History of Lithuania
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This article discusses the history of Lithuania and of the Lithuanians.
[edit] Before statehood
The first people arrived to the territory of modern Lithuania in the 10th millennium BC after glaciers had retreated and the last glacial period had ended. According to historian Marija Gimbutas, the people came from two directions: from the Jutland Peninsula and from present-day Poland. They brought two different cultures as evidenced by the tools they used. They were travelling hunters and did not form more stable settlements. In the 8th millennium BC the climate became much warmer and forests developed. The people started to gather berries and mushrooms from the forests and fish in the local rivers and lakes. They travelled less. During the 6th-5th millennium BC people domesticated various animals, the houses became more complicated and could house large families. Agriculture came late, only in the 3rd millennium BC because there were no efficient tools to cultivate the land. At the same time crafts and trade started to form. The Indo-European people came around 2500 BC and the identity of the Balts formed about 2000 BC.
[edit] Baltic tribes
The first Lithuanians, or Liths, were a branch of an ancient group known as the Balts, whose tribes also included the original Prussian and Latvian people. The Baltic tribes were not directly influenced by the Roman empire, but the tribes did maintain close trade contacts (see Amber Road).
Lithuanians have built a nation that has endured for most of the past ten centuries, while Latvians acquired statehood in the 20th century and Prussian tribes disappeared in the 18th century. The first known reference to Lithuania as a nation (Litua) comes from the annals of the monastery of Quedlinburg dated February 14, 1009.
In the present day the two remaining Baltic nationalities are Lithuanians and Latvians, but there have, in the past, been more such nationalities/tribes; some of which nationalities have merged into the Lithuanian and Latvian nationalities (e.g. Samogitians), while others have been completely destroyed (e.g. Prussians).
[edit] Towards the creation of single state
During the 11th century Lithuanian territories were included into the list of lands paying tribute to Kievan Rus', but by the 12th century, the Lithuanians were plundering neighbouring territories themselves. The military and plundering activities of the Lithuanians triggered a struggle for power in Lithuania which began the formation of early statehood, and was a precondition of the founding of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
[edit] Grand Duchy of Lithuania
[edit] Pagan Lithuania
In the early 13th century two German religious orders, the Teutonic Knights and the Livonian Brothers of the Sword, conquered much of the area that is now Estonia and Latvia, in addition to parts of Lithuania. In response, a number of small Baltic tribal groups united under the rule of Mindaugas (or Mindowe) and soundly defeated the Livonians at Šiauliai in the battle of the Sun in 1236. In 1250 Mindaugas signed an agreement with the Teutonic Order and in 1251 was baptized in their presence by the bishop of Chełmno (in Chełmno Land.) On July 6, 1253, Mindaugas was crowned as King of Lithuania and state was proclaimed as Kingdom of Lithuania. However, Mindaugas was later murdered by his nephew Treniota which resulted in great unrest and a return to paganism.
In 1316, Gediminas, with the aid of colonists from Germany, began restoration of the land. The brothers Vytenis and Gediminas united various groups into one Lithuania.
Gediminas extended Lithuania to the east by challenging the Mongols who, at that time, controlled Russia. Through alliances and conquest the Lithuanians gained control of significant parts of the territory of Rus. This area included most of modern Belarus and the Ukraine and created a massive Lithuanian empire that stretched from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea.
When Gediminas was slain, his son Algirdas (Olgierd) suppressed the monasteries, but Algirdas's son, Jogaila (Jagiello), again made overtures to the Teutonic Order and concluded a secret treaty with them. His uncle Kęstutis took him prisoner and a civil war ensued. Kęstutis was eventually captured, imprisoned and put to death, but Kęstutis's son Vytautas escaped.
[edit] Christian Lithuania
Jadwiga of Poland was strongly urged by the Poles to marry Jogaila (Jagiello) who had become the grand duke of Lithuania in 1377 and for the good of Christianity, Jadwiga consented and married Jogaila three days after he was baptized. Jagiello and Lithuanians in general favoured this marriage as the alliance with Poland gave them a powerful ally against the constant threat of Germany (especially the Teutonic Order based in Prussia) and the Muscovy from the east.
On February 2, 1386, the Polish Parliament (Sejm) elected Władysław II Jagiełło as King of Poland. This meant that Lithuania and Poland shared the same ruler, but Lithuania remained a separate country and continued to be ruled by a Grand Duke (often the grand duke of Lithuania was also the King of Poland).
Lithuania in general attempted to remain separate from Poland but the highest aristocratic social class in Lithuania became increasingly influenced by Polish culture and language and the countries grew closer. The reasons for this growing together are not entirely clear, but the position of the Catholic church, the numerical superiority of the Polish nobility and its achievements, the desire to join the more powerful social class and the mixing of ethnic Lithuanian and Belarusian aristocracies have been cited as factors.
