History of Lithuania

The history of Lithuania dates back to at least 1009, the first recorded written use of the term.[1] Lithuanians later conquered neighboring lands, finally establishing the Kingdom of Lithuania in the 13th century. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania remained fiercely independent and was notably one of the last areas of Europe to adopt Christianity. In the 15th century, Lithuania became the largest state in Europe,[2] merging into the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and becoming a formidable power. In 1795, however, Lithuania was erased from the political map with the Partitions of Poland. The Lithuanians would live mostly under the rule of the Russian Empire until the 20th century.

On February 16, 1918, Lithuania was reestablished as a democratic state. It remained independent until the outset of World War II, when it was occupied by the Soviet Union under the terms of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. Following a brief occupation by Nazi Germany when the Nazis declared war on USSR, Lithuania was again absorbed into the Soviet Union for nearly 50 years. In the early 1990s, Lithuania restored its sovereignty and continued to grow into an economically strong country.

Contents

Before statehood

Balts in the 13th century
Kernavė mounds

The first people arrived on the territory of modern Lithuania in the 10th millennium BC after the 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 traveling 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 traveled less. During the 6th–5th millennium BC, people domesticated various animals, the houses became more sophisticated and could shelter larger families. Agriculture did not arrive until the 3rd millennium BC because there were no efficient tools to cultivate the land. Crafts and trade also started to form at this time. Proto-Indo-Europeans came around 2500 BC, and the identity of the Balts formed about 2000 BC.

Baltic tribes

The first Lithuanians 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 and is dated February 14, 1009.

Today, the two remaining Baltic nationalities are Lithuanians and Latvians, but there were more Baltic nationalities/tribes in the past. Some of these have merged into the Lithuanian and Latvian nationalities (Samogitians, Selonians, Curonians, Semigallians), while others have disappeared (Prussians, Sambians, Skalvians, Galindians).

Towards the creation of a single state

During the 11th century, Lithuanian territories were included in the list of lands paying tribute to Kievan Rus', but by the 12th century, the Lithuanians were plundering neighboring territories themselves. The military and plundering activities of the Lithuanians triggered a struggle for power in Lithuania, which initiated the formation of early statehood and was a precondition of the founding of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Grand Duchy of Lithuania

Pagan Lithuania

The Pope Innocent IV bull regarding Lithuania's placement under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, Mindaugas baptism and coronation
Duchy of Lithuania in 1250 between the areas of the Livonian Order and the Teutonic Order

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 and soundly defeated the Livonians at Šiauliai in the Battle of Saule 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 6 July 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 1241, 1259 and 1275 the kingdom was ravaged by raids from the Golden Horde.

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, Mongol invasion of Rus'. Through alliances and conquest the Lithuanians gained control of significant parts of the territory of Rus. This area included most of modern Belarus and Ukraine and created a massive Lithuanian state that stretched from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea.

When Gediminas was slain, his son Algirdas suppressed the monasteries, but Algirdas's son, Jogaila, 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.

Nowadays Lithuanian paganism is practised by Ancient Baltic faith community 'Romuva'.

Christian Lithuania

St. Nicholas, the oldest church in Lithuania built before 1387

Jadwiga of Poland was strongly urged by the Poles to marry Jogaila 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. Jogaila 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 Knights based in Prussia) and Muscovy from the east.

On February 2, 1386, the Polish Parliament (Sejm) elected Jogaila as King of Poland. Before Jogaila was Crowned as a king of Poland, the second and the final Christianization of Lithuania was carried out.

Lithuania remained sovereign state but the highest social class in Lithuanian nobility became increasingly influenced by Christian culture and language and the countries grew closer. Many cities were granted the German system of laws (Magdeburg rights), with the largest of these being Vilnius, which since 1322 was the capital city of Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Lithuanian Renaissance

Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 15th century
Lithuania's administrative divisions in the 17th century

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 Lithuanian Renaissance (not to be confused with Lithuanian National Revival in 19th 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. The process was led by Lithuanian scholars Abraomas Kulvietis, Stanislovas Rapalionis, Martynas Mažvydas and Mikalojus Daukša.

Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1795)

Outline of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth with its major subdivisions as of 1619, superimposed on present-day national borders      Kingdom of Poland      Duchy of Prussia, Polish fief      Grand Duchy of Lithuania      Duchy of Courland, joint fief      Livonia

With the Union of Lublin 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).

Following the union, Polonization started to take place in Lithuanian public life, and took another 140 years to become a major factor. Under the influence of the Lithuanian upper classes and the church, who began to use Polish language more frequently. In 1696 Polish became an official language, replacing the previous Lithuanian language and Ruthenian languages. 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.

The Constitution of May 3, 1791, agreed by the Sejm attempted to integrate Lithuania and Poland more closely, although the separation was kept by he October 20 addendum called Mutual Declaration of the Two Nations to the May the 3rd Constitution. However, partitions of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth 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.

Under Imperial Russia (1795–1914)

Modern Lithuania in Russian Empire (1867–1914)

Domination of Russia

Following the partitions of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Russian Empire controlled the majority of Lithuania, including Vilnius, which made up a part of Vilna Governorate.

In the early years of the 19th century, there were signs that Lithuania might be allowed some separate recognition by the Empire, however this never happened.

Napoleon's invasion

These hopes were soon to be dashed, particularly subsequent to 1812, when Lithuanians eagerly welcomed Napoleon Bonaparte's French army as liberators. 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.

Uprisings

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. Lithuanians resisted the Russification by arranging printing abroad and smuggling the books in by knygnešiai.

Lithuanian national revival

Under late Russian occupation, the native Lithuanian language stepped into new developmental stage, the fundamental linguistic research and development was done and the very first Lithuanian encyclopedia of science was published. The Russian government opened the Lithuanian Academy of Science and Lithuanian Folk Institute.

Because many of 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 organizations opposing Russian influence. Russian policy became harsher in response. Strikes were organized against Catholic churches while a ban forbidding Lithuanian press continued.

Lithuania's nationalist movement continued to grow. During the Russia-wide revolutionary uprising of 1905 a congress of Lithuanian representatives in Vilnius known as the Great Seimas of Vilnius demanded provincial autonomy on 5 December 1905. For its part, the tsarist regime did make a number of concessions as the result of the 1905 uprising. The Baltic states could once again use their native languages in schooling and public discourse. Latin script replaced the Cyrillic script which had been forced upon Lithuanian for four decades. However, not even Russian liberals were prepared to concede autonomy similar to that as had already existed in Estonia and Latvia, albeit under Baltic German hegemony.[3]

Under Bismarck, German policy had aligned itself with tsarist Russia along the lines of Prussian alliances extending back to the Napoleonic era, in line with their both being politically aligned against Poland. While many Baltic Germans had looked toward aligning the Baltics with Germany — Lithuania and Courland in particular — they had taken no overt action. However, with the outbreak of hostilities in World War I and Germany's occupation of Lithuania and Courland in 1915, the Baltic Germans now had the real possibility of aligning themselves with Germany, opposing both tsarist Russia and Lithuanian nationalism.[3]

Independent Lithuania (1918–1940)

Declaration of independence

During World War I Lithuania was incorporated into Ober Ost, occupational German government. As the war progressed, it became evident that Germany would not reach an effective victory and would have to compromise peace with the Russian Empire.[4] As open annexation could result in a public relations backlash, Germans planned to form a network of formally independent states that would in fact be completely dependent on Germany, the so-called Mitteleuropa.[5] Germans allowed Vilnius Conference (September 18–22, 1917) to convene demanding that Lithuanians declare loyalty to Germany and agree to an annexation. The Conference elected 20-member Council of Lithuania and empowered it to act as the executive authority of the Lithuanian people.[5] The Council adopted the Act of Independence of Lithuania on February 16, 1918. It declared that Lithuania is an independent republic, organized based on democratic principles. Germans, still present in the country, did not support such a declaration and hindered any attempts to establish the proclaimed independence. To prevent being incorporated into the German Empire, Lithuanians elected Monaco-born King Mindaugas II as the titular monarch of the Kingdom of Lithuania in July 1918. Mindaugas II never assumed the throne.

