Australian Lithuanian History

When I began my family history research it consisted only of what my grandparents could remember.  I always thought I came from a very small family.  Well 25 years later, I know that is not the case.  Tracing your Lithuanian ancestors may seem daunting at first, but it is possible to do so from Australia.  The hardest part is just knowing where to start.  This resource aims to direct you along your journey, providing tips on where to find information in Australia and overseas. An increasing variety of material, including maps, gazetteers, newspapers, shipping lists and civil records of birth death and marriage and immigration papers are being made available online. A good deal can be researched online and for free.  There are many factors that make Lithuanian family history research challenging. People’s surnames change as does the language they are recorded in. Lithuanian records may be written in Lithuanian, Russian, Polish, German or Latin.  I hope ...

Volks kinder, Vilko vaikai, the children of the wolf I had previously read an article about wolf children, German orphans from East Prussia who ended up in the Baltic States after WWII.  I had no idea that our family had wolf child story.  Recently I have been going over my family history notes, rereading everything.  I found a letter addressed to my grandmother.  I must of read it ten years ago without realizing its meaning until I read it again last week.   A letter arrived addressed to Ieva in Australia in 1992.  It was written by Edith Hansen who had waited until Lithuania was free to write to her.  Ieva did not know her, but the letter details how Dita knew the family.  It seems that Dita was a German orphan in Kalingrad who made her way to Lithuania in 1946 with other Germans.  In April 1946, she found herself at Kaunas railway station, she was ten years old.  She was begging in the street during the day and would find a place...