by Grant Gochin
There is only one hero in this story.
On Wednesday, July 10, 2019, the municipality of the Lithuanian capital Vilnius voted on changing a street currently named for one of their national heroes, Kazys Škirpa. The vote is the result of an intensive campaign led by British citizen and ex-member of the Vilnius City Council Mark Adam Harold.
The Lithuanian Government states they have exhausted all means of investigating Škirpa, and deem him a national hero. To the rest of humanity, Škirpa remains a war criminal.
The FBI has tied Škirpa to two of the most powerful Nazis who were executed after the Nuremberg War Crimes trial, von Ribbentrop and Rosenberg. This evidence, however, has always been, and continues to be irrelevant to the Lithuanian government. Lithuanian authorities claim during his lifetime Škirpa was not tried and not convicted and hence remains “completely innocent” of any crimes. If we apply this standard we find both Stalin and Hitler would also be exculpated of crimes against humanity. Horrifying.
Full editorial here.