2023 06 14 – 2024 06 14 ANTANAS SMETONA: TOUGH DECISIONS

With the approaching anniversary of 150 years since the birth of Antanas Smetona, the President of the Republic of Lithuania, we kindly invite to transfer the passionate debates raging in the society regarding the assessment of Smetona’s political activity into a cozier environment which has been professionally prepared for such discussions – to the exhibition Antanas Smetona: Tough Decisions. The attention of the visitors is directed to 17 important choices which Antanas Smetona had to make either personally or in a team. Each of the options is explored by considering historical materials, such as archive documents, memoirs and scientific historiography. Arguments ‘for’ and ‘against’ have been prepared. They help us realize the importance of the President’s personality, his associates and the contemporary political context for the decisions to be taken. These major and minor dilemmas lead the visitors along the path of the life of Antanas Smetona up until his decision to withdraw from Lithuania on 15 June 1940, and the choices to be made help us get to know better not only Antanas Smetona as a key historical personality, but also the entire period of the Interwar Independence of Lithuania. The exhibition is interactive, and it may be explored in three different ways. The simplest option is to get chronologically introduced to the choices of Antanas Smetona in his path of life and political activity. Those who enjoy detective puzzles are offered the harder way of avoiding the answer stand while tracking down various hints which are left for the curious minds to see at the Presidential Office. Trying out the presidential shoes may lead to opening up new horizons to you! Meanwhile, anyone indulging in self-reflection may opt for the comparative strategy and try to answer whatever they would do in an equivalent situation. Why don’t we discuss the options with the other visitors of the exhibition? Are there any other alternatives present? The organizers of the exhibition believe that any of the suggested ways of exploration will allow us not only to get to know the personality of Antanas Smetona better, but will also experience the burden of responsibility stemming from the duty of taking historical decisions.