Many cities were founded under the German system of laws (Magdeburg Rights), with the largest of these being Vilnius, which later became the capital city.
[edit] Lithuanian Rennaisance
In the 16th century, when many educated Lithuanians came back from studies abroad, Grand Duchy of Lithuania was boiling with active cultural life, sometimes referred to as Lithunanian Renaissance (not to be confused with Lithuanian national Renaissance in XIXth century). At the time Italian architecture was introduced in Lithuanian cities, and Lithuanian literature written in Latin flourished. Also at the time emerged first handwritten and printed texts in the Lithuanian language, and began the formation of written Lithuanian language.
[edit] Important names
- Abraomas Kulvietis
- Michalo Lituanus
- Martynas Mažvydas
- Stanislovas Rapalionis
[edit] References
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[edit] Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth (1569-1795)
[edit] Early years of the new state
With the Lublin Union of 1569 Poland and Lithuania formed a new state: the Republic of Both Nations (commonly known as Poland-Lithuania or the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth; Polish: Rzeczpospolita Obojga Narodow, Lithuanian: Abiejų Tautų Respublika).
[edit] Polonization
Following the union, Polonization of Lithuanian life, especially of state institutions, became stronger. Under the influence of the Lithuanian upper classes and the church, who began massive use of the Polish language, lower levels of the nobility and gentry and inhabitants of the two biggest towns, Vilnius and Grodna, started speaking Polish. In 1696 Polish became an official state language, replacing the previous Lithuanian and Ruthenian languages.
[edit] The rise of nobles
[edit] Lithuanian autonomy
Despite the Union and integration of the two countries, for nearly two centuries Lithuania continued to exist as the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, retaining separate laws as well as an Army and a Treasury.
[edit] Wars against Swedes and Russians
[edit] Livonian war
[edit] Great Northern war
[edit] Destruction of the state
[edit] Reforms by Poniatowski
[edit] Partitions
The Constitution of May 3, 1791, agreed by the Sejm abolished the division of Poland and Lithuania. However, partitions of Poland in 1772, 1793 and 1795 saw Lithuania divided between Russia and Prussia and Lithuania ceased to exist as a distinct entity for more than a century.
[edit] Under the Imperial Russia (1795-1914)
[edit] Domination of Russia
Following the third partition, the Russian Empire controlled the majority of Lithuania, including Vilnius which with 25,000 inhabitants was the third largest city in the Empire after Moscow and Saint Petersburg.
In the early years of the 19th century, there were signs that Lithuania might be allowed some separate recognition by the Empire.
[edit] Napoleon's invasion
These hopes were soon to be dashed, particularly subsequent to 1812, when Lithuanians eagerly welcomed Napoleon's invading French army as liberators.
[edit] Persecutions
After the French army's withdrawal, Tsar Nicholas I began an intensive program of Russification. The south-western part of Lithuania included in Prussia in 1795 and in the short-lived Duchy of Warsaw in 1807 became a part of the Russian-controlled Kingdom of Poland in 1815, while the rest of Lithuania continued to be administered as a Russian province.
[edit] Revolts
The Lithuanians and Poles revolted twice, in 1831 and 1863, but both attempts failed. In 1864 the Lithuanian language and the Latin alphabet were banned in junior schools. Lithuanias resisted the Russification by arranging printing abroad and smuggling the books in by knygnešiai.
[edit] Lithuanian national revival
Under late Russian occupation, the native language of Lithuania was reborn after many years of dormancy.
Because Lithuanian nobles were Polonized and only the poor and middle classes used Lithuanian (but some of the latter also tended to use Polish for "prestige"), Lithuanian was not considered a prestigious language. There were even expectations that the language would become extinct, as more and more territories in the east were Slavicized, and more people used Polish or Russian in daily life. The only place where Lithuanian was considered to be more prestigious and worthy of books and such was German-controlled Lithuania Minor. Even here, an influx of German immigrants threatened the native language and culture.
The revival started among poor people, then continued with the wealthy, beginning with the release of Lithuanian newspapers, Aušra and Varpas, then with the writing of poems and books in Lithuanian. These writings glorified the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, depicting the nation with power and many heroes.
This revival spearheaded the independence movement, with various organisations opposing Russian influence. Russian policy became harsher in response and there are known to have been strikes against Catholic churches, while a ban of the Lithuanian press still continued.
