Mark Zingeris

(1947–2023)

Markas Zingeris was born in Prienai, Lithuania, in 1947, into one of the very few Jewish families that survived the Holocaust in Soviet Lithuania. His brother is Emanuelis Zingeris, a philologist and politician who signed Lithuania’s Act of Independence in 1990.

He studied journalism at Vilnius University, graduating in 1971, and later taught philosophy in Kaunas. Both his upbringing and education shaped his interest in literature, culture, and the moral challenges of history.

Zingeris began publishing in the 1970s and went on to become a prominent Lithuanian-Jewish poet, novelist, essayist, and translator.

Publications: He wrote
- 3 poetry collections,
- 1 short story collection,
- 5 novels.
His works have been translated into English, Yiddish, Dutch, French, Russian, and German.
Themes: His writings explore Jewish identity, the Holocaust, exile, memory, and the complex relationship between Jews and Lithuanians in the 20th century.
Notable Work: His novel I Sat on Stalin’s Knees (Aš sėdėjau Stalinui ant kelių) won the Liudas Dovydėnas Prize in 2018.

Through his literature, Zingeris gave voice to the silenced memory of Lithuania’s Jews and sought to reconnect Lithuanian readers with their Jewish cultural heritage.

Alongside his literary work, Zingeris was an active cultural leader:

Editor: In the early 1990s, he worked for the cultural weekly Šiaurės Atėnai.
Museum Director: From 2005 to 2019, he served as director of the Vilna Gaon State Jewish Museum, which preserves Jewish heritage and Holocaust memory in Lithuania. Under his leadership, the museum expanded its role in education and dialogue.
Tolerance Center: He was instrumental in developing exhibitions, including the Tolerance Center in Vilnius, which promotes intercultural understanding.
International Voice: He frequently represented Lithuania at Holocaust remembrance events and spoke out against antisemitism and historical distortion.

Markas Zingeris passed away in April 2023 at age 76. He is remembered as:

A leading Lithuanian-Jewish literary voice.
A guardian of Litvak memory after the destruction of Jewish life in the Holocaust.
A bridge between Lithuanian and Jewish culture, advocating for dialogue, truth, and remembrance.

His works remain central to understanding Lithuania’s Jewish experience in the 20th century, and his cultural contributions continue to shape Holocaust education and commemoration in Lithuania.

Sources

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