Šaltojo karo ir sovietų okupacijos palikimas Žemaitijoje

In the central part of Klaipėda city.

Klaipėda is a region with a unique destiny. When the Soviets occupied Lithuania in 1940, the city and region of Klaipėda already belonged to the German Reich. In January 1945, the Red Army occupied Klaipėda. According to the registration data of the military commandant's office, at that time there were 28 civilians left in the city. Thus began a new Soviet phase in Klaipėda. One repressive regime was replaced by another.

The goal of the creators of the exhibition "In the Footsteps of the Soviet Era" is to encourage reflection on the Soviet era and the changes that began in the late 1980s, to discuss the complex space of the Soviet era. The story is about the new residents, the construction of "socialist" Klaipėda, the aspirations of Soviet ideology and propaganda, and resistance to the suppression of national, civic, and religious consciousness. Separate stories and themes are developed: an exhibition of the interior of a Soviet-era intelligentsia's living room illustrates the everyday life of people of that time; an improvised "red corner" and Soviet-era slogans tell about the methods and banality of Soviet propaganda; a computer terminal presents the construction of the Klaipėda Mary Queen of Peace Church and its fate in 1957–1963, etc.

In the city of Klaipėda.

The museum “39/45”, which belongs to the History Museum of Lithuania Minor, tells the story of the Second World War in the city and region of Klaipėda. The museum is located under the rampart, on the site of the former eastern curtain wall of Klaipėda Castle, where German military units had set up an explosives warehouse during the war.

The museum's exposition is modern and attractive to visitors - the exposition consists of 4 halls presenting different stages of the war era, and the exhibition halls are equipped with 13 interactive points. In the hall "Klaipėda on the Eve of the War", you can get acquainted with historical documents and photographs, and the cardinal changes of that time in Europe are depicted on an original animated map. The hall "Klaipėda Storm" presents the extremely tragic history of the city of Klaipėda and its inhabitants, while the other "Klaipėda after the War" exhibits an installation dedicated to the memory of the destroyed churches of the city. In the last hall, "Memory", a symbolic 6-meter-long carriage with a glass lid is placed, under which are many ordinary household items that once belonged to both German soldiers and Klaipėda civilians. The glass is filled with a layer of sand, so in order to see the exhibits, you will have to clean the sand with your fingers.

Klaipėda city's Royal Dane embankment, next to the Castle Bridge.

The ship belonging to the "Lindau" mine trawler class was built in 1956-1958. in West Germany. The purpose of these ships is to detect and destroy sea mines. Accordingly, the ship's hull was made of Brazilian oak, the decks were made of teak, and the devices were made of non-magnetic metal.

1958-1999 the ship belonged to the German Navy and was christened M1071 Koblenz. 1978-1979 from a minesweeper it was converted into a minesweeper (minehunter).

in 1999 the ship was handed over to the Naval Forces of the Lithuanian Army. The ships of these forces are traditionally named after the historical regions of Lithuania, so the new ship was christened with that name - M52 "Sūduvis". The ship served Lithuania for 22 years, participated in international and national exercises and operations.

in 2021 the ship completed its service in the Lithuanian Naval Forces and was handed over to the Lithuanian Maritime Museum. M52 "Sūduvis" was then adapted for museum and educational activities when it was opened to the public. A ship on display with authentic working equipment.

M52 "Sūduvio" displacement 463 t, engine power 4000 HP, speed 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h), crew of 42 people. Armament and equipment of the ship: 40 mm caliber cannon, acoustic system, minesweeper robot.

In Klaipėda city between K. Donelaičio, Liepų, Trilapio and S. Daukantas streets.

The Sculpture Park in Klaipėda is a multi-layered witness to the city's and the world's history. A cemetery, a park, a memorial, an art space - all this and more fits into this one space.

In 1944–1945, the Soviet occupiers reestablished themselves in Lithuania, and the city of Klaipėda was left without its old inhabitants. The once new, but now old city cemetery was abandoned, devastated and destroyed. Finally, it was abolished, and in 1977. the Sculpture Park was established in its place. Works of art began to be built. It is said that even during the years of Soviet censorship, “art strategies far removed from the canons of socialist realism were formed and implemented here: abstraction, surrealism, minimalism, localized art”.

Today, this park is called the Open-Air Gallery of Lithuanian Mature Modernist Sculpture. It exhibits 116 works created during the Soviet era (1977–1989). However, along with works of art and relics of old cemeteries, other layers and monuments also coexist here:

• A fortification device reminiscent of the Napoleonic Wars – a defensive chancel (1812);
• memorial to the 1923 Klaipėda Uprising (1925);
• memorial to the Soviet Union soldiers of World War II (1949–1980; part of the memorial was dismantled in 2022 after the start of the Russian war against Ukraine);
• a memorial stone for the old residents of the Klaipėda region – the Memelenders (1992).

Memorials also honor the French prisoners of war who died in the Franco-Prussian War, the soldiers of the German Empire in World War I, the soldiers of Independent Lithuania, and the Belgian, Polish, and French prisoners of war in World War II.

Since 2005, the Sculpture Park exposition has been maintained by the Museum of the History of Lithuania Minor.