[edit] World War 1 (1914-1918)
Despite Russian attempts to integrate Lithuania by the end of the 19th century Lithuania had developed a growing nationalist movement. During the Russia-wide revolutionary upsurge of 1905 a congress (Seimas) of Lithuanian representatives (December) demanded provincial autonomy. During World War I Lithuania's occupation by Germany (1915) and the subsequent collapse of the Russian imperial government led to the proclamation of an independent republic (February 16, 1918) under German control, and full independence upon Germany's surrender (November 1918).
[edit] Independent interwar Lithuania (1918-1940)
[edit] Freedom wars (1918-1922)
The term "Freedom wars" refers to the three wars Lithuania was fighting to defend its territory from various powers: bolsheviks, bermontians and Poles; each of these powers had their own reasons for fighting Lithuania.
[edit] War against bolsheviks
The Bolsheviks were attacking Lithuania from the east to try to prevent it regaining its independence. Such actions succeeded in some other states, such as Georgia, Belarus and the Ukraine, which were also briefly independent but had fallen under USSR rule again soon after the civil war in Russia ended. However in Lithuania they managed to take only the eastern side of country before the government in the temporary capital Kaunas managed to take the upper side in war and the Bolsheviks were thrown off. In the first and most critical phase of war with bolsheviks Lithuania's independence was defended with the help of saxonian volunteers from Germany. Number of fallen lithuanian and german soldiers was equal.
[edit] War against bermontians
Bermontians were Russian troops who were taken as POWs by Germany in World War I and then released on the promise that they would help fight the communists in the Russian civil war. Instead, led by Pavel Bermont-Avalov, they decided to attack the newly-independent states of Lithuania and Latvia, to which Germany had granted independence.
Bermont thought that in the Russian civil war the communists would be crushed anyway, so there was no need to help fighting them; instead he thought he could annex the Baltic states, and, once the communists were destroyed, join them to Russia, getting a high position or local ruler's title in exchange. The Bermontians managed to take considerable territories in western Lithuania (Samogitia).
Once they gained control of a town the Bermontians would ban the local languages there and enforce the Russian language; this and other reasons made them very unpopular with the local population. In Latvia, they managed to take the capital Riga. but the temporary capital of Lithuania, Kaunas, was farther away and despite having to fight the communists at the same time in the east, Lithuania gathered enough forces and started to win territories back from the Bermontians. The Bermontians were finally crushed near Radviliškis, a major railway centre, where they were put into trains and sent to Russia. As for Latvia, Estonia helped it to reconquer lost territories, according to some explanations, in exchange for Latvia ceding the island of Ruhnu and its territorial waters to Estonia.
[edit] War against Poland
The newly regained independence of both Lithuania and Poland produced a prolonged border dispute involving Vilnius (Polish: Wilno), which Lithuania claimed as its historic capital, but only about 30% of its population was Lithuanian, with the majority of the population being Polish. Lithuanians were the majority in some surrounding areas though, which were also part of the disputed Vilnius region, while in some other territories Belarusians or Jews were in the majority. Due to the historical domination of the area and the lack of a clear majority, Lithuania claimed to have more rights to the multiethnic territory than Poland. Simultaneously, the territories were claimed by the Soviet Union. Eventually, in October 1920, during the later stages of Polish-Soviet war, Polish irregular forces occupied Vilnius and most of the disputed areas. Polish forces were soon withdrawn and a puppet Central Lithuania state was established in the territory.
[edit] Democratic Lithuania (1922-1926)
Lithuania became a democratic state briefly, with a president elected for 7 years by parliament and a parliament elected by the people.
[edit] The Vilnius region
The Polish-Lithuanian dispute over Vilnius remained unresolved. A state of war was maintained through all the democratic period of interwar Lithuania because of this. In the Vilnius region, elections were held on January 8, 1922. While the elections were free, they have been criticised for not encompassing the whole Vilnius region and thus excluding some Lithuanian-dominated territories. Initially both Poland and Lithuania attempted to win the support of various groups living in this multicultural territory side-by-side, but eventually most of the Lithuanians and Jews boycotted the elections anyway. Still enough people voted for them to be considered valid. The elected parliament soon decided to join Poland and dissolve Central Lithuania.
The Polish Sejm accepted the law proposed by the Central Lithuanian parliament on March 22, 1922 and the League of Nations confirmed it on March 15, 1923. The Lithuanian government in Kaunas (which was designed as temporary capital with Vilnius remaining capital according to Lithuanian constitution) refused to accept Poland's annexation of the Vilnius district and maintained a formal state of war. Lithuanian claim over the area was based on the fact that the area was historically Lithuanian, and therefore Lithuania had more rights to the multicultural area where Poles, Lithuanians, Belarusians and Jews were the majority in different areas.
