Laisvė įpareigoja: asmens ir kartos pasirinkimas ; Freedom’s commitment: the choice of an individual and a generation

Antrasis pasaulinis karas ir sovietų okupacija pakeitė daugelio Lietuvos gyventojų likimus. Jie neretai būdavo priversti čia ir dabar apsispręsti – pasirinkti priespaudą arba laisvę, kovą arba nuolankumą ir prisitaikymą, Rytus arba Vakarus. Šiame straipsnyje per vieno žmogaus – Jurgio Valiulio-Karolio Drungos (1919–1987) – gyvenimo istorijos fragmentus bandoma atskleisti to meto nepriklausomos Lietuvos jaunosios kartos likimus. Straipsnyje stabtelėta ties keliais J. Valiulio gyvenimo etapais ir pasirinkimais: laisvės principu ir jungimusi į pogrindžio veiklą, idėjiniu vystymusi ir liberalizmo idėjų paieška bei ryšiais su bendraminčiais ir kovos draugais ; World War II and the 1940 Soviet occupation changed the destinies of most of Lithuania’s inhabitants. They were confronted with the necessity of reaching, often within the span of several hours, a decision that would transform their entire subsequent lives. They had to choose between tyranny or freedom, resistance or submission, East or West. This article aims to reveal, through fragments of the life history of Jurgis Valiulis-Karolis Drunga (1919–1987), the alternatives facing a whole generation of young Lithuanians, including the option of freedom, of joining the underground resistance, of acting on the principles of liberty and of liberalism, of the personal development of ideas, and of fostering ties with intellectual soulmates and collaborators in a common struggle. The main sources for this study are the fragmentary recollections of J. Valiulis, his written texts published in the diaspora press, his documents and letters to confederates (Henrikas Žemelis, Bronys Raila) as well as the recollections of his former friends kept in the archives of the VMU Lithuanian Emigration Institute ; Humanitarinių mokslų fakultetas ; Lietuvių išeivijos institutas ; Vytauto Didžiojo universitetas