silvia foti in chicago, welcome to hardtalk. hello, thank you.s an extraordinary story to tell. let's begin by establishing why you chose to dig so deep into the life of your grandfather who, of course, was a man you had never met because he was executed by the soviets in 1947. so, why did you go so deep into his life? i kind of a sort of stumbled into it, to be honest. i got the story from my mother on her deathbed. and i thought i was going to write about a hero when i started this. i had no idea about his dark past. and it really only came about when i was burying my mother in lithuania and visiting the school named after him when the director very casually mentioned that, "your grandfather was accused of killing jews." and i almost fainted when he said that. because that was the very first time i had ever heard that. i was 38 years old, my mother had just died, my grandmother had just died, i thought i was going to work on a wonderful story about my grandfather, a world war ii hero who fought against the communists. and when he said that that

my guest today is a silvia foti, an american writer whose grandfather was lithuanian — a man hailed asroic patriot who paid with his life resisting the soviets. but according to his granddaughter, jonas noreika was no hero. he had the blood of thousands ofjews on his hands. now she has chosen to speak out, angering many in lithuania. so, what happens when truth trumps family loyalty? hello, thank you. was a man you had never met because he was executed by the soviets in 1910. so, why did you go so deep into his life? i kind of a sort of stumbled into it, to be honest. i got the story from my mother on her deathbed. and i thought i was going to write about a hero when i started this. i had no idea about his dark past. and it really only came about when i was burying my mother in lithuania and visiting the school named after him when the director very casually mentioned that, "your grandfather was accused of killing jews." and i almost fainted when he said that. because that was the very first time i had ever heard that. i was 38 years old, my mother had just died, my grandmother had jus

silvia foti in chicago, welcome to hardtalk. hello, thank you.— hello, thank you.s an extraordinary _ hello, thank you. yours is an extraordinary story _ hello, thank you. yours is an extraordinary story to - hello, thank you. yours is an extraordinary story to tell. i extraordinary story to tell. let's begin by establishing why you chose to dig so deep into the life of your grandfather who, of course, was a man you had never met because he was executed by the soviets in 1947. so executed by the soviets in 1910. so why did you go so deep into his life? ease 1947. so why did you go so deep into his life?— into his life? eye kind of a sort of stumbled - into his life? eye kind of a sort of stumbled into - into his life? eye kind of a sort of stumbled into it, l into his life? eye kind of al sort of stumbled into it, to into his life? eye kind of a - sort of stumbled into it, to be honest. i got this story from my mother on her deathbed. and i thought i was going to write about a hero when i started this. i had no idea about his dark past. and it really only came abou