User:Renata3/1918-1940

The history of Lithuania between 1918 and 1940 mark a period of independence between World War I and World War II and therefore is often refered to as interbellum (Lithuanian: tarpukaris). During the time Lithuanians declared and established first modern national state of Lithuania. Many suggestion for re-creation of the old multi-ethnic Grand Duchy of Lithuania were rejected.

Declaration of independence

Main article: Act of Independence of Lithuania

Facsimile of the Act of February 16

Lithuanians sought independence or at least autonomy from the Russian Empire since the third partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795. Hopes were raised several times: during the Napoleon invasion of Russia in 1812, November Uprising in 1830, January Uprising in 1863, and Russian Revolution in 1905. Another opportunity presented itself at the end of World War I. As the war progressed, the German Empire, which could not reach an effective victory and would have to compromise peace with the Russian Empire, passed the Resolution of Peace on July 19 1917. It declared that the military administration governing occupied territories would grant some semblance of autonomy to their populations to establish the so-called Mitteleuropa.

To accomplish that Germans allowed to convene the Vilnius Conference, which took place between September 18 1917 and September 22 1917. Germans demanded that the conference declare loyalty to Germany and agree to an annexation. However, the Conference crafted a carefully balanced passage where future relations with Germany were to be determined by its recognition of independent Lithuania. The Conference declared that the ultimate goal was to declare and independent state of Lithuania, based on democratic principles, and authorized 20-member Council of Lithuania to act as the executive authority of the Lithuanian people. The Council was to negotiate with the Germans and declare an independent Lithuania, while the Constituent Assembly of Lithuania, elected by popular vote, was to decide the foundations of the state (adopt the constitution of Lithuania). Germans did not allow Conference's proclamations to be published, but allowed the Council to work.

The October Revolution brought the Bolsheviks to power. They started peace negotiations with Germany in December. Germany needed some documentation of its relationship with Lithuania. On December 11, the Council, pressed by the Germans, who promised to recognize independence, adopted a resolution agreeing to a "firm and permanent alliance" with Germany on the basis of four conventions concerning military affairs, transportation, customs, and currency. The Germans, however, broke their promise and did not recognize the state and did not invite its delegation to the negotiations of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. In January 1918 Council-proposed amendments to the December 11 declaration were rejected by the Germans and it was made clear that the Council would serve only advisory functions. The Council was torn apart and a few members threatened to leave. On February 16 1918, the Council, temporarily chaired by Jonas Basanavičius, decided to adopt the Act of Independence of Lithuania, this time mentioning nothing specific about a relationship with Germany. That was left for a constituent assembly to decide. February 16 is now one of Lithuania's two official Independence Days.

Struggle to establish the independence

Struggle for recognition

The Germans were not satisfied with the new declaration and demanded that the Council go back to the December 11 decision. On March 23, Germany recognized independent Lithuania on the basis of the December 11 declaration. However, nothing in essence changed either in Lithuania or in Council's status: any efforts to establish administration were hindered. As a state, Lithuania at the time did not have basic characteristics such as government, border, or military. As an alternative to a proposed personal union with the Hohenzollern dynasty, on June 4 the Council voted to invite Duke Wilhelm of Urach, Count of Württemberg, to become the King of Lithuania (Mindaugas II). He agreed and was elected on July 13 1918. The decision was very controversial and four members of the Council left in protest. Germany did not recognize the new king and its relationship with the Council remained tense.

The situation changed only when the German Revolution started and Germany lost the war in fall of 1918. On November 2, the Council adopted the first provisional constitution. The decision to invite King Mindaugas II was annulled. The functions of government were entrusted to a 3-member presidium, and Augustinas Voldemaras was invited to form the first Cabinet of Ministers. The first government was formed on November 11, 1918, the day that Germany signed the armistice in Compiègne. The Council began to organize an army, police, local government, and other institutions. It also expanded to include ethnic minorities (Jews and Belarusians).

As German forces retreated and Bolshevik forces approached Vilnius, on January 2 1919 the Council moved to Kaunas, the temporary capital of Lithuania. The Lithuanian Wars of Independence started and continued into 1920. On April 4, the second provisional constitution was adopted, creating the office of President of Lithuania. Antanas Smetona, as the chairman of the Council, became the first president. The German forces did not leave Lithuania until July 1919. Due to wars and other turmoil, elections to the Constituent Assembly of Lithuania were not held until spring of 1920.

Wars of Independence

Main article: Lithuanian Wars of Independence

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.

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 Saxon volunteers from Germany. Number of fallen Lithuanian and German soldiers was equal.

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. The Bermontians managed to take considerable territories in western Lithuania (Samogitia). In Latvia, they managed to take the capital Riga. 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.

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 had a majority Polish population. This led to the Polish-Lithuanian War. Simultaneously, the territories were claimed by the Soviet Union, but the Soviets were defeated by the Poles. Eventually, in October 1920, during the later stages of Polish-Soviet War, Polish irregular military took over Vilnius and most of the disputed areas which in before that transferred by retreating Soviets to Lithuanians. The Republic of Central Lithuania state was established in the seized territory; it would soon be annexed by Poland after a plebiscite.

Democratic Lithuania

Lithuania became a democratic state briefly, with a president elected for 3 years by parliament and a parliament elected by the people.

Foreign policy

Main article: 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 Conference of Ambassadors 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.

Main article: 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.

Authoritarian regime

Following a succession of conservative governments, Lithuania's first elected government of the left (June 1926) was overthrown in a military coup d' etat in December 1926. Antanas Smetona, the first President of Lithuania, resumed office as president, but with dictatorial powers, while Augustinas Voldemaras that later was leader of the far-right Iron Wolf movement served as Prime Minister. After Voldemaras was removed from his office in September 1929, Smetona continued to direct Lithuania's political affairs until 1940.

Era of ultimatums and loss of independence

Polish and German ultimatums

It had long been the opinion of Lithuanian high-ranking army officers that the enemies of Poland and Lithuania were the same and the broken diplomatic relations with Poland should be restored. In 1938, after a border incident in which one Polish soldier was killed, Poland presented an ultimatum to Lithuania to re-establish the relations. 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 re-established due to the ultimatum, antagonism between the two states over the region reduced and the Vilnius Liberation Union was also closed.

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 Klaipėda, 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.