Lithuania and Poland after the treaties of Versailles and Brest-Litovsk and before the Peace of Riga

Germany lost the war and signed the Armistice of Compiègne on November 11, 1918. Lithuanians quickly formed their first government, led by Augustinas Voldemaras, adopted a provisional constitution, and started organizing basic administrative structures. As the defeated German army was withdrawing from the Eastern Front, it was followed by Soviet forces in order to spread the global proletarian revolution. They created a number of puppet states, including the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic. By the end of December the Red Army reached Lithuanian borders starting the Lithuanian–Soviet War. The Lithuanian government evacuated from Vilnius to Kaunas, the temporary capital of Lithuania. Vilnius was captured on January 5, 1919. As Lithuanian army was in its infant stages, Soviet forces moved largely unopposed and by mid-January 1919 controlled about ⅔ of Lithuanian territory. From April 1919 the Lithuanian war went parallel with the Polish–Soviet War. Poland had territorial claims over Lithuania, especially the Vilnius Region, and these tensions spilled over into the Polish–Lithuanian War. In mid-May the Lithuanian army, now commanded by General Silvestras Žukauskas, began an offensive against the Soviets in northeastern Lithuania. By the end of August 1919, Soviets were pushed out of the Lithuanian territory. When the Soviets were defeated, Lithuanian army was deployed against the paramilitary West Russian Volunteer Army, who invaded northern Lithuania. They were rouse German and Russian soldiers who sought to retain German control over the former Ober Ost. West Russian Volunteers were defeated and pushed out by the end of 1919. Thus the first phase of the Lithuanian Wars of Independence was over and Lithuanians could direct attention to internal affairs.

Democratic Lithuania

The Constituent Assembly of Lithuania was elected in April and first met in May 1920. In June it adopted the third provisional constitution and in July signed the Soviet–Lithuanian Peace Treaty. In the treaty the Soviet Union recognized fully independent Lithuania and its claims to the disputed Vilnius Region. The treaty increased hostilities between Poland and Lithuania. To prevent further fighting, the Suwałki Agreement was signed in October. But before it went into effect, Polish General Lucjan Żeligowski staged a mutiny, invaded Lithuania, captured Vilnius, and established short-lived Republic of Central Lithuania. The League of Nations attempted to mediate the dispute and Paul Hymans proposed plans of Polish–Lithuanian union. However, the negotiations broke down as neither side agreed to compromise. The Central Lithuania held a plebiscite and was incorporated into Poland in March 1922. The dispute for the Vilnius Region was not resolved. Lithuania broke any diplomatic relation with Poland refusing to recognize, even de facto, its control over Vilnius, historical capital of Lithuania with significant Polish population. The dispute continued to dominate Lithuanian foreign policy for the entire interwar period.

The Constituent Assembly, which adjourned in October 1920 due to threats from Poland, gathered again and initiated many reforms needed in the new state: obtained international recognition and membership in the League of Nations, passed the law of land reform, introduced national currency litas, and adopted the final constitution in August 1922. Lithuania became a democratic state, with Seimas (parliament) elected by men and women for a three-year term. The Seimas elected the president. The First Seimas was elected in October 1922, but could not form a government as the votes split equally 38–38 and was forced to resign. Its only lasting achievement was the Klaipėda Revolt in January 1923. Lithuania took advantage of the Ruhr Crisis and captured the Klaipėda Region, a territory detached from the East Prussia according to the Treaty of Versailles and placed under french administration. The region was incorporated as an autonomous district of Lithuania in May 1924. For Lithuania it was the only access to the Baltic Sea and important industrial center. The Revolt was the last armed conflict in Lithuania before World War II. The Second Seimas, elected in May 1923, was the only Seimas in independent Lithuania that served the full term. The Seimas continued the land reform, introduced social support systems, started repaying foreign debt. Strides were made in education: the network of primary and secondary schools was expanded and first universities were established in Kaunas. A national census was performed in 1923.

