From Freedom Avenue to Freedom: a new, free audio tour invites you to journey through interwar Kaunas

On September 2, the Sugihara Foundation Diplomats for Life, in cooperation with the Embassy of the Netherlands in Lithuania and project partners Kaunas IN and the National Kaunas Drama Theatre, officially launched a unique, free audio tour From Laisvės Avenue to Freedom. This journey immerses visitors in interwar Kaunas and brings to life the dramatic story of two diplomats, Jan Zwartendijk and Chiune Sugihara, who in 1940, as World War II broke out, issued thousands of “Visas for Life.” These visas saved the lives of many Jews fleeing Soviet repression and the Holocaust.

This engaging sound experience, created by British artists Jenny Kagan and Louise K Wilson, offers a new interactive way to explore the history of Kaunas. Using a smartphone and headphones, the audio tour leads visitors from the fountain on Laisvės Avenue to the Sugihara House Museum in Žaliakalnis. Along the route, participants hear not only the story of Zwartendijk’s and Sugihara’s humanitarian mission, but also gain deeper insight into the political and historical context of the time.

At the presentation event, Ramūnas Garbaravičius, Chairman of the Board and one of the founders of the Sugihara Foundation Diplomats for Life, welcomed the modern solutions introduced at the museum, which will open up new experiences and allow an even wider audience to engage with values that are more relevant than ever.

“Diplomats Chiune Sugihara and Jan Zwartendijk did not act because they were ordered to – they acted out of conscience and a belief in goodness. In the same way, the founders of this museum decades ago were not driven by top-down instructions, but by the encouragement of friends and like-minded people who believed that this work was meaningful and worth continuing. Today two generations symbolically come together – the old friends who began it all, and the new ones who are carrying this mission forward,” said R. Garbaravičius.

“This walk takes you back to the last days of interwar Kaunas. It recreates the sounds and atmosphere of that time. You feel as if you are walking alongside Jewish refugees searching for a path to freedom – from the office of the Dutch Honorary Consul Jan Zwartendijk to the Japanese Consulate. You hear the languages drifting in the air, the rumble of Soviet tanks on Laisvės Avenue, and sense the anxiety and fear. And you realize even more how extraordinarily brave these men were – two young fathers, risking their families and careers for people they did not even know. It is a lesson for everyone – to always listen to your conscience when faced with a moral dilemma,” said Jack Twiss Quarles van Ufford, Ambassador of the Netherlands to Lithuania.

Jurgita Garbaravičienė, Director of the Sugihara Foundation Diplomats for Life, expressed her delight at the inspiring changes at the museum in recent years:

“The renewed and expanded museum exhibition gives even more depth to the history we share. The audio tour introduced yesterday is a unique historical sound journey, inviting people to pause, listen, and rediscover the meaning of courage, compassion, and freedom.” She thanked the whole team involved in the project, especially the Embassy of the Netherlands and Ambassador Jack Twiss Quarles van Ufford, who not only provided financial support to make this project a reality but also personally engaged in the creative process of shaping this sound experience.