Peasants from the village of VaitkūnaiNational Museum of Lithuania
Why did Lithuanians begin emigrating in large groups?
Mass emigration from Lithuania began in 1868, to escape hunger and
poverty. Poor harvests, slow industrial development, the lack of one’s own land, and unemployment were some of the principal reasons that drove Lithuania’s inhabitants to embark on the long journey to the West.
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Letter from Petras Tenteris. United States, 1910
Petras Tenteris, like hundreds of Lithuanian migrants
in the United States, would send typed letters home to relatives
in Lithuania. Such letters were meant to bear witness
to the good life in America, although most of the senders
simply couldn’t write.
New Year’s postcard. United States, 1901
Driven by hope for a better life, the Jews of the Russian
Empire began leaving for the United States in the latter
half of the 19th century. America was to be their safe haven,
as recalled in postcards bearing the words from Psalm 17:8:
“Hide us in the shadow of your wings.”
A view of Hamburg portNational Museum of Lithuania
What were the routes and methods of emigration?
The journey from home to one’s final destination was not only often
illegal, it was also long, complicated, and expensive. People from Lithuania usually arrived into the port of Hamburg. New arrivals spent an average of four nights in crowded barracks.
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Map of the Virbalis Customs Area. Russia, early 20th cent.
In Tsarist-ruled Lithuania, there were 19 legal border crossing
points between Russia and Germany. Only those holding
required documents could pass, which is why most emigrants
crossed the border illegally.
One of the busiest border crossing points was at Kybartai.
Wood engraving "At the checkpoint"National Museum of Lithuania
Woodcarving by G. Arnauld. Germany, 1892
Once in Germany, illegal migrants had to pass through special hygiene
stations. There, new arrivals would undergo a medical exam and their baggage would be disinfected to lessen the risk of epidemics. Migrants endured humiliating experiences at checkpoints.
Arrival at Ellis IslandNational Museum of Lithuania
What awaited the new arrivals in America?
Many newcomers from Lithuania were greeted from a distance by the sights of New York City. Upon reaching American shores, it was still unclear whether one would actually be able to stay there, since new screenings and a difficult search for work awaited.
Newcomers could only enter the country with the permission of immigration checkpoint officials. At the processing station on Ellis Island, opened in 1892, arrivals would sit on long wooden benches in the arrivals hall and wait for several hours for their names to be called. Once they heard their name, they would take their documents to an inspector and answer his questions. This was not an easy task for many who either did not speak the language or were illiterate.
Pennsylvania railroad company mapNational Museum of Lithuania
Pennsylvania Railroad Company map. United States, 1889
Most Lithuanians didn’t stay long in New York. At the train station, they purchased tickets to Chicago, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Scranton, St. Louis, or one of tens of coal mining towns in Pennsylvania.
In the heart of the slaughterhouseNational Museum of Lithuania
What kind of work did people do?
In the early 20th century, working conditions for the lowest rung of immigrant workers in America were inhumane and hard to bear.
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Upton Sinclair, “The Jungle”National Museum of Lithuania
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
The book describes the working conditions of immigrants in America's meat factories: rats falling into meat grinders, the flesh of cattle with tuberculosis, men dying of sunstroke at the slaughter troughs in the heat of the day, and workers' limbs freezing to death in the winter.
The first immigrants in the US worked unqualified jobs in factories, railway construction, and coal mines. As industry continued to develop, work opportunities increased in New England in the sugar, fertilizer, rubber, paper, and textile industries. A law passed in 1885 allowed boys to work in coal mines as soon as they reached the age of 12. At the start of the century, wages were so low they barely covered rent: Four and sometimes more people would live in a single room.
Reconstruction of St. Francis Church, the first Lithuanian church in LawrenceNational Museum of Lithuania
What did immigrants do after work?
Newcomers didn’t want to live for work alone: They formed communities and organizations to provide support for one another in difficult times and to develop their culture and religion.
London Lithuanian church choirNational Museum of Lithuania
London Lithuanian Church Choir
The activities of various Catholic organizations, choirs, and Sunday schools cantered around Lithuanian churches.
Vencius SaloonNational Museum of Lithuania
Vencius Saloon. United States, early 20th cent.
Some Lithuanians have managed to set up their own businesses - taverns, small shops, bakeries, repairing shoes, and working as tailors. Others were barbers, photographers, undertakers, and sometimes even practiced law, medicine, or worked as publishers, and book sellers.
The staff of "Vienybė" newspaperNational Museum of Lithuania
The staff of "Vienybė" newspaper
In 1879, the first Lithuanian newspaper Gazieta lietuviska, edited by Mykolas Tvarauskas, was published in America (in Lithuania, Jonas Basanavičius' Dawn was published four years later); in December 1889, the first Lithuanian play was staged - the comedy "Be sumenė" by A. Turskis.
Advertisement in the ”SLA kalendorius“ (Lithuanian Alliance of America Calendar)National Museum of Lithuania
Advertisement in the ”SLA kalendorius“. New York, 1918
The expatriate press was full of services offered by Lithuanian
businesses.
Moshe David Osinsky
If you visit the website for the Burton men’s clothing company you might see that Burton was established in 1904. Unfortunately, you wouldn’t find any information about the fact that the company was founded by a Jewish immigrant from Lithuania named Moshe David Osinsky.
Clothing made at a Burton factory
Clothing made in Montague-Burton factories set the fashion of the times. Even half a century later, a jacket designed by the “Tailor of Taste” still radiates with elegance and quality.
Jonas Konstantinas Jonaitis (Johnny Unitas)
The career of American football quarterback Jonas Konstantinas Jonaitis, or Johnny Unitas, is often described as a fascinating Cinderella story. He is still regarded as one of the greatest US National Football League (NFL) players of all time.
An American football autographed by Johnny UnitasNational Museum of Lithuania
An American football autographed by Johnny Unitas
Unitas adapted the spelling of his hard-to-pronounce Lithuanian surname (Jonaitis) to make it sound as similar as possible when read in English.
Karolis Dionyzas Bučinskis (Charles Bronson)
The life of actor Charles Bronson sounds like a movie: Born in a coal-mining town in Pennsylvania as Karolis Dionyzas Bučinskis, raised in great poverty, and a mine worker since the age of ten, he became of the most popular actors in the world in the 1970s.
Scene from the film ”Once Upon a Time in the West“
Cowboy, solider, American Indian, gangster – these were the leading roles masterfully performed by Karolis Bučinskis.
Joseph John Tomalis
If you’ve ever put together furniture you know how long it can take, especially if there are screws to tighten by hand. Just imagine the days when cars and airplanes were “assembled” like that in factories. This process was facilitated by the inventions of Joseph Jonas Tomalis.
J. J. Tomalis’ patent 1942
The US Patent Agency registered 16 different inventions belonging to Joseph John Tomalis. All of them are related to the technology used to manufacture and improve the crosshead screw and screwdriver.
Judith Vaitukaitis
The invention of home pregnancy tests and contraception pills, as well
as the legalization of abortion were manifestations of the new sexual
revolution in the United States in the 1960s. Few know that a Lithuanian scientist, Dr. Judith Vaitukaitis, contributed to that revolution.
Judith Vaitukaitis in her laboratory. United StatesNational Museum of Lithuania
Judith Vaitukaitis in her laboratory
The new hCG hormone method invented by Dr. Vaitukaitis and her colleagues in 1972 was first used to diagnose cancer: It indicated whether a patient was being affected by chemotherapy or other treatment.
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