Authoritarian Lithuania

Portrait of Antanas Smetona, the first and last president of independent Lithuania during the interbellum. The period of 1918–1939 if often known as "Smetona's time" in the history of Lithuania

The Third Seimas, was elected in May 1926. For the first time Lithuanian Christian Democrats (krikdemai) lost their majority and became an opposition. It was sharply criticized for signing the Soviet–Lithuanian Non-Aggression Pact and accused of "Bolshevization" of Lithuania. As a result of growing tensions, the government was deposed during the 1926 Lithuanian coup d'état in December. The coup, organized by the military, was supported by the Lithuanian Nationalists Union (tautininkai) and Lithuanian Christian Democrats. They installed Antanas Smetona as the President and Augustinas Voldemaras as the Prime Minister.[6] Smetona suppressed its opposition and remained as an authoritarian leader until June 1940.

The Seimas thought that the coup was just a temporary measure and the new elections should be called to return to democratic Lithuania. It was dissolved in May 1927. Later that year members of Social Democrats and other leftist parties, named plečkaitininkai after their leader, tried to organize an uprising against Smetona but were quickly subdued. Voldemaras grew increasingly independent of Smetona and was forced to resign in 1929. Three times in 1930 and once in 1934 he unsuccessfully attempted to return to power. In May 1928 Smetona, without the Seimas, announced the fifth provisional constitution. It continued to claim that Lithuania is a democratic state and vastly increased powers of the President. His party, the Lithuanian National Union, steadily grew in size and importance. Smetona adopted the title of "tautos vadas" (leader of the nation) and slowly started building personality cult. Many of the prominent political figures married into Smetona's family (Juozas Tūbelis, Stasys Raštikis).

When the Nazi Party came into power in the Weimar Republic, Germany–Lithuania relations worsened considerably as Nazi Germany did not accept the loss of Klaipėda Region. The Nazis sponsored anti-Lithuanian organizations in the region. In 1934, Lithuania put the activists on trial and sentenced about 100 people, including their leaders Ernst Neumann and Theodor von Sass. That prompted Germany, one of the main trade partners of Lithuania, to declare embargo of Lithuanian products. In response Lithuania shifted its exports to Great Britain. But that was not enough and peasants in Suvalkija organized strikes, which were violently suppressed. Smetona's prestige was damaged and in September 1936 he agreed to call the first elections to Seimas since the coup in 1926. Before the elections all political parties, except the National Union, were closed. Thus of 49 members of the Fourth Seimas, 42 were from the National Union. It functioned as an advisory board to the President and in February 1938 adopted a new constitution, which granted even greater powers to the President.

As tensions were rising in Europe following the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany, Poland presented an ultimatum to Lithuania in March 1938. Poland demanded the re-establishment of normal diplomatic relations, which were broken after the Żeligowski's Mutiny in 1920, and threatened military actions in case of refusal. Lithuania, having weaker military power and unable to enlist international support for its cause, accepted the ultimatum. Lithuania–Poland relations somewhat normalized and the parties concluded treaties regarding railway transport, postal exchange, and other means of communication. Just a year after the Polish ultimatum and five days after the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, Lithuania received as oral ultimatum from Joachim von Ribbentrop demanding to cede the Klaipėda Region to Germany. Again, Lithuania was forced to accept. This triggered a political crisis in Lithuania and forced Smetona to form a new government which for the first time since 1926 included members of the opposition. The loss of Klaipėda was a major blow to Lithuanian economy and the country shifted to the sphere of German influence. When Germany and the Soviet Union concluded the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact in 1939 and divided Eastern Europe into spheres of influence, Lithuania was, at first, assigned to Germany.

