A WOLF AT OUR DOOR BY JURA REILLY The story traces back to when an expanding Soviet Union was annexing satellite countries, using their populations as forced labour. Ms Reilly said best estimates we

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A WOLF AT OUR DOOR BY JURA REILLY The story traces back to when an expanding Soviet Union was annexing satellite countries, using their populations as forced labour. Ms Reilly said best estimates were that some 200,000 Lithuanians were deported, many dying in brutal -50C Arctic weather. “Essentially it was ethnic cleansing, as we know it today. They were kept moving every few years, wherever the Soviets needed forced labour.” Ms Reilly said the book began as translated excerpts called Stories from Siberia on an international language learning site, italki.com, where she was an informal tutor. “Each week I’d post an episode online and it got a lot of response. The readers on the site suggested it should be compiled into a book. “One website member translated the stories into Spanish and another into Chinese. “Even the Russian people learning on the site didn’t know anything about this episode in their history.” Ms Reilly said the book aimed to “bring to life the struggles of a forgotten generation of Lithuanian women who survived when so many others perished”. Published under the auspices of Geelong Writers in association with Beach Shack Publications, A Wolf at Our Door is available from Paton Books.

Mar 14, 2014 12:09 AM

Corrections · 3

A WOLF AT OUR DOOR BY JURA REILLY

The story traces back to when an expanding Soviet Union was annexing satellite countries, using their populations as forced labour.
Ms. Reilly said that the best estimates are that some 200,000 Lithuanians were deported, many dying in brutal -50C Arctic weather.
“Essentially it was ethnic cleansing, as we know it today. They were kept moving every few years, wherever the Soviets needed forced labour.”
Ms. Reilly said the book began as translated excerpts called "Stories from Siberia" on an international language learning site, italki.com, where she was an informal tutor.
“Each week I’d post an episode online and it got a lot of response. The readers on the site suggested it should be compiled into a book.
“One website member translated the stories into Spanish and another into Chinese.
“Even the Russian people learning on the site didn’t know anything about this episode in their history.”
Ms. Reilly said the book aimed to “bring to life the struggles of a forgotten generation of Lithuanian women who survived when so many others perished”.
Published under the auspices of Geelong Writers in association with Beach Shack Publications, "A Wolf at Our Door" is available from Paton Books.

March 14, 2014