[edit] The Klaipėda region
Vilnius was not the only city whose possession was in dispute. Klaipėda (German language name Memel was predominant in official use until 1923) had been founded by the Livonian Order in 1252. In 1328 it became Prussian and much of the population from the 15th-16th century were bilingual Lithuanian/German speakers and considered themselves members of the Prussian state. The Memelland district, including the city of Klaipeda, was made a separate territory under French occupation in 1920 as part of the Treaty of Versailles. In this area, 50.8% of population were Lithuanians (predominantly rural people), while 43.8% were Germans (including most of urban elite). Lithuania took advantage of the Ruhr Crisis and supported the Klaipėda Revolt in the area in January 10-15 1923, leading to its incorporation as an autonomous district of Lithuania in May 1924.
[edit] Authoritarian regime (1926-1938)
Following a succession of conservative governments, Lithuania's first elected government of the left (June 1926) was overthrown in a military coup in December 1926. Antanas Smetona, first president of Lithuania, resumed office as president, but with dictatorial powers, while Augustinas Voldemaras of the far-right "Iron Wolf" movement originally served as his prime minister. After Voldemaras's fall in September 1929, Smetona continued to direct Lithuania's political affairs until 1940.
[edit] Klaipėda region during the period
Twice between 1924 and 1938, martial law was imposed to put down anti-Lithuanian movements in this German community.
[edit] Collapse of the state (1938-1940)
[edit] Polish ultimatum (to reestablish diplomatic relationship between the two countries), 1938
In 1938, after a border incident in which one Polish soldier was killed, Poland presented an ultimatum to Lithuania to renew diplomatic relations, designed to diffuse Lithuanian pressure on regaining the Vilnius region. The Poles' timing was auspicious because the powers in Europe were too busy with Hitler's recent actions to be interested, which were seen to be more important.
A period of 24 hours was set for a response, at the end of which Poland would declare war if Lithuania did not renew diplomatic relations. Knowing that it was weaker at the time and that under such circumstances there would be no support from other countries, Lithuania accepted the ultimatum and it was signed by representatives of both states in Tallinn, Estonia. After that, several quiet protests happened in Lithuania. Positive effects of the ultimatum included treaties about railway transport, postal exchange, and other means of communication, finally allowing the population to exchange letters and place phone calls across the borders. Although Lithuania officially continued to claim Vilnius as its capital, with diplomatic relations reestablished due to the ultimatum, antogonism between the two states over the region reduced and the Vilnius Liberation Union was also closed.
[edit] German ultimatum (Lithuania loses Klaipėda region), 1939
The National Socialist Party, which was ideologically similar to the German Nazi Party, gained a large voice in the city's politics. In the 1938 election, the National Socialists won the majority of seats and negotiated a settlement to hand over Klaipėda to Germany. A majority of the town's Jewish population, foreseeing this change in the cards, had already fled the area.
Following the loss of Klaipeda General Stasys Raštikis visited Warsaw between May 12 and 13 , suggesting a military alliance with Poland. However, the Polish government treated his proposition lightly and lost a small, but potentially important, ally, which was to prove to be a mistake.
[edit] The deal with the Soviets (Soviet armies are based in Lithuania), 1939
The city of Vilnius was occupied by the Red Army and soon returned to Lithuania together with only one fifth of the Vilnius region and the Soviets established their military presence within the country.
[edit] The situation in Europe
Germany expanded even more, by presenting ultimatums to Czechoslovakia and acquiring Austria, and as it turned out both the Germans and the Russians wanted even more. In August 1939, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed an agreement (the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact), with secret clauses assigning spheres of influence in the area of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania was initially assigned to the German sphere of influence, but when Lithuania refused to ally with Nazi Germany in the attack on Poland, it was transferred to the Soviets in another secret pact later that year.
[edit] World War II (1940-1945)
[edit] First Soviet occupation (1940-1941)
[edit] The occupation and annexation
Despite having a non-aggression pact signed and in force, Soviet Russia gave Lithuania an ultimatum in 1940. It demanded the removal and imprisonment of several key Lithuanian politicians under the pretext of a supposed kidnapping of Russian border guards (it is alleged that the incident was staged by the Russians themselves). The Soviets sought military units in the Lithuanian territory.
Unlike Finland, Lithuania did not defend itself and there was debate whether to accept the ultimatum. President Antanas Smetona opposed it and said that Lithuania should fight, while some members of the government decided that it should be accepted, assuming that Lithuania would have lost a war against Russia in any case. Some also claimed that it would be worthy to lose more than half of the population if that would save freedom, but even with those sacrifices, stopping the Soviets was doubtful. In the end, the ultimatum was accepted.
Antanas Smetona left Lithuania afterwards to show that the occupation was illegal and Soviet military forces (15 divisions, about 150,000 soldiers) crossed the Lithuanian border on June 15, 1940, with the military of Lithuania being ordered not to resist.
