VILNIUS | Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights

August 2025. We’re travelling to the Baltic States: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and more specifically their respective capitals Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius. Are they interconnected by rail? Yes, but not in the most straightforward or userfriendly way possible. The Rail Baltica project should remedy this. Unsurprisingly though, this megaproject faces political and budgetary hurdles. It will most likely not be ready by 2030. But that doesn’t stop us. What to expect from the Baltics? Is it affected by overtourism?

Sunday 10 August was our last day in the Baltic States and Vilnius in particular. We started with the Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights or Okupacijų ir laisvės kovų muziejus. Definitely a recurring theme in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights

The museum, once known as the Museum of Genocide Victims, was established in 1992. It occupies the former headquarters of Soviet security services in Vilnius, where the NKVD, NKGB, MGB and KGB operated from 1940 until Lithuania regained its independence in 1991.

The building itself, completed in 1899 as the court of the Vilnius Governorate under the Russian Empire, has a long and turbulent history.

In the early twentieth century, as the Russian Empire collapsed during World War I, Vilnius came under German military administration. Following Lithuania’s declaration of independence in February 1918, the building briefly served the newly established Lithuanian authorities, housing a conscription office for the army and the headquarters of the city’s military command.

Yet Lithuania’s independence was soon contested. In 1919 Vilnius fell to the Red Army, and the building was used by Bolshevik commissars and a revolutionary tribunal. In October 1920, after General Żeligowski’s mutiny, Polish forces seized Vilnius, and the city was incorporated into the Polish state. For the next two decades the building functioned as a courthouse for the Wilno Voivodeship. During this period, the city remained a flashpoint in Polish-Lithuanian relations, and the building stood at the centre of contested sovereignty.

World War II

The outbreak of World War II brought a dramatic change. In June 1940 Lithuania was invaded and annexed by the Soviet Union, becoming a Soviet Socialist Republic.

Mass arrests and deportations soon followed, and the building’s basement was converted into a prison for political detainees.

Nazi Germany occupied Lithuania in 1941, turning the building into Gestapo headquarters. Inscriptions made by prisoners during this time still survive on its cell walls.

In 1944 the Soviets reoccupied the country, re-establishing the building as the central office of the KGB in Lithuania. It remained in use as a prison and interrogation centre until the late 1980s. More than a thousand people were executed in its basement between 1944 and the early 1960s, their bodies often buried secretly in sites such as Tuskulėnai Manor.

The museum

The museum preserves this layered past. Its basement remains the most haunting section, containing authentic prison cells, solitary confinement spaces and the death penalty chamber, with much of the original layout intact. Visitors encounter the spaces where interrogations and executions took place, and where prisoners left behind inscriptions testifying to their final days.

Exhibitions extend across the upper floors. On the first floor, displays examine the sovietisation of Lithuania in 1940–1941, showing how the country’s institutions, economy and culture were rapidly reshaped under Moscow’s control.

Another section is devoted to the guerrilla war waged by the Forest Brothers between 1944 and 1953. It explores their territorial organisation, daily life, and the hopes of those who took up arms to restore Lithuania’s independence. The ferocity of Soviet reprisals, conducted by the NKVD and later the KGB, is presented in the exhibition titled ‘Unfair Fight‘.

The second floor addresses the experiences of those deported to Siberia and imprisoned in Gulag labour camps between 1944 and 1956, as well as the continuation of Soviet repressive practices into the later decades.

Exhibitions illustrate the fate of families uprooted from their homes, the harsh conditions of exile, and the resilience of deportees in maintaining cultural and religious traditions.

The floor also covers non-violent resistance during the Soviet period, highlighting underground publications, clandestine gatherings and the dissident movements of the 1970s and 1980s. Preserved KGB facilities, including a wire-tapping room and photographic laboratory, show the extent of surveillance in daily life.

Holocaust

In 2011, the museum incorporated a new exhibition on the Holocaust in Lithuania, acknowledging the devastation of the Jewish community during the Nazi occupation.

Before the war, Vilnius had been a renowned centre of Jewish learning and culture, sometimes called the ‘Jerusalem of the North‘. The destruction of this community, with over 90% of Lithuanian Jews murdered, forms an essential part of the story of occupation and repression.

The inclusion of this exhibition added an important dimension, situating Soviet crimes alongside the Holocaust as twin tragedies of the twentieth century.

From the outset, the museum’s original title—the Museum of Genocide Victims—provoked debate.

The Genocide and Resistance Research Centre of Lithuania, which oversaw the institution from 1997, employed a broader definition of genocide than the one generally accepted in international scholarship, applying the term to Soviet repressions against Lithuanians.

While this interpretation was upheld in certain Lithuanian court rulings, critics argued that it risked diminishing the Holocaust by equating it with Soviet occupation policies.

The European Court of Human Rights has accepted this usage in the context of Lithuanian legal cases, but the issue remained controversial. For many years the museum devoted little space to the Holocaust, drawing criticism from scholars and Jewish organisations.

In 2018, following sustained international scrutiny and media coverage, the institution was renamed the Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights.

This shift reflected a recognition of the need to present Lithuania’s history of the twentieth century in a broader and more balanced way, acknowledging both Soviet repression and the Holocaust, and addressing the complex legacy of resistance and collaboration during the occupations.

