“NOTES” in “Lithuania in Crisis”
NOTES
I. DOMESTIC AFFAIRS
1. This account of events in Lithuania soon after the end of the war owes much to material contained in J[uozas] Purickis, “Seimų laikai,” (The Period of the Seimas), in Pirmasis nepriklausomos Lietuvos dešimtmetis, 1918-1928 (The First Decade of Independent Lithuania, 1918-1928; 2nd ed., London: Nida, 1955), I, 128-173.
2. For Lithuanian election results in 1920-1936, see Appendix A.
3. Lit is the monetary unit of Lithuania. In 1939-1940 six lits equaled one United States dollar.
4. A[ntanas] Smetona, Pasakyta parašyta, 1927-1934 (Spoken Written, 1927-1934; Kaunas: Pažanga, 1935), pp. 28-29. This source will henceforth be referred to as Pasakyta parašyta.
5. Ibid.
6. In 1939-1940 the individuals who sympathized with the banned Christian Democrats, the Farmers’ Union, the Federation of Labor, or the nascent Lithuanian Front usually battled over interests which were common to the Catholic bloc as a whole. That is why the term “Catholic,” synonymous with the aspirations of the entire bloc, rather than “Christian Democratic,” associated with only one Catholic party, will be used in the succeeding chapters.
II. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
1. According to German statistics for 1911 quoted in Lithuanian documents, the area that was intended for Lithuania had 71, 810 Lithuanians and 66, 719 Germans. However, the town on Klaipėda had 25,000 Germans and 7,000 Lithuanians. See Lithuanian Information Bureau, The Memel Problem (London, n.d.), p. 4.
2. Petras Mačiulis, Trys ultimatumai (Three Ultimatums; New York: Darbininkas, 1962), p. 54.
3. For a detailed account of the Vilnius problem, see Alfred Erich Senn, The Great Powers, Lithuania, and the Vilna Question: 1920-1928 (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1966).
4. See League of Nations Treaty Series (Lausanne: Secretariat, 1927), LX, 152-159.
5. See League of Nations Treaty Series (Geneva: Secretariat, 1935), CLIV, 95-99.
6. See Vyriausybės Žinios (Government News), January 25, 1939, pp. 19-20.
7. See Lietuvos Aidas (Echo of Lithuania), January 11, 1939, p. 1.
III. THE TENETS OF MODERN LITHUANIAN NATIONALISM
1. Vairas (The Helm), June 8, 1939, p. 401.
2. See Antanas Smetona, Vienybės gairėmis (For Unity; Kaunas: Spindulio B-vė, 1930), p. x.
3. Ibid., pp. 1-2; Tautos Mokykla (The Nation’s School), January 15, 1940, P. 37.
4. See Pasakyta parašyta, pp. 28-29, 65-66, 101, 280, and 323; Jonas Aleksa, Lietuviškų gyvenimo kelių beieškant (In Quest of Lithuanian Ways of Life; Kaunas: privately printed, 1933), p. 415; Vyt[autas] Alantas, “Politinė tautos vienybė” (The Nation’s Political Unity), Vairas, December 14, 1939, p. 930.
5. Political independence and the urge to create, two trends intrinsic to Lithuanian nationalism of pre-World-War-I years, were sketched by a historian of political thought: “[By mid-nineteenth century] the right of the Lithuanian nation to an independent existence is being based on past traditions; the fact that the nation does exist is being strengthened by an even greater familiarity with the past and by a cultural and economic enlightenment. . . . If it [that is, the nation] wants to live, it must demonstrate signs of creativity. Failing to create anything new, it would prove to be superfluous in the world and undoubtedly would have to vanish. Just as every spiritually alive [page_252 person thrusts toward a certain goal, so, too, a nation has its destiny, a historic mission.” Juozas Ambrazevičius, Lietuvių rašytojai: literatūriniai straipsniai (Lithuanian Writers: Literary Essays; n.p.: Šv. Kazimiero Draugija, n.d.), pp. 30 and 143-144.
6. Aleksa, pp. 410 and 415.
7. Pasakyta parašyta, p. 315.
8. See Tautos Mokykla, April 15, 1939, p. 166.
9. Aleksa, pp. 159 and 398.
10. Ibid., p. 271.
11. For a discussion of the place of education in the new nationstate, see A[ntanas] Maceina, “Tauta ir valstybė” (The Nation and the State), Naujoji Romuva (The New Romuva), March 19, 1939, p. 229.
12. Pasakyta parašyta, p. 11.
13. Ibid., p. 327.
14. B[ronius] T[omas] Dirmeikis, “Stiprybės beieškant” (In Quest of Strength), Vairas, April 20, 1939, p. 291.
15. See Vyt[autas] Alantas, “Tautinės kultūros problemos” (Problems of National Culture), Vairas, October 12, 1939, p. 785; Maceina, p. 229.
16. Aleksa, p. 400.
17. The influence of moral factors is evidenced by the measure of moderation the Nationalists applied in domestic politics. A fact which merits attention is that not a single leading member of the Catholic-Populist opposition was liquidated during the thirteen years of Smetona’s rule.
In foreign policy, the year 1939 registered two instances where morality intervened in decision-making. After the seizure of Klaipėda, Germany had offered the Lithuanians, as a partial compensation for their investments in the port town, a variety of Czechoslovak arms, including tanks and heavy artillery. Badly in need of such military equipment, the government nevertheless refused the offer on the grounds that, among other things, it would have made the Lithuanians beneficiaries in the Czechoslovak tragedy. See Kazys Škirpa, “Vilnius— nepriklausomybės raktas,” (Vilnius—Key to Independence), Sėja (Sowing), June 1956, pp. 17-18.