With the support of Soviet military forces, a new government loyal to the Soviets was formed. The new government consisted mainly of known Lithuanians (such as poets or singers), supposedly to be more popular for ordinary people. Government members were nominated according to the orders of Vladimir Dekanozov, the Soviet envoy in Lithuania. Dekanozov named Justas Paleckis, a Lithuanian leftist who was not yet a member of the Communist Party, as Prime Minister. The selection of prime minister was not carried out according to the procedures foreseen in the Lithuanian constitution. Aided by specialists sent in from Moscow, Dekanozov worked through the Lithuanian Communist Party, headed by Antanas Sniečkus, while the cabinet of ministers, headed by Paleckis, served an administrative function.
This temporary government was in office for a very short period, and on July 14-15, 1940, elections to the so-called People's Parliament were organized. However, only the collaborationist Communist Party of Lithuania could nominate candidates, with its leaders being returned from Moscow or released from prisons. People were threatened to attend the elections, but results were still falsified. On July 21, 1940, the "People parliament" declared Lithuania's will to join the Soviet Union and on August 3, 1940, the Supreme Council of the USSR "admitted" Lithuania into the Soviet Union. The process of annexation was formally over and The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic was created.
[edit] Soviet actions
Soviet activists, with the help of local communists, started nationalisation of property. The Communist Party of Lithuania which actually had only a few Lithuanians in its ranks came into rule and the government which was made of popular people was dissolved.
In June of 1941 the USSR deported approximately 35,000 Lithuanians to Siberia and other parts of Russia. Several thousand were killed in more than 40 massacres that occurred in various places of Lithuania (for example, Rainiai massacre, which although it is far from the largest one, is quite well known). Additionally, positions of two ethnic groups, which had collaborated in the creating of a Lithuanian state, Lithuanians and Jews, separated. Lithuanians were frightened and astonished by the inhuman deportations and massacres and watched for any possibility of liberation, while the Jewish population preferred Russian occupation to Nazi rule. This situation was used by Nazi propaganda a week later and may have influenced the behavior of some Lithuanians during Nazi occupation. Russian occupation was short, but it did lots of damage.
The Lithuanian Activist Front, an underground organisation led by Kazys Škirpa was formed and when Germany started war on Soviet Union, the organisation used the opportunity to declare independence.
[edit] Independent Lithuania (1941)
Main article: Lithuanian 1941 independence
On June 22, 1941, Hitler invaded the Soviet Union. Independence was declared with the expectation that the Soviets would weaken and wouldn't have enough strength to hold Lithuania. On June 24th of 1941, Juozas Ambrazevičius, a member of the Lithuanian Activist Front (Lietuvos aktyvistų frontas, LAF), became prime minister. The retreating Soviet forces massacred Lithuanian political prisoners.
The leader of the LAF was Kazys Škirpa, who was in Berlin, away from Soviet occupation. However, the Germans did not let him leave because Nazi Germany did not want an independent Lithuania and planned for it to be a part of its occupied territories. The new government asked people via radio not to loot and to remain in place with the retreat of Soviet army, and declared Lithuania independent again.
At this time the government tried to negotiate with Germany to allow Lithuanian independence. German troops had entered Lithuania, but for propaganda purposes and other reasons, they did not immediately dissolve the government of Lithuania (and this created a false belief among some Lithuanians that Germans would permit Lithuania to stay independent or at least autonomous).
However, with time Germans gradually stripped the Lithuanian government of its powers; Lithuania, having no regular army, was unable to resist because of the huge disparity of strength and ultimately the Germans annexed Lithuania. The government, no longer having any real power, dissolved itself on August 7th, 1941. The Lithuanian Activist Front was subsequently banned by the German authorities.
[edit] German occupation (1941-1944)
[edit] German actions
People soon have realized that the Nazis had no plans for independent or even autonomous Lithuania and, in fact, they viewed the natives as second-class citizens. Germany added a small part of southern Lithuania to be ruled directly by Germany (Balstogė county), while to the Lithuanian part of Ostland some more lands from Vilnius region were attached (Ašmena, Svyriai, etc.), lands which previously weren't given to Lithuania by the Soviets. Lithuania however lost its independence fully and economic condition were harsh, especially in cities and towns (in villages people were at least able to grow food for themselves).