World War II (1939–1945)

First Soviet occupation

Stalin, Ribbentrop and others at the signing of the German–Soviet Boundary and Friendship Treaty
Soviet troops are marching into Lithuania (June 1940)

In August 1939, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, with secret clauses assigning spheres of influence in the area of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania, initially assigned to the German sphere of influence, was transferred to the Soviets in secret additional protocols of the German–Soviet Boundary and Friendship Treaty of September 28, 1939. The city of Vilnius was occupied by the Red Army during the invasion of Poland. Soviet-proposed Soviet–Lithuanian Mutual Assistance Pact transferred one fifth of the Vilnius Region (including Vilnius) to Lithuanian in exchange for stationing 20,000 Soviet troops within Lithuania.

Once the Winter War in Finland was over and Germany was making rapid advances against Denmark and Norway and against France and the Low Countries, the Soviets heightened their diplomatic pressure on Lithuania, culminating in the Soviet ultimatum to Lithuania of June 1940. The ultimatum demanded to form a new pro-Soviet government and admit an unspecified number of Russian troops. Lithuania accepted the ultimatum as effective military resistance was impossible with Soviet troops already within the country according to the Mutual Assistance Pact. President Antanas Smetona left Lithuania as the Soviet military forces (15 divisions with 150,000 soldiers) crossed the Lithuanian border on June 15, 1940. Lithuania lost its independence.

Soviet representative Vladimir Dekanozov formed the new pro-Soviet puppet government, known as the People's Government. Justas Paleckis replaced Smetona as the acting President of Lithuania. The new government was a rubber stamp institution, carrying out orders from Moscow. The Fourth Seimas was disbanded and new show elections to the so-called People's Seimas were organized on July 14–15, 1940. With only Communist-approved candidates running, official results showed over 90% of voter turnout and support for the Communists. During its first session on July 21 the People's Seimas unanimously decided to convert Lithuania into the Lithuanian SSR and petition to join the Soviet Union. The petition was approved by the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union on August 3. Thus legitimization of the occupation was complete.

Immediately following the occupation, Soviet authorities began rapid Sovietization of Lithuania. All land was nationalized. To gain support for the new regime among small peasants, large farms were distributed to small landowners. However, in preparation for the eventual collectivization agricultural taxes were dramatically increased hoping to bankrupt all farmers. Nationalization of banks, larger enterprises, and real estate caused disruptions in production causing massive shortages of goods. The Lithuanian litas was artificially undervalued and withdrawn by spring 1941. The standard of living plummeted. All religious, cultural, and political organizations were banned leaving only the Communist Party of Lithuania and its youth branch. Estimated 12,000 "enemies of the people" were arrested. During the June deportation some 17,000 people (mostly former military officers, policemen, political figures, intelligentsia and their families) were deported to Gulags in Siberia, where many perished due to inhumane living conditions.

Nazi occupation

Collaboration and resistance

On June 22, 1941, Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. The German forces moved rapidly, encountering only sporadic Soviet resistance and within a week controlled the entire country. The retreating Soviet forces massacred Lithuanian political prisoners (see Rainiai massacre). The Lithuanians generally greeted the Germans as liberators from the oppressive Soviet regime and hoped that Germany would restore some autonomy to Lithuania. The Lithuanian Activist Front organized anti-Soviet June Uprising, declared independence, and formed the Provisional Government of Lithuania with Juozas Ambrazevičius as Prime Minister. The Provisional Government was not forcibly dissolved, but stripped of any actual power it resigned on August 7, 1941. The Germans established the civil administration, known as the Reichskommissariat Ostland. The Germans did not have enough manpower to staff local administration; therefore, most local offices were headed by the Lithuanians. Policy decisions would be made by high-ranking Germans and actually implemented by low-ranking Lithuanians. Overall, local self-government was quite developed in Lithuania and helped to sabotage or hinder several German initiatives, including raising a Waffen-SS unit or providing men for forced labor in Germany.

