Museum of the Battles for Freedom in Utena Museum
The museum is located in Utena, near the junction of the Kaunas-Daugpilis (A6) and Vilnius-Utena (A14) trunk roads. The museum was established in 2015 at the former narrow gauge railway station building of Utena. The museum claims to be a form of poetry that tacitly exposes the post-war truth. The exhibition “A Common European Identity in the Context of Totalitarian Regimes” offers to explore the past of Lithuania and Europe through the history of one Lithuanian region. It tells the story of secret documents and the division of Europe in 1939, the Soviet occupation of Lithuania, the forced participation of Lithuanians in World War II, exile, post-war resistance and the organisation of collective farms in the Utena region. The painful events of 1940–1965 in the Utena region and the events in Lithuania are contrasted with life behind the Iron Curtain. The history of the narrow-gauge railway station also has tragic pages. From here, in 1941 and from 1945–1953, train cars with deportees were sent to Siberia.
Used sources and references:
"Museum of Freedom Struggles", in: Utena Local History Museum, available online: https://www.utenosmuziejus.lt/apie-muzieju/padaliniai/laisves-kovu-muziejus/ .