[edit] Resistance
The importation of thousands of German farmers to work the natives' lands, along with the dismissal of the Lithuanian government, soon produced a vigorous resistance movement. The resitance movement, however, was not united - the majority fought for the independent Lithuania, but another group, known as the Soviet partisans, which mainly consisted of Russians, Belarusians and Jews and operated in the eastern Lithuania, fought for the incorporation of Lithuania into the Soviet Union, while the Polish Armia Krajowa, which operated in the eastern Lithuania as well, fought for the incorporation of that part of Lithuania into the Polish state which they hoped to liberate. The Soviet partisans committed massacres (for example, the Koniuchy massacre) and sacked towns and villages[1]. The Armia Krajowa forces committed at least one massacre of Lithuanian village Dubingiai (Dubinki), killing 27 people as an answer to the massacre of 37 people by Lithuanian police members in the Polish village of Glinciškės (Glinciszki). Under such circumstances, the relations of different partisan groups were strained. Armia Krajowa for example was fighting not only against the Nazis, but in addition to that against the Lithuanian police, Local Lithuanian Detachment, and the Soviet partisans.
Partisans moved through the woods and countryside, attacking German positions and supply lines.
[edit] Relation of German forces and Lithuanians
There was substantial cooperation between the German forces and some Lithuanians. The Lithuanian Activist Front group formed five police companies to restore order in the country. Later, the units around Kaunas were incorporated into the Tautos Darbo Apsauga (National Labour Guard) and in Vilnius the Lietuvos Savisaugos Dalys (Lithuanian Self Defence). These were then joined into the Policiniai Batalionai (Lithuanian Police Battalions) called by the Germans the Schutzmannschaft, with a total of 8,388 men by August, 1942.[2] Another infamous unit was the Lithuanian Secret Police (Saugumo policija).
Despite the fact that the purpose of their creation was different, these Lithuanian units participated in the Holocaust, especially within Lithuania (including the areas of Vilnius region that are now in Belarus). For example, in October and November 1941 Lithuanian Schutzmannschaft Battalion 2 participated in the killing of 19,000 Jews,[3] the Schutzmannschaft 7th company was involved in the murder of 9,200 Jews in 1942 and Lithuanian Schutzmannschaft Battalion 254E killed at least 1,800 Jews in the course of a single action in 1943.[4] Lithunian guards played a role at many concentration camps, and two battalions of Schutzmannschaft were also stationed at the Majdanek death camp, where they carried out executions.[citation needed]
The SS division, however, was not established in Lithuania as the Lithuanian general Povilas Plechavičius dismissed his forces upon finding out that the Nazi regime was planning to turn them into an SS division.[5]
Of course, there was also resistance to German occupation, and Lithuanians who risked their own lives to save Jews. 504 Lithuanians are recognized as Righteous Among the Nations for their efforts.[6]
[edit] The Holocaust
Before the Holocaust, Lithuania was home to 160,000 Jews, and was one of the great centers of Jewish thought. By 1941, refugees had increased the number of Jews in the country to 250,000. Both immediately before and after the German occupation in 1941, the Lithuanians themselves carried out violent pogroms against the Jewish population and according to German documentation, between the 25th and 26nd of June, 1941, "about 1,500 Jews were eliminated by the Lithuanian partisans. Many Jewish synagogues were set on fire; on the following nights another 2,300 were killed." [7]
Starting in June and July 1941, detachments of German Einsatzgruppe A, together with Lithuanian auxiliaries, started large scale mass shootings of Jews, and by November of 1941, most were killed in places like Paneriai. The surviving 40,000 Jews were concentrated in the Vilnius, Kaunas, Šiauliai, and Švenčionys ghettos, and in concentration camps, where many died of starvation or disease. In 1943, the ghettos were either destroyed by the Germans or turned into concentration camps, and 5,000 Jews were deported to the extermination camps. At the end of the war, only 10% of Lithuania's Jews survived.
- See also: Chiune Sugihara
[edit] Second Soviet occupation
In the summer of 1944, the Red Army reached eastern Lithuania, while the city of Vilnius was captured by the Home Army during the ill-fated Operation Ostra Brama. By January 1945, the Russians captured Klaipėda, on the Baltic coast. The USSR subsequently reclaimed Lithuania as a Soviet republic, with the agreement of the United States and Britain (see Yalta and Potsdam Agreements.)
[edit] In the Soviet Union (1944-1990)
[edit] Stalinism
The mass deportation campaigns of 1941-52 exiled 29,923 families to Siberia and other remote parts of the Soviet Union. Official statistics state that more than 120,000 people were deported from Lithuania during this period, while some sources estimate the number of political prisoners and deportees at 300,000. In response to these events, an estimated several tens of thousands of resistance fighters participated in unsuccessful partisan warfare against the Soviet regime from 1944. The last partisan was killed in combat in 1965. Soviet authorities encouraged immigration of non-Lithuanian workers, especially Russians, as a way of integrating Lithuania into the Soviet Union and to encourage industrial development. This period has a dedicated Grutas theme park.