There was substantial cooperation and collaboration between the German forces and some Lithuanians. The Lithuanian Activist Front volunteer police force, known as Tautinio Darbo Apsaugos Batalionas (TDA), hoping that it would be later transformed into regular army of independent Lithuania. Instead these units were employed by the Germans as auxiliary in massacres of the Jews during the Holocaust. Another infamous unit was the Lithuanian Security Police (Saugumo policija) operating in Vilnius. A number of other police battalions were formed; this auxiliary force was sometimes employed outside of Lithuania tasked with securing communications, guarding prisoners, delivering supplies, etc. Harsh German policies of settling ethnic Germans in Lithuania, collecting large war provisions, gathering people for forced labor, conscripting men into the German army etc. soon produced a resistance movement. The most notable resistance organization, the Supreme Committee for the Liberation of Lithuania, was formed in 1943. Despite German pressure a Waffen-SS division was not established in Lithuania. Eventually, the Lithuanian general Povilas Plechavičius agreed to form the Lithuanian Territorial Defense Force (LTDF), which was to operate solely in the Lithuanian territory and be commanded by Lithuanian officers. When Germans did not honor the agreement and attempted to subordinate LTDF to the German army, Plechavičius disbanded it in May 1944.

However, the Lithuanians did not organize armed resistance, which was conducted by pro-Soviet partisans, which mainly consisted of Russians, Belarusians and Jews and operated in eastern Lithuania. This group fought for the re-incorporation of Lithuania into the Soviet Union. Soviet partisans committed a number of atrocities (for example, the Koniuchy massacre) and sacked towns and villages.[7] The villagers were forced to organize local self-defense. The Polish Armia Krajowa (AK) also operated in eastern Lithuania, expecting post-war Poland to resume control of the Vilnius Region. AK was fighting not only against the Nazis, but also against the pro-Nazi Lithuanian police, Lithuanian Territorial Defense Force, and the Soviet partisans. Relationships between different guerrilla detachments was never cordial and worsened as the war went on.

The Holocaust

German soldiers and locals watch a Lithuanian synagogue burn

Before the Holocaust, Lithuania was home to about 210,000[8] or 250,000[9] Jews. The Holocaust in Lithuania can be divided into three stages: mass executions (June–December 1941), ghetto period (1942 – March 1943), and final liquidation (April 1943 – July 1944). Unlike in other Nazi-occupied countries where the Holocaust was introduced gradually, Einsatzgruppe A started executions in Lithuania on the first days of war. The executions were carried out by three main groups: in Kaunas (Ninth Fort), in Vilnius (Ponary massacre), and in countryside (Rollkommando Hamann). It is estimated that 80% of the Lithuanian Jews were killed before 1942.[10] The surviving 43,000 Jews were concentrated in the Vilnius, Kaunas, Šiauliai, and Švenčionys Ghettos and forced to work for the benefit of German military industry. On June 21, 1943, Heinrich Himmler issued order to liquidate all ghettos and transfer remaining Jews to concentration camps. Vilnius Ghetto was liquidated, while Kaunas and Šiauliai were turned into concentration camps and survived until July 1944.[11] Remaining Jews were sent to camps in Stutthof, Dachau, Auschwitz. Only about 2,000–3,000 of Lithuanian Jews were liberated from these camps.[11] More survived by withdrawing into interior of Russia before the war broke out or by escaping the ghettos and joining the Jewish partisans. The genocide rate of Jews in Lithuania, up to 95–97%, was one of the highest in Europe. This was primarily due, with few notable exceptions, to widespread Lithuanian cooperation with the German authorities. Jews were widely considered to be responsible for the previous Soviet regime (see Jewish Bolshevism) and were resented for welcoming Soviet troops.[12] There was also resistance to the German occupation, and some Lithuanians risked their own lives to save Jews; 723 Lithuanians are recognized as Righteous among the Nations for their efforts.

