A Lithuanian writer who challenged the conventional wisdom of her country’s role in the Holocaust has been honoured by the Conference of European Rabbis.

Ruta Vanagaite, widely admired for her works of popular non-fiction, was denounced after publishing Our People, which revealed that Lithuanians participated in the deportation and murder of Jews during the Shoah.

She stoked further controversy in questioning the legacy of Adolfas Ramanauskas, a Lithuanian nationalist widely perceived as a hero of anti-Soviet resistance.

In response to both episodes, the Alma Littera publishing house severed ties with Ms Vanagaite, removing remaining copies of her five books from circulation and destroying them.

At a summit in Brussels’ Great Synagogue, the Conference of European Rabbis awarded the author with the Rabbi Moshe Rosen prize, which recognises “significant contributions to European Jewry”.

Last year former French president Nicolas Sarkozy was the recipient of the award.

In her acceptance speech she said: “One day, four years ago, I discovered that two members of my family had taken part in the Holocaust.

“That day, my eyes opened widely. I had to find out the truth. And I found it, and that truth was shocking. I felt I had to tell about my discovery to other people in my country. Who, if not me, would do this?”

In preparation for Our People, published in 2016, the 63-year-old led a research project which saw hundreds of Lithuanians interviewed about their experiences of the Holocaust.

Together with Efraim Zuroff, a former Nazi hunter, she visited the 227 mass graves throughout Lithuania and Belarus and compiled her extensive research.

The book, a bestseller in her home country, challenged the conventional wisdom that crimes against Lithuanian Jews were committed primarily by Nazi occupiers.

Our People was recalled from Lithuanian bookstores in October 2017 and has not been reinstated since.