- See also: Forest Brothers
[edit] Policy of Khrushchev
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[edit] Policy of Brezhnev
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[edit] Rebirth (1988-1990)
Until mid-1988, all political, economic, and cultural life was controlled by the Lithuanian Communist Party (LCP). Lithuanians as well as people in two other Baltic republics distrusted the Soviet regime even more than people in other regions of the Soviet state, and gave their own specific and active support to Gorbachev's program of social and political reforms by Lithuanians. Under the leadership of intellectuals, the Lithuanian reform movement "Sąjūdis" or "The Movement" was formed in mid-1988 and declared a program of democratic and national rights, winning nationwide popularity. Inspired by Sąjūdis, the Lithuanian Supreme Soviet passed constitutional amendments on the supremacy of Lithuanian laws over Soviet legislation, annulled the 1940 decisions on proclaiming Lithuania a part of the U.S.S.R., legalized a multi-party system, and adopted a number of other important decisions. A large number of LCP members also supported the ideas of Sąjūdis, and with Sąjūdis support, Algirdas Brazauskas was elected First Secretary of the Central Committee of the LCP in 1988. In 1989, on the 23rd August, 50 years after Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, in order to draw the world's attention to the fate of the Baltic nations, Latvians, Lithuanians and Estonians joined hands in a human chain that stretched 600 kilometres from Tallinn, to Rīga, to Vilnius. That human chain was called the Baltic Way. In December 1989, the Brazauskas-led LCP declared its independence from the Communist party of the Soviet Union and became a separate party, which after it renamed itself in 1990 the Lithuanian Democratic Labor Party.
[edit] Independent modern Lithuania (1990-2004)
[edit] Struggle for independence (1990-1991)
[edit] Election of Sąjūdis and independence declaration, 1990
In 1990, Sąjūdis-backed candidates won the elections to the Lithuanian Supreme Soviet. On March 11, 1990, the Supreme Soviet (or, more precisely, the Supreme Council of Lithuania) proclaimed the restitution of Lithuanian independence, becoming the first of the Soviet republics to declare national rights. The Supreme Council of Lithuania also appointed leaders of the state and adopted the Provisional Fundamental Law (temporary constitution) on this day and the Lithuanian SSR ceased to exist. Vytautas Landsbergis became the head of the state and Kazimiera Prunskienė led the Cabinet of Ministers.
On March 15 the U.S.S.R. demanded revocation of the act and began employing political and economic sanctions against Lithuania. Soviet military was used to seize a couple of public buildings. Also, it showed its force by driving its tanks through the streets of Vilnius. The Lithuanians, inspired by their government, protested against Soviet actions in a non-violent manner.
[edit] January events, 1991
Main article: January Events
On January 10, 1991, U.S.S.R. authorities seized the main publishing house and other premises in Vilnius and attempted to suppress the elected government by sponsoring a so called "National Salvation Committee". Three days later, the Soviets forcibly took over the TV tower, killing 14 unarmed civilians and injuring 700. The self-styled National Salvation Committee declared the Government overthrown, but capturing of houses of the Supreme Council and the Government never followed. Moscow failed to act further to crush the Lithuanian independence movement in light of widespread world criticism and a dearth of local popular support. The Lithuanian government continued to work.
[edit] Plebiscite and further Russian attacks, 1991
During the national plebiscite on February 9 more than 90% of those who took part in the voting (and 76% of all eligible voters) voted in favor of an independent, democratic Lithuania. Led by tenacious Vytautas Landsbergis, Lithuanian leadership continued to labor for Western diplomatic recognition of its independence.
The Soviet Foreign Ministry [citation needed] had called the validity of that and other [citation needed] Lithuanian elections of the time into question, particularly given the strong support that Algirdas Brazauskas commanded in the Seimas. Meanwhile, Soviet military and security forces continued forced conscription, occasional seizure of buildings, attacks on customs posts, and a few killings of customs and police officials.
[edit] Recognition of independence, 1991
During the Soviet coup attempt of 1991, Soviet military troops took over several communications and other government facilities in Vilnius and other cities, but returned to their barracks when the coup failed. The Lithuanian Government banned the Communist Party and ordered confiscation of its property. Independence was finally recognized by Russia in September of 1991, several months after the referendum.