Return of Soviet authority

In the summer of 1944, the Red Army reached eastern Lithuania, while the city of Vilnius was captured by the Polish Armia Krajowa during the ill-fated Operation Ostra Brama. By January 1945, the Soviets captured Klaipėda, on the Baltic coast. The USSR re-occupied Lithuania as a Soviet republic, with the passive agreement of the United States and Britain (see Yalta Conference and Potsdam Agreements).

Soviet Lithuania (1944–1990)

Stalinism

The Lithuanian partisans often used cellars, tunnels or more complex underground bunkers such as the one depicted here.
Flag of the Lithuanian SSR

The mass deportation campaigns of 1941–1952, June deportation according to Serov Instructions and March deportation, known as Operation "Priboi", in particular, exiled 29,923 families to forced settlements in 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 researchers estimate the number of political prisoners and deportees at 300,000. In response to these events, an estimated several tens of thousands of local organized 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 is memorialized in Grūtas Park.

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 "Lietuvos persitvarkymo sąjūdis" (the Reform Movement of Lithuania) was formed in mid1988 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 USSR, legalized a multi-party system, and adopted a number of other important decisions, including the return of the national state symbols — the flag and the anthem. 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. On 23 August 1989, 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, after which it renamed itself in 1990 the Democratic Labour Party of Lithuania.

Independent modern Lithuania (1990–present)

Struggle for independence (1990–1991)

Troops parade to mark events of March 11

In early 1990, Sąjūdis-backed candidates won the elections to the Lithuanian Supreme Soviet.[13] On March 11, 1990, the Supreme Soviet proclaimed the restitution of Lithuanian independence. Lithuania was the first of the Soviet republics to declare independence. Vytautas Landsbergis became the head of the state and Kazimira Prunskienė led the Cabinet of Ministers. On March 15, the Soviet Union demanded revocation of the independence and began employing political and economic sanctions against Lithuania. Soviet military was used to seize a few public buildings, but violence was largely contained until January 1991. During the January Events, the Soviet authorities attempted to overthrow the elected government by sponsoring the so-called National Salvation Committee. The Soviets forcibly took over the Vilnius TV Tower, killing 14 unarmed civilians and injuring 700. Moscow failed to act further to crush the Lithuanian independence movement and the Lithuanian government continued to work.

During the national referendum on February 9, 1991, 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. During the August Putsch in Moscow, 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. Following the failed coup, Lithuania received widespread international recognition and was admitted to the United Nations.

Building the new state (1991–2008)

As in many other formerly Soviet countries, popularity of the independence movement (Sąjūdis in this case) was diminishing due to worsening economic situation (rising unemployment, inflation, etc.). The Lithuanian Communist Party renamed itself Democratic Labour Party of Lithuania (LDDP) and ran against Sąjūdis in the 1992 parliamentary elections, gaining majority of the seats. LDDP continued building the independent democratic state and transitioning from a centrally planned to a free market economy. In the 1996 parliamentary elections, the voters swinged back to the rightist Homeland Union, led by the former Sąjūdis leader Vytautas Landsbergis.

As part of the transition to a free market economy, Lithuania organized a privatization campaign to sell government-owned residential real estate and commercial enterprises. The government issued investment vouchers to be used in privatization instead of actual currency. People cooperated in groups to collect a larger amount of vouchers for the public auctions and the privatisation campaign in Lithuania, unlike Russia, did not create a small group of very wealthy and powerful people. The privatisation started with small organizations and large enterprises (such as telecoms or airlines) were sold several years later for hard currency in a bid to attract foreign investors. Lithuania's monetary system was to be based on litas, the currency used during the interwar. Due to high inflation and other delays a temporary currency, talonas, was introduced (commonly called Vagnorkė or Vagnorėlis after Prime Minister Gediminas Vagnorius). Eventually litas was issued in June 1993 and it was decided to peg it to the United States dollar in 1994 and to the Euro in 2002.