Subsequent to the outbreak of the German-Polish war in September 1939 the government had considered the possibility of recapturing Vilnius from the Poles. One of two major considerations that deterred the administration from such a course was its belief that it would be immoral to attack a crushed foe. Interview with Vincas Mašalaitis, October 19, 1961.
18. Maceina, p. 229.
19. Pasakyta parašyta, pp. 280-281.
20. See Lietuvos Aidas (Echo of Lithuania), April 17, 1940, p. 5.
21. See Tautos Mokykla, June 1, 1939, p. 249.
22. K. Masiliūnas, “Menas ir valstybė” (Art and State), Vairas, June 8, 1939, p. 413.
23. B[ronius] T[omas] Dirmeikis, “Vyriausybė 1938 m. konstitucijoj” (The Executive in the Constitution of 1938), Vairas, May 4, 1939. p. 324.
24. Pasakyta parašyta, p. 116.
25. Ibid., p. 323.
26. Onetime party secretary Vincas Rastenis reminisces that, much to the dismay of many of his disciples, Antanas Smetona never produced a definitive document which could be referred to as the Nationalist creed. Instead, he was obliged to concede that Nationalists lacked a distinct set of propositions and that they had to be content with a general orientation. Interview with Vincas Rastenis, October 5, 1961; Smetona, Pasakyta parašyta, p. 305. One may conjecture that this was because of the President’s inability to reconcile the permanence of national evolution with the conclusive nature of any statement of purposes. However, Smetona’s biographer thinks that two factors deterred the President from attempting such a work: lack of time and uncertainty about the nature of Lithuania’s system of government. See Aleksandras Merkelis, Antanas Smetona: jo visuomeninė, kultūrinė ir politinė veikla (Antanas Smetona: His Civic, Cultural, and Political Activities; New York: Amerikos lietuvių tautinė sąjunga, 1964), p. 385.
27. Pasakyta parašyta, pp. 101, 315, 323, and 326.
28. Stasys Šalkauskis had inferred that “modern civilization had endeavored to develop a fondness for freedom, a demand for equality, but simultaneously it was destroying that on which public order had rested, namely, authority, tradition, discipline.” StĮasys] Šalkauskis, “Ideologiniai dabarties krizių pagrindai ir katalikiškoji pasaulėžiūra” (The Ideological Bases of Contemporary Crises and the Catholic World View), Draugija (Society), March 19, 1939, p. 303. And on another occasion the Catholic writer had judged that “the modern world was unable to combine in a proper balance individual freedom and public authority, and that is why it was doomed to stagger between anarchy and despotism.” St[asys] Šalkauskis, “Teigiamosios christianizacijos idėjos, sudarančios antidotum prieš krizines ideologijas” (The Positive Ideas of Christianization Which Constitute an Antidote Against Crisis-Ideologies), Draugija, July 20, 1939, p. 739.
29. Pasakyta parašyta, pp. 35, 117, and 304; Karys (Warrior), September 7, 1939, p. 1045.
30. See Pasakyta parašyta, pp. 38-39, 45-46, and 323.
31. Vyt[autas] Alantas, “Žygiuojanti tauta” (A Nation on the March), Vairas, June 8, 1939, p. 437.
32. See letter in Naujoji Romuva, April 9, 1939, p. 315.
33. See letter by Stasys Barzdukas in Naujoji Romuva, April 30, 1939, p. 371; P[etronėlė] Orintaitė, “Liet. charakterio bruožai” (Traits of Lithuanian Character), Naujoji Romuva, April 23, 1939, p. 340.
34. See Šalkauskis, “Ideologiniai dabarties . . .” p. 304.
35. See Pasakyta parašyta, pp. 66, 323, and 326.
36. Ibid., pp. 65-66, 254, 323, 328-329.
37. Dirmeikis, “Stiprybės beieškant” p. 290.
38. Pasakyta parašyta, p. 39.
39. Ibid., p. 328.
40. Lietuvos Aidas, January 6, 1938, quoted in A. Gaigalaitė and others (eds.), Lietuvos TSR istorija (History of the Lithuanian SSR; Vilnius: Mintis, 1965), III, 233.
41. See Smetona Pasakyta parašyta, pp. 304 and 331.
42. Ibid., p. 308; see also Merkelis, p. 399.
43. The enrollment in the nation’s schools for the 1939-1940 academic year was:
See Lithuanie, Centralinis statistikos biuras, Annuaire statistique de la Lithuanie: 1939, XII, 72.
44. See Pasakyta parašyta, pp. 328-329.
45. See Alantas, “Tautinės kultūros problemos” p. 787.
46. See Tautos Mokykla, May 1, 1939, p. 189.
47. See discussions of Kaunas educators in Tautos Mokykla, June 1, 1939, pp. 246-250; ibid., May 15, 1939, p. 214.
48. See Jaunoji Karta (Younger Generation), March 24, 1939, pp. 280-281.
49. Ibid., April 7, 1939, p. 322.
50. Ibid., May 19, 1939, p. 451.
51. Lietuvos Aidas, March 13, 1940, p. 4.
52. Antanas Maceina, “Krikščioniškasis turinys ir lietuviškoji forma” (The Christian Content and the Lithuanian Form), in Krikščionybė Lietuvoje: praeitis, dabartis, ateitis (Christianity in Lithuania: The Past, the Present, the Future [ed. Pranas Mantvydas] Kaunas: Šv. Kazimiero Draugija, 1938), p. 100.