Press Releases

President awards US scholar with state decoration

Friday, January 27, Vilnius - President Dalia Grybauskaitė awarded US scholar Antony Barry Polonsky with the Cross of Officer of the Order for Merits to Lithuania in recognition of his merits to the Republic of Lithuania and the promotion of the name of Lithuania in the world.

Antony Barry Polonsky is professor of history and near eastern studies at Brandeis University and active researcher into the history and problems of Lithuanian-Polish-Jewish relations.

Professor Polansky is a major figure in the discourse on the Holocaust in both the United States and on the global scene. He contributes in a significant way to the Lithuanian-Jewish dialogue at international level as well as to better understanding in academic and political circles. His personal authority as a researcher into the Holocaust and Jewish issues in Eastern Europe helps to introduce the works of Lithuania scholars and historians to a wider audience and demonstrates that Lithuania is open to a dialogue on the most painful issues of its past.

On January 27 each year, many countries of the world, including the United States, remember the Holocaust and its victims. The day also commemorates the liberation of the Nazi concentration and death camp Auschwitz.