Lithuanian DP Doll makes a trip around the world

I received notification that a handmade Lithuanian doll made in DP camp in Dillingen Germany would be coming to the Archives. 

The doll was found at an antique warehouse in Mulgrave Melbourne in 2018 by a Latvian, who recognised the doll as Lithuanian and purchased it.  She 
had presumed the doll was handed into the warehouse from family upon the death or cleanup of Statkeviciute’s household.  On the base of the doll there was a red stamp with the words, Workshop for Lithuanian National Dolls, Laumė. Eng Arch Statkeviciutė, Lithuanian DP camp, Dilligen, Germany.

When accepting items into the Archives, knowing its provenance is very important.  I had not seen that many artifacts from the DP camps and had certainly never heard of doll workshops.  I knew it would be a great asset, as I would assume, very few, if any of dolls of this type had survived time. I wanted to see if I could find more information.  The first assumption was a Statkevičiutė had come to Australia. I first consulted the National Archives but found no Statkevičiutė’s coming to Australia.  Next was the German, Arlosen Archives that holds information about Displaced Persons.  Here I found six Statkevičiutės, but which one?  I viewed each record to see if it had information on the camps they lived in Germany.  There was one match for Dilligen, Stefanija Statkevičiutė.  I now had a full name and date of birth, 1 April 1915 in Vilnius.  I still didn’t have a connection to Australia.  Next a general search of her name and Dilligen, revealed that she was illustrated a children’s book while in the camps.   I googled variations of her name and eureka an obituary showed up from Draugas and American Lithuanian newspaper, 1984.

Stefanija was born on 1 April 1915 in Vilnius. She first studied in Kudirkas Naumiestis, later for six years she studied at Vilkaviškis high school. After this her parents moved to Kaunas.  The last two years she studied and graduated from St. Casimirs Girls' high school of the Congregation of Sisters in Kaunas. In 1933 in the fall, Stefanija enrolled in Vytautas the Great University Faculty of Technology, determined to be an engineer.

From Germany she migrated to Chicago where she worked as an Architect. The obituary tells the story of how Stefanija and her family took in a Jewish friend three-year-old girl.  They changed her identity to avoid her being discovered.  When the family fled, Lithuania, the child went also.  The story ends well, she was reunited with her mother and went to live in Israel. 

The death of engineer-architect Stefanija Statkevičiūtė-Traškienė was unexpected.  She was preparing for a big trip to Australia to visit her sister Marytė, when she died. 

She left behind her husband Alexander, and two daughters, a brother Jurgis and sister Marytė.

This gave me her married name, explained the letters Eng Arch, before her name on the bottom of the doll, Engineer, Architect.  It also gave me a connection to Australia, through her sister Marytė.  I felt sure this was how the doll came to end up here.  

As there were no Statkevičiutė’s coming to Australia, I had to assume, Marytė came here married, but what was here married name?  A search in Billion Graves, gave me a photograph of her grave.  Marija Steponaitis, next to her husband Jonas.  Buried in Hobart, Tasmania.  I couldn’t find and children for Marija and Jonas for me to follow.  I was going with the story that the doll was given to Marija, when she and her husband passed, their personal belonging went to auction.  I now believed I knew who made the doll, and how it got here.  

Well, you know what they say about, people who assume.  I was still hoping to find a living relative, so I went back to Stefa’s family and started to draw up her family tree.  Stefa had two children.  I found an obituary for one in Draugas, that showed she passed away suddenly in Florida. Born in 1954, she married and became an anthropologist. No children were mentioned.  I found a death notice for the other daughter, but no mention husband or children.  I then found an obituary for Stefa’s mother, who confirmed the name of Marija’s surname in Tasmania. 

The obituaries I found all mentioned brothers and uncles. I decided to look sideways into these families.  Another detailed obituary, this time of Stefa’s husbands’ brother.  This had a list of children, with their married names, which I looked into.  Facebook is always a great place to search for living people, and here I came upon a match for one of them. So, I messaged her, explaining that I am looking for descendants of Stefa regarding a doll, I believed she made.  Thankfully she responded quite quickly and filled me on the family.  I had the correct family.  She wrote that on Stefa’s death, her husband, Aleksandras remarried an Australian Lithuanian and moved to Sydney.  She also mentioned she had more cousins in Australia.  I now had several connections to Australia, so maybe my assumption of the doll coming here with Marija was incorrect. She remembers the doll in her aunt’s house, displayed in a cabinet and how Stefa was so proud of it.  She believes, Stefa's husband brought it to Australia.  The marriage ended after ten years and he returned to the US.  For some reason, the doll was left behind and probably sold by the ex-wife.

I wanted to know if the Australian cousins, knew of the doll.  Again, Facebook gave me a connection, but they had never seen or heard of the doll. 

Through a journey around the world, made easy through the internet and archives, I could now add a story to the doll.  Coincidentally, this week, I also received a box of 60 interviews on cassettes of interviews of Lithuanians, in Tasmania.  Among them is an interview of Marija Steponaits.  I can’t wait to listen to that. 

Two Year Contracts Part IV (Final)

Tasmania

Railton, Goliath Cement Company

Teodoras Šurkevičius
Henrikas Šurkevičius worked as labourer for 18 months then as a professor of technology.
Also here worked, Vacys Morkunas Juozas Kriaučiunsas, Vladas Kozakas, Ceslovas Vistokas
Vytautas Kuncaitis, Mindaugas Petras Šumskas

Rossarden, Tasmania

Rossarden is an old mining town in north-east Tasmania, located 19 km from Avoca.  The town came into being primarily because of the tin mining operations of Aberfoyle Tin Mining Company, which created a demand for employees.

Here worked Antanas Bartkevičius, Bronius Margevičius, Stasys Virbickas, Jonas Mališauskas.

Electrona

Electrona Carbide factory, 40 km from Hobart. Physical work unloading large rocks of limestone, smashing them with sledgehammers and loading them onto wagons.

Her worked Adomas Stasytis, V. Stasytienė, Jonas Motiejunas, Grigaliunas

The Australian Newsprint Mills

Logs were extracted from areas around Fitzgerald and Karanja, the workforce camps provided comfortable but basic accommodation.  Bushmen used crosscut saw and axe to fell timber and tractors, dragged logs to sidings, where steam haulers winched logs on to rail trucks. Spur lines joined the main railway to Boyer. In 1947 the township of Maydena was built as a base for logging in the Florentine Valley. Thriving communities developed at New Norfolk and Maydena, with company-built amenities including halls, football grounds and swimming pools. The workforce included many single men, often migrants.

Vladas Mikelaitis

Bell Bay Aluminium smelter

The Bell Bay smelter commenced production in 1955 as a joint venture between the Commonwealth and Tasmanian governments. The smelter was the first built in the Southern Hemisphere primarily to overcome difficulties importing aluminium during wartime. Bell Bay was chosen as the location because of the available hydroelectric power and deep-water facilities. Rio Tinto Aluminium purchased the smelter in 1960, when production was about 12,000 tonnes per year.

Boyer Mill

Australian Newsprint Mill company mill.  About 50 Balts worked here from 1948 – 1951, they lived in single men’s camps on the site in huts.

Stepas Augustavičius, Ona Taparauskas (Cook)

British Titan Products (Tioxide) Burnie

Lithuanians worked on the construction of a new factory to make paint pigment from titanium oxide.  The workmen’s camp was located on site, two roomed cottages that had been built specially for the migrants.  There was a communal shower and laundry and a large dining room where meals were served.

Raimondas Kristovkis

Electrolytic Zinc Company of Australia, Risdon

The Electrolytic Zinc Works were established by the Electrolytic Zinc Company at Risdon beside the Derwent in 1916. Eighteen Lithuanians off the Wooster Victory worked here, residing in a new camp. The camp became known as the Balt Camp. Work included digging trenches, erecting fences, work in the quarry.

Here worked, Stasys Valaitis, Olegas Truchanas, Jonas Deckys, Ben Berzanskas.

Electrolytic Zinc Company of Australia, Rosebery

The company was allocated seven Lithuanians off the first ship carrying migrants to Australia.  The camp consisted of six or seven tin sheds.  The men were engaged in mineral explorations, cutting tracks, cutting roads.

Here worked; Karolis Maslauskas, Juozas Jablonskis, Salkunas, Viktoras Kuciauskas, Leons Mikelans
Alex Gabas, Juris Princis, Juozas Stucas, Antanas Maražas.

 Hydro-Electric Commission, Tungatinah, Wayatinah

Lithuanians here helped build dams, power stations, canals and erectednew villages.  Workers were housed in camps at Butlers Gorge damsite, Tarraleah and later at Bronte Park.

Here worked Jolanta Kulakauskas and the Miežitis family.

Post Master General’s Department

Guilford Junction, 50km from Burnie and Hampshire.  Men lived in tents, with no mains electricity.

Here worked Pranas Laurinaitis, Bronius Stankevičius

Royal Derwent Hospital (Lachlan Park Hospital)

Mental Hospital at New Norfolk, 25lm north west of Hobart.  Nurse Aids, Birutė & Irena Kirlytė.