VILNIUS: UNDER FOUR FLAGS
Vilnius - an Eastern European city that underwent four regime changes from 1939 to 1944; Polish to Lithuanian to Russian to German before the final Soviet occupation. The protagonists are three families living under the various occupations: the Polish family of Casimir Kataski; the Lithuanian family of Baron Eimontas; and the Jewish Bernstein family. The Soviet Union gives Lithuania back its historic capital, Vilnius, which had been under Polish rule. A year later the Soviets invade and occupy the whole country with the horror of totalitarian rule. The German Nazis arrive and are welcomed by certain segments of the population as liberators. In spite of the gulags, concentration camps, and war, life went on in the city. The human condition absorbs love, sex, rape, torture, betrayal, lies and truths. The goal was simply survival and freedom for Lithuania.