Vandos Daugirdaitės-Sruogienės visuomeninė veikla išeivijoje ; The public activity of Vanda Daugirdaitė-Sruogienė in the emigration

Abstract

Vanda Daugirdaitė-Sruogienė (August 16, 1899, Pyatigorsk, Kaukaz – February 10, 1997, Chicago, USA) was a famous Lithuanian emigrant who had strong bonds not only with Lithuania and its culture but also with all Lithuanians living abroad. Sruogienė was a famous and well known schoolmaster, researcher of the history of Lithuania, author of many books, who encouraged all Lithuanian emigrants to remain interested in the matters of Lithuania, its past and to sustain its cultural heritage abroad. The object of this Master thesis is public activity of Vanda Daugirdaitė-Sruogienė in the emigration. The purpose of the thesis is to analyse and present the most important aspects of Sruogienė's activities in the emigration. The objectives of the study are to present the activity of Dalia Sruogienė in Lithuania and to discuss the circumstances of her departure from Lithuania, to present her public and academic activities in the DP camps in Germany and the US., to present her pedagogic work in the emigration (the work of D. Sruogienė in the education system of DP, and later in the Lituanistic Institute and college in the US.). Other objectives are: to reveal the circumstances of the publication of Sruogienė's books, to present her activity in the public and political spheres of the emigration, and to present the importance of D. Sruogienė for the cultural and public life of the emigration. The thesis is constructed of three parts. The first part shortly discusses the public activities of Dalia Sruogienė before she left Lithuania. The second part presents her activity in the DP camps in Germany. The third part discusses the public activity of Dalia Sruogienė in the US. In the third part there are two smaller divisions: to discuss her pedagogic work and present the circumstances of the publication of Sruogienė's books ("Lietuvos istorija: Lietuva amžių sūkury" and "Balys Sruoga mūsų atsiminimuose"); also the third part discusses the remaining activities of Dalia Sruogienė in the US. In order to present the main facts of Sruogienė's public activities in the emigration the method of description is used. For the division of the thesis onto several parts, the method of analysis is used. The analysis of the objectives has led to the following conclusions. The contribution of D. Sruogienė to the public life of the emigration was remarkable: in 1944 – 1949 while living in Germany, Sruogienė contributed formations education and culture in the DP camps. While living in the US. She showed great interest in the matters of Lithuania and encouraged Lithuanians living abroad not to lose their cultural heritage. Sruogienė also showed great interested in Lithuanian liberalism and thought that all the liberals should unite and rebuilt Lithuania. As her main objective, Sruogienė named the retention of the creative heritage of Balys Sruoga.