Balys Sruoga (February 2, 1896, in ,
Kovno Governorate
Kovno Governorate ( rus, Ковенская губеpния, r=Kovenskaya guberniya; lt, Kauno gubernija) or Governorate of Kaunas was a governorate ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire. Its capital was Kaunas (Kovno in Russian). It was formed ...
– October 16, 1947,
Vilnius
Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...
) was a
Lithuanian poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...
,
playwright
A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays.
Etymology
The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...
,
critic
A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or governmen ...
, and
literary theorist
Literary theory is the systematic study of the nature of literature and of the methods for literary analysis. Culler 1997, p.1 Since the 19th century, literary scholarship includes literary theory and considerations of intellectual history, mora ...
.
Early life
He contributed to cultural journals from his early youth. His works were published by the liberal wing of the Lithuanian cultural movement, and also in various Lithuanian newspapers and other outlets (such as ''
Aušrinė'', ''
Rygos naujienos'' etc.). In 1914, he began studying
literature
Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...
in
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, and later in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
, due to
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and the
Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...
. In 1921, he enrolled in the
Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It is Germany's sixth-oldest university in continuous operatio ...
, where in 1924 he received his
Ph.D
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...
for a doctoral thesis on
Lithuanian folklore.
After returning to Lithuania, Sruoga taught at the
University of Lithuania
Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) ( lt, Vytauto Didžiojo universitetas (VDU)) is a public university in Kaunas, Lithuania. The university was founded in 1922 during the interwar period as an alternate national university.
Initially it was k ...
, and established a theater seminar that eventually became a course of study. He also wrote various articles on literature. From 1930 he began writing
drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...
s, first ''Milžino paunksmė'', later ''Radvila Perkūnas'', ''Baisioji naktis'' and ''Aitvaras teisėjas''. In 1939, he began teaching at
Vilnius University
Vilnius University ( lt, Vilniaus universitetas) is a public research university, oldest in the Baltic states and in Northern Europe outside the United Kingdom (or 6th overall following foundations of Oxford, Cambridge, St. Andrews, Glasgow and ...
. After the Soviet annexation of Lithuania, Sruoga wrot a pro Soviet cantata welcoming the new Soviet government.
Nazi captivity
''The forest of the Gods''
Sruoga's best known work is the novel ''
Forest of the Gods'', based on his own life experiences as a prisoner in
Stutthof concentration camp
Stutthof was a Nazi concentration camp established by Nazi Germany in a secluded, marshy, and wooded area near the village of Stutthof (now Sztutowo) 34 km (21 mi) east of the city of Danzig (Gdańsk) in the territory of the German-a ...
in
Sztutowo
Sztutowo (; formerly german: Stutthof) is a village in Nowy Dwór Gdański County, within the Pomeranian Voivodeship of northern Poland. It is located about 38 km (24 mi) east of Gdańsk on the northeastern edge of the Vistula Delta, a ...
,
Free City of Danzig
The Free City of Danzig (german: Freie Stadt Danzig; pl, Wolne Miasto Gdańsk; csb, Wòlny Gard Gduńsk) was a city-state under the protection of the League of Nations between 1920 and 1939, consisting of the Baltic Sea port of Danzig (now Gda ...
now present-day
Nowy Dwór Gdański County,
Pomeranian Voivodeship
Pomeranian Voivodeship, Pomorskie Region, or Pomerania Province (Polish: ''Województwo pomorskie'' ; ( Kashubian: ''Pòmòrsczé wòjewództwò'' ), is a voivodeship, or province, in northwestern Poland. The provincial capital is Gdańsk.
The ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
, where he was sent in March 1943 together with forty-seven other Lithuanian intellectuals after the Nazis started a campaign against possible anti-Nazi agitation in occupied Lithuania.
In the book, Sruoga revealed life in a concentration camp through the eyes of a man whose only way to save his life and maintain his dignity was to view everything through a veil of irony and humor, where torturers and their victims are exposed as imperfect human beings, being far removed from the false ideals of their political leaders. For example, he wrote "''A man is not a machine. He gets tired.''", referring to the
guards beating prisoners.
Originally the novel was suppressed by the Soviet officials; it was ultimately published in 1957, ten years after the author's death.
In 2005, a movie with the same titled as the book was released. The film ''
Forest of the Gods'' became the most profitable film released after
Lithuania restored its independence.
Later life
After the Soviets liberated the Nazi camps, Sruoga continued to be held in the same camp. However, in 1945, he returned to Vilnius and continued teaching at
Vilnius University
Vilnius University ( lt, Vilniaus universitetas) is a public research university, oldest in the Baltic states and in Northern Europe outside the United Kingdom (or 6th overall following foundations of Oxford, Cambridge, St. Andrews, Glasgow and ...
, where he wrote the dramas ''Pajūrio kurortas'' and ''Barbora Radvilaitė''.
The authorities' refusal to publish ''Forest of The Gods'' and weak health resulting from his time in concentration camps led to his death in October 16, 1947 (he died going back from Kaunas to Vilnius because of a cold).
Baltic Online Lesson 2: Lithuanian
/ref> The 2005 film '' Forest of the Gods'' was based on the book.
References
External links
Bibliography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sruoga, Balys
1896 births
1947 deaths
20th-century dramatists and playwrights
20th-century poets
Lithuanian dramatists and playwrights
Lithuanian folklorists
Lithuanian male poets
Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni
Moscow State University alumni
People from Biržai District Municipality
People from Kovno Governorate
Saint Petersburg State University alumni
Stutthof concentration camp survivors
Academic staff of Vilnius University
Academic staff of Vytautas Magnus University
Burials at Rasos Cemetery