Recollections
RECOLLECTIONS OF VLADE (“ZOUNIA”) FINAUD BY ROMAS SAZENIS
(AS TOLD BY MARIJA SAZENIENE)
(March 2008)
Vlade was a friend of the Sazenis family, especially Romas Sazenis’s cousins Nata and
Aldona Ciudiskis, who were twin sisters. (Nata is still alive and living in Kaunas).
The families knew each other for a very long time. Romas and Vlade, who met in Kaunas,
were friends, but were not girlfriend and boyfriend. However, there is a photo of Vlade taken
in 1939 on which she wrote a note to Romas’s brother Jurgis. “Jurgi, remember the summer
and me”. Marija presumes that Romas and Vlade met when they were very young as their
families were close friends and their grandparents knew each other well. They shared family
holidays in Alytus, which was a popular spa resort on the Nemunas River between Kaunas
and Druskininkai.
Vlada (2nd from left) with Jurgis and his cousins in Alytus in 1938
Vlada with Jurgis, Romas and their cousins in Alytus in 1939
Romas lived in Darbininku street. His father left the family in 1923 when Romas was an infant
and went to live in Leningrad. His mother was an orderly in the local hospital. Romas built a
house when he was 15 and his mother, grandmother, great aunt and his brother Jurgis lived
there.
Romas joined the Lithuanian Army in 1939 just before the Soviets returned Vilnius to
Lithuania and set up military bases in the country. Romas was only 17 and had lied to join the
army. In June 1940, when the USSR annexed Lithuania, Romas was forced to continue
serving in the army under the Soviets. In June 1941 the Germans occupied Lithuania and
Romas deserted the Red Army. Romas hid but was drafted by the Germans and fought with
them against the Soviets for three years.
In July 1944, Romas left Lithuania with the retreating German Army and ended up near
Lubeck. His future wife, Marija Masanauskaite, met him there in 1945 while searching for her
brother Jonas Masanauskas (father of John). They were married in 1946 and lived in
Germany for three more years. Their first daughter Rasa was born in Germany in 1947 and
the family arrived in Australia on September 6 1948. Another daughter, Dalia, was born in
November 1948, a son Algis was born in 1951 and John in 1959.
They chose Australia because they wanted to be as far away as possible from a “ruined
Europe”. Also, Australia took families, not just single workers. Romas worked as a builder and
died on February 22, 1998.
Romas and Vlade re-established contact through his cousin Leonas Ciudiskis, brother of Nata
and Aldona. Leonas had escaped to England and started corresponding with his relatives in
Lithuania shortly after the war. Leonas’ relatives told him that Vlade was living in France and
Leonas had made contact with Romas and passed on this information to him.
Romas and Vlade started corresponding with each other in the late 1940s. They were
reunited in 1977 in Marseille while Romas was on a trip to the US and Europe.
Vlade reunited with Romas (right) in Marseille in 1977, with her husband Christian (left)