-subject | DK - Russia, Soviet Union, Former Soviet Republics, Poland |
| ctrlnum | (OCoLC)249343664 (DE-599)GBV387015531 |
| era | Geschichte 1900-2000 Geschichte 1945-1952 gnd |
| era_facet | Geschichte 1900-2000 Geschichte 1945-1952 |
| format | Book |
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| id | DE-604.BV036430402 |
| illustrated | Not Illustrated |
| indexdate | 2024-07-09T22:39:14Z |
| institution | BVB |
| isbn | 9955601051 |
| language | Lithuanian English |
| oai_aleph_id | oai:aleph.bib-bvb.de:BVB01-020302997 |
| oclc_num | 249343664 |
| open_access_boolean | |
| owner | DE-12 |
| owner_facet | DE-12 |
| physical | 407 S. |
| publishDate | 2004 |
| publishDateSearch | 2004 |
| publishDateSort | 2004 |
| publisher | Versus Aureus |
| record_format | marc |
| spelling | Misiūnas, Remigijus Verfasser aut Barakų kultūros knygos lietuvių DP leidyba 1945 - 1952 Remigijus Misiūnas Vilnius Versus Aureus 2004 407 S. txt rdacontent n rdamedia nc rdacarrier Zsfassung in engl. Sprache u.d.T: Book publishing of Lithuanian displaced persons in West Europe in 1945 - 1952 Geschichte 1900-2000 Geschichte 1945-1952 gnd rswk-swf Lithuanians / Intellectual life / 20th century / Foreign countries Lithuanian imprints / Foreign countries World War, 1939-1945 / Refugees Lithuanians / History / Foreign countries Lithuanians / Civilization / Foreign countries Geschichte Weltkrieg (1939-1945) Exil (DE-588)4015959-0 gnd rswk-swf Buchproduktion (DE-588)4146827-2 gnd rswk-swf Litauer (DE-588)4035937-2 gnd rswk-swf Litauer (DE-588)4035937-2 s Exil (DE-588)4015959-0 s Buchproduktion (DE-588)4146827-2 s Geschichte 1945-1952 z DE-604 Digitalisierung BSBMuenchen application/pdf http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&local_base=BVB01&doc_number=020302997&sequence=000003&line_number=0001&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA Inhaltsverzeichnis Digitalisierung BSB Muenchen application/pdf http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&local_base=BVB01&doc_number=020302997&sequence=000004&line_number=0002&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA Abstract |
| spellingShingle | Misiūnas, Remigijus Barakų kultūros knygos lietuvių DP leidyba 1945 - 1952 Lithuanians / Intellectual life / 20th century / Foreign countries Lithuanian imprints / Foreign countries World War, 1939-1945 / Refugees Lithuanians / History / Foreign countries Lithuanians / Civilization / Foreign countries Geschichte Weltkrieg (1939-1945) Exil (DE-588)4015959-0 gnd Buchproduktion (DE-588)4146827-2 gnd Litauer (DE-588)4035937-2 gnd |
| subject_GND | (DE-588)4015959-0 (DE-588)4146827-2 (DE-588)4035937-2 |
| title | Barakų kultūros knygos lietuvių DP leidyba 1945 - 1952 |
| title_auth | Barakų kultūros knygos lietuvių DP leidyba 1945 - 1952 |
| title_exact_search | Barakų kultūros knygos lietuvių DP leidyba 1945 - 1952 |
| title_full | Barakų kultūros knygos lietuvių DP leidyba 1945 - 1952 Remigijus Misiūnas |
| title_fullStr | Barakų kultūros knygos lietuvių DP leidyba 1945 - 1952 Remigijus Misiūnas |
| title_full_unstemmed | Barakų kultūros knygos lietuvių DP leidyba 1945 - 1952 Remigijus Misiūnas |
| title_short | Barakų kultūros knygos |
| title_sort | baraku kulturos knygos lietuviu dp leidyba 1945 1952 |
| title_sub | lietuvių DP leidyba 1945 - 1952 |
| topic | Lithuanians / Intellectual life / 20th century / Foreign countries Lithuanian imprints / Foreign countries World War, 1939-1945 / Refugees Lithuanians / History / Foreign countries Lithuanians / Civilization / Foreign countries Geschichte Weltkrieg (1939-1945) Exil (DE-588)4015959-0 gnd Buchproduktion (DE-588)4146827-2 gnd Litauer (DE-588)4035937-2 gnd |
| topic_facet | Lithuanians / Intellectual life / 20th century / Foreign countries Lithuanian imprints / Foreign countries World War, 1939-1945 / Refugees Lithuanians / History / Foreign countries Lithuanians / Civilization / Foreign countries Geschichte Weltkrieg (1939-1945) Exil Buchproduktion Litauer |
| url | http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&local_base=BVB01&doc_number=020302997&sequence=000003&line_number=0001&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&local_base=BVB01&doc_number=020302997&sequence=000004&line_number=0002&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT misiunasremigijus barakukulturosknygoslietuviudpleidyba19451952 |