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. Russian troop withdrawal was completed by August 31, 1993. The first military of the reborn country were the Volunteer Forces, who first took an oath at the Supreme Council of Lithuania soon after the independence declaration. The Lithuanian military built itself to the common standard with an air force, navy and land army. Interwar paramilitary organisations such as Lithuanian Riflemen's Union, Young Riflemen, and Lithuanian Scouts were re-created.

In October 2002, Lithuania was invited to join the European Union (EU) and one month later to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO); it became a member of both in 2004.

References

  1. Edvardas Gudavičius. Lietuvos istorija. Nuo seniausių laikų iki 1569 metų, Vilnius, 1999, p.28. ISBN 5-420-00723-1
  2. R. Bideleux. A History of Eastern Europe: Crisis and Change. Routledge, 1998. p.122
  3. 3.0 3.1 Hiden, John and Salmon, Patrick. The Baltic Nations and Europe. London: Longman. 1994.
  4. (Lithuanian) Maksimaitis, Mindaugas (2005). Lietuvos valstybės konstitucijų istorija (XX a. pirmoji pusė). Vilnius: Justitia. pp. 35–36. ISBN 9955-616-09-1. 
  5. 5.0 5.1 Eidintas, Alfonsas; Vytautas Žalys, Alfred Erich Senn (September 1999). "Chapter 1: Restoration of the State". In Ed. Edvardas Tuskenis. Lithuania in European Politics: The Years of the First Republic, 1918–1940 (Paperback ed.). New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 20–28. ISBN 0-312-22458-3. 
  6. Vardys, Vytas Stanley; Judith B. Sedaitis (1997). Lithuania: The Rebel Nation. Westview Series on the Post-Soviet Republics. WestviewPress. pp. 34–36. ISBN 0-8133-1839-4. 
  7. (Lithuanian) Audronė Janavičienė. Sovietiniai diversantai Lietuvoje (1941–1944) at Genocid.lt
  8. MacQueen, Michael (1998). "The Context of Mass Destruction: Agents and Prerequisites of the Holocaust in Lithuania". Holocaust and Genocide Studies 1 (12): 27–48. doi:10.1093/hgs/12.1.27. http://hgs.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/12/1/27. 
  9. Baumel, Judith Tydor (2001). "Baltic Countries". The Holocaust Encyclopedia. Yale University Press. pp. 51–52. ISBN 0300084323. http://books.google.com/books?id=nPbr0XzlTzcC&pg=PA260&lr=&num=100&as_brr=0&as_pt=ALLTYPES&client=firefox-a#PPA52,M1. 
  10. Porat, Dina (2002). "The Holocaust in Lithuania: Some Unique Aspects". In David Cesarani. The Final Solution: Origins and Implementation. Routledge. p. 161. ISBN 0415152321. http://books.google.com/books?id=3N9Xxc8wdu0C&pg=PA161&source=gbs_search_s&sig=Q51GxOA40aEQ_rhazg2g7VJpPWE. 
  11. 11.0 11.1 Bubnys, Arūnas (2004). "The Holocaust in Lithuania: An Outline of Major Statges and Their Results". The Vanished World of Lithuanian Jews. Rodopi. pp. 216–218. ISBN 9042008504. http://books.google.com/books?id=mdXRKbcyi5oC&pg=PA205&as_brr=3&ei=xK7eR_OaJIa4zATMsJzrCg&sig=-X-7KH0Hr__XpZG_EZPrGBAr0Tk#PPA216,M1. 
  12. Senn, Alfred E. (Winter 2001). "Reflections on the Holocaust in Lithuania: A New Book by Alfonsas Eidintas". Lituanus 4 (47). ISSN 0024-5089. http://www.lituanus.org/2001/01_4_05.htm. 
  13. "Supreme Council (Reconstituent Seimas) 1990-1992". Seimas. 1999-12-07. http://www3.lrs.lt/pls/inter/w5_show?p_r=281&p_d=3248&p_k=2. Retrieved 2008-02-23. 

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