The year 2024 marked thirty years since Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) began conducting research on the history of the Lithuanian diaspora. In November 1994, the Center for Diaspora Studies was established at VMU, later renamed the Lithuanian Emigration Institute (hereinafter, LEI).
Over the course of three decades, the LEI has become a well-known institution in Lithuania and around the world that collects and preserves the archival heritage of the Lithuanian diaspora, as well as a research center for the cultural, political and scientific legacy of the Lithuanian diaspora.
The decision of active figure in diaspora journalist Bronius Kviklis to donate a collection of books, periodicals and archives to VMU was one of the reasons that prompted the establishment of the LEI. Another person who played an important role in the history of the Institute was the famous diaspora sociologist Vytautas Kavolis, who actively contributed to the ideological vision of the LEI. It is symbolic that after Kavolis’s death, his personal library and archive arrived at the Institute.
The Lithuanian diasporas also contributed greatly to the successful activities of the Institute and the preservation of the diaspora cultural heritage, donating documents, books, and periodicals to the university. The World Lithuanian Community and its long-time chair Vytautas Kamantas provided significant support for the activities of the LEI.
In 2000, the Center for Studies of the Diaspora was renamed and moved to S. Daukanto St. 25. In addition to the archive, the Aleksandras Štromas Library-Reading Room was opened here.
Substantial Archival Collections
The LEI archive contains archival collections of various individuals and organizations, diaspora politicians, public figures, writers, and diplomats (Bronius Kviklys, Vincas Rastenis, Jurgis Gimbutas, Adolfas Damušis, Vytautas Alantas, Kazys Almenas, Liūtas Mockūnas, Alfred Erich Senn, Ugnė Karvelis, Anicetas Simutis, and many others). Each of these collections are important not only for scholars, but also for Lithuanian society and culture.
Other archives are important for foreign researchers, for example, the collection of the famous political scientist Štromas, where one can f ind not only documents about this personality’s work in exile, but also rare dissident literature, testifying to the Lithuanian diaspora’s ties with dissidents from Russia and other countries.
Institute’s Activities and Achievements
The results of various activities carried out by the LEI over the past three decades are perhaps best symbolized by the books, monographs, collections of sources and articles published by the Institute’s staff in Lithuanian and foreign journals. Since 2006, the Institute publishes an interdisciplinary periodical journal Oikos dedicated to diaspora history and migration processes.
The academic and cultural dissemination of the cultural history of the Lithuanian diaspora is also important, which includes conferences, seminars, book presentations, and meetings with diaspora representatives. Thanks to the successful scientific and educational activities of the Institute, a strong school of Lithuanian diaspora history research has been formed, whose students work not only at VMU, but also in other Lithuanian institutions.