Challenges of memory politics

The debates surrounding the museum highlight the challenges of memory politics in Eastern Europe, where competing narratives of victimhood and responsibility continue to shape the interpretation of the past.

Today, the museum’s holdings comprise more than a hundred thousand items, ranging from documents and photographs to personal artefacts donated by the families of victims.

It continues to expand its collections, to organise educational programmes, and to prepare travelling exhibitions. The institution also oversees the Memorial Complex of Tuskulėnai Peace Park, where many victims executed in the KGB prison were buried in secret, and the Resistance and Exile Museum in Druskininkai.

Research

The Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights serves not only as a site of remembrance but also as a key centre of research into Lithuania’s recent past.

It reflects the country’s long journey through shifting occupations: the struggle for independence after the First World War, the imposition of Soviet and Nazi regimes during the Second World War, nearly five decades of Soviet rule, and finally the re-emergence of an independent Lithuanian state in 1991.

By preserving the spaces of repression and exhibiting the stories of those who resisted, suffered and persevered, the museum stands as one of the most important historical institutions in the Baltic States, as well as a focal point in the wider international discussion about how societies confront the legacies of occupation and atrocity.

A visit

The ground and first floors of the museum after full of information, panels, texts and artefacts. The basement is the showpiece, really. With prison cells, isolation cells, cells with water, a soundproof cell. The prison area of the building illustrates how resourceful humans are at torturing other humans.

It is a moving museum, perhaps the most moving of the three occupation museums in the Baltic States.

Soviet presence in Lithuania

The Soviet presence in Lithuania, spanning from 1940 to 1990 with a brief interruption during the Nazi occupation, profoundly reshaped the nation’s political, social, and cultural landscape. This period is marked by forced integration into the Soviet Union, extensive repression, and a complex legacy of resistance and adaptation.

Soviet occupation and repression

In June 1940, Lithuania was occupied by the Soviet Union, leading to its incorporation as the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (LSSR). This annexation was formalised in August 1940, following the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact between Nazi Germany and the USSR, which divided Eastern Europe into spheres of influence.

During this initial occupation, the Soviets implemented policies of collectivisation and nationalisation, aiming to align Lithuania’s economy with Soviet standards. These measures faced significant resistance from the local population, particularly from landowners and the Catholic Church.

The Nazi occupation from 1941 to 1944 interrupted Soviet control, but upon the Red Army’s return in 1944, the Soviet regime reasserted its authority with renewed vigour.

The post-war period was characterised by intense repression, including mass deportations, political purges, and the suppression of nationalist movements.

Between 1944 and 1952, approximately 245,000 Lithuanians were deported to Siberia and other remote regions of the Soviet Union. These deportations targeted perceived class enemies, political opponents, and their families, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 20,000 Lithuanians, including 5,000 children.

Guerrilla resistance and armed struggle

In response to Soviet re-occupation, a significant guerrilla movement emerged, known as the Forest Brothers. Comprising approximately 30,000 fighters, this resistance movement engaged in asymmetric warfare against Soviet forces from 1944 until the early 1950s.

The Forest Brothers operated primarily in rural areas, utilising the dense forests of Lithuania to their advantage. Despite their efforts, the movement was systematically dismantled by Soviet forces through military action and intelligence operations. By the mid-1950s, most of the resistance leaders had been captured or killed, and the movement had largely been suppressed.

Sovietisation and cultural suppression

The Soviet regime pursued a policy of sovietisation, aiming to integrate Lithuania fully into the Soviet system. This involved the imposition of Soviet ideology, the promotion of Russian language and culture, and the suppression of Lithuanian national identity.

The Catholic Church, a significant institution in Lithuania, faced persecution, with many clergy members arrested or deported. Religious practices were restricted, and religious education was removed from schools.

Simultaneously, the Soviets implemented large-scale industrialisation projects, transforming Lithuania’s economy.

However, these developments often prioritised the needs of the Soviet state over local welfare, leading to environmental degradation and economic imbalances.

The influx of Russian-speaking settlers altered the demographic composition of Lithuania, further eroding the Lithuanian language and cultural practices.

Path to independence

The 1980s witnessed a resurgence of nationalist sentiment, spurred by the broader wave of reform movements across Eastern Europe.

In 1988, the Lithuanian independence movement gained momentum, leading to the declaration of sovereignty in May 1989.

This was a significant step towards full independence, culminating in the declaration of independence on 11 March 1990. Lithuania became the first Soviet republic to declare independence, setting a precedent that would inspire other republics within the USSR.

The Soviet Union’s response was initially one of resistance, but by 1991, the USSR was facing internal pressures and external challenges. The Soviet military withdrew from Lithuania in August 1993, marking the end of over five decades of Soviet dominance.

Legacy and memory

The Soviet era left a complex legacy in Lithuania. While some aspects of Soviet rule, such as industrial development and educational advancements, are acknowledged, the period is predominantly remembered for its repression, forced collectivisation, and the suppression of Lithuanian culture and identity.

The experiences of deportations, resistance, and eventual independence continue to shape Lithuania’s national consciousness and its relations with Russia.

In contemporary Lithuania, the Soviet period is a subject of ongoing reflection and discussion. Memorials, museums, and educational programmes serve to preserve the memory of those who suffered and resisted during this time.

The legacy of the Soviet occupation remains a pivotal chapter in Lithuania’s history, influencing its current political, social, and cultural landscape.

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