Australian Lithuanians
ENAustralian Lithuanians discusses the evolution of the Australian Lithuanian Community as a productive and thriving force within the greater Australian community. The book acknowledges the rightful place of a small minority of migrants within the grand mosaic of Australian multiculturalism. This migrant history paints a picture of the 'new arrival' in the context of a former British colonial outpost. The narrative of these 'displaced persons', randomly deposited in a nation still searching for its own identity, is complex, intriguing and sometimes shocking to scholars and students of Australian Culture, Migration Studies and the ethnicallyselective immigration policy of the 'Baltic Experiment'. Today, review of such post-WWII government programs is central to the ongoing discourse on Australian cultural history. Commentary on this period is under-represented in English-language narratives on Australian nationbuilding. When Arthur Calwell signed an agreement with the International Refugee Organization in 1947, he set a new precedent in Australia's immigration policies: he made the first arrangement with a non-British government to supply a corps of able-bodied subjects as potential Australian citizens. Stereotyped as tall, blonde, blue-eyed, industrious and Christian, the Lithuanians (as well as Latvians and Estonians) were deemed the next best thing when there were too few British or Scandinavian migrants to satisfy Australia's intent to 'populate or perish'.This book elaborates on the decisive, radical actions taken by Calwell and the Australian government, and how this affected the post-WWII Lithuanian migrants, I offer detailed information on the development and growth of the Australian Lithuanian Community, which often evolved in direct response to processes and policies instigated by the federal government. Australian Lithuanians reveals the important role played by culture and language in establishing the identities of new arrivals. The story of this groups path to citizenship sheds light on migration and assimilation of the 'other' in contemporary communities, near and far. General history books about migration to Australia, as well as migraI tion curricula in educational settings, often omit references to Lithuanian migrants. On occasion, the Lithuanian community's relatively small size has been used as an excuse to forego mention of its signifij cance. Australian Lithuanians invites readers to examine and reconsider cultural ambivalence or aversion toward 'others' about whom they may know very little.