[edit] Building the new state (1991-1996)
[edit] Political developments
As in many other formerly Soviet countries, popularity of the liberating movement (Sąjūdis in this case) was diminishing, due to people's overly high expectations that the country would immediately become rich when it became capitalist, which understandably did not happen. Due to the change towards a market economy some indicators, e.g. employment (which was near 100% during Soviet times due to underemployment), fell. At the time the Lithuanian Communist Party renamed itself LDDP (Lithuanian Democratic Labour Party) and ran against Sąjūdis in 1992 elections. Sąjūdis failed at those elections, and LDDP won the majority, although the did not have enough power to change the constitution. This was not expected, and LDDP had even less candidates in their lists than they got seats in parliament, therefore, according to the law, the unused seats were distributed among other political parties according to the percentages of votes. LDDP did not go the radical way back as, for example, the Belarusians did, and more or less continued building the independent state. Leftist policies however also proved to be wrong for the time, and in the elections of 1996 rightist Homeland Union won the majority of seats. Homeland Union has been established by Vytautas Landsbergis, leader of Sąjūdis, when it was seen that Sąjūdis needed reform. Sąjūdis remained as a public organisation, slowly diminishing and losing its importance. Although it exists today, it is not involved in politics any longer.
[edit] Privatization
It was decided that the state would have a market economy and therefore organisations like shops and flats, which were owned by government and leased to people, were to be privatised. Because people did not have money, the government issued investment vouchers of varying amounts to everybody, which could be used to privatise things such as real estate. Privatisation of companies was performed in auctions where the one who could offer the most cheques would win. People cooperated in groups to have a larger amount to offer and the privatisation campaign in Lithuania, unlike Russia, did not create a small group of very wealthy and powerful people. This was probably because the privatisation started with small organisations, and not large enterprises such as telecoms or airlines, which were done much later and some are still left unprivatised (and then already a monetary model was chosen for privatisation instead of a cheque-based one).
Privatisation however created a problem by people who were new to business acquiring some factories which were thriving previously and being unable to make them continue prospering. Others claim however that the fate of these factories was already sealed anyway because they were uneconomical and could only have been working under the planned economy of the Soviet Union.
[edit] Russian troop withdrawal (1991-1994)
Despite Lithuania's achievement of complete independence, sizable numbers of Russian forces remained in its territory. Withdrawal of those forces was one of Lithuania's top foreign policy priorities. Lithuania and Russia signed an agreement on September 8, 1992, calling for Russian troop withdrawals by August 31, 1993, which took place on time.
[edit] Forming the military
The first military of the reborn country were the Lithuanian volunteers, who first took an oath at the Supreme Council of Lithuania soon after the independence declaration. Later SKAT was formed from them. However, when the LDDP (former communists) came to power in 1992, the position of the volunteers was weakened, according to them on purpose, by not giving them enough weaponry, financing nor uniforms. This led to the Coup of the Volunteers, but with time the situation calmed down, and Lithuanian military built itself to the common standard with an air force, navy and land army. SKAT remained too, and interwar paramilitary organisations such as Lithuanian Riflemen's Union, Young Riflemen, and an organisation similar to Boy Scouts were created. However, riflemen's organisations do not have the power or support they enjoyed in interwar Lithuania.
[edit] Forming the monetary system
Lithuania's monetary system was to be based on Litas, the currency used during the interwar republic of Lithuania. The name Litas derives from the name Lithuania (the other Baltic State, Latvia, has similarly-named currency Lats). The currency was to be introduced quickly, immediately after Russian ruble, however it did not happen and Russia did not support the use of Roubles in Lithuania. Therefore a temporary currency, talonas, was introduced (commonly called Vagnorkė or Vagnorėlis because Gediminas Vagnorius was prime minister during its introduction). This currency however was very simple, easily counterfeited, and also was subject to heavy inflation. There were two versions of talonas, a large note and then a small note, the smaller notes were being released to change the large banknotes when they lost their value, but it was later controversially decided that the large banknotes would regain value again.
Eventually Litas was issued (printed outside Lithuania), and it was decided to peg it to the United States dollar and later to the Euro. Some possible affairs and conspiracy theories exist about the issue of litas. Since then except for the first few years and up until joining the European Union, inflation in Lithuania has been among the lowest in Europe.
[edit] Going forward (1996-2004)
[edit] Lithuania in the European Union (2004-present)
In October 2002, Lithuania was invited to join the European Union and one month later to join NATO; it became a member of both in 2004. The Lithuanian Military began a programme of modernisation and integration with NATO forces. [8] It has been noted that since Lithuania joined the EU there has been significant emigration to both the UK and Ireland.
[edit] Further reading
Zigmantas Kiaupa, et al. The History of Lithuania Before 1795 (Vilnius: Lithuanian Institute of History, 2000).
[edit] See also
- Lithuania
- Central Lithuania
- History of Vilnius
- Baltic region
- Baltic Germans
- History of Poland
- History of Russians in Lithuania
- Law of Lithuania
- Territorial changes of the Baltic States
[edit] External links
- Pages and Forums on the Lithuanian History
- Zenonas Langaitis virtual Old Radio museum - Old Radios from Lithuania,Europa,past USSR.
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