Irena Veisaitė facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Irena Veisaitė
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Veisaitė, June 2009
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| Born | 9 January 1928 Kaunas, Lithuania
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| Died | 11 December 2020 (aged 92) Vilnius, Lithuania
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| Nationality | Lithuanian |
| Occupation | Theatre scholar and human rights activist |
| Known for | Awarded Goethe Medal, 2012 |
| Spouse(s) | Grigori Kromanov |
Irena Veisaitė (born January 9, 1928 – died December 11, 2020) was a very important person from Lithuania. She was an expert in theatre, a smart thinker, and worked hard for human rights. This means she believed everyone should be treated fairly. In 2012, she received a special award called the Goethe Medal. This was for helping Germany and Lithuania understand each other better through culture.
Contents
Irena Veisaitė's Life Story
Early Life and Education
Irena Veisaitė was a Lithuanian Jew. She was born in a city called Kaunas in Lithuania. She lived through a very difficult time called the Holocaust. This was when many Jewish people were persecuted.
Later, she studied hard and earned a special degree called a doctorate. She got this degree in 1963 in a city then called Leningrad. Her studies focused on the poems of a famous writer named Heinrich Heine.
Teaching and Cultural Work
From 1953 to 1997, Irena Veisaitė worked as a teacher. She taught at a college in Vilnius, the capital city of Lithuania. She also led the Thomas Mann Cultural Centre. This center is in a beautiful place called Nida, Lithuania.
Irena Veisaitė was also the long-time President of the Open Society in Lithuania Foundation. This organization helps to create a more open and fair society.
Speaking Out for Human Rights
Irena Veisaitė was known for speaking about important historical events. She talked about the time when communism was strong in her country. She once said that the Soviet rule was "very, very bad." She believed it was different from the Nazis, but not better. This shows she was brave and spoke her mind.
Family and Later Years
Irena Veisaitė was married to an Estonian director named Grigori Kromanov. He passed away before her.
She died in Vilnius on December 11, 2020. She passed away from COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic in Lithuania. She was almost 93 years old.
