COURAGE

connecting collections

Having been sent to the provinces of Lithuania in 1966, the ex-Soviet political prisoner and Catholic priest Fr Stanislovas made Paberžė an attractive place for the intelligentsia and people who shared non-Soviet attitudes. Fr Stanislovas became widely known in Lithuania for his deep sermons and his ability to attract and engage people through various initiatives, like collecting, repairing and restoring old things, his philosophical attitude towards things (similar to that of Rainer Maria Rilke), and the importance of activity. The items (material objects) in the collection are a testimony to the environment in which the cultural opposition led by Fr Stanislovas discussed political, religious and social issues during Soviet times. 

Ferenc Fejtő was an original, democratic leftist thinker. His library is a unique trace of the criticism of Eastern European rightist, authoritarianist, socialist dictatorship, and Western European leftist romanticism. Fejtő, who maintained strong connections with European intellectual elites, left Hungary for France in 1938, yet remained deeply committed to the fate of freedom-lacking Eastern Europe.

The Nádosy bequest is an exceptional collection of materials documenting the daily work done by a Christian samizdat author and his efforts to establish a network of contacts. It also contains materials concerning the organization of the missionary working group, international communication, and the process of samizdat production.

The collection of files of political prisoners contains the criminal cases against people who were charged by Soviet security institutions (NKVD/MGB/KGB) of real or imaginary crimes against the Soviet state from 1940 to 1986, including many intellectuals and religious activists. The files of visual artist Kurts Fridrihsons and poet Knuts Skujenieks, participants in the Action of Light, and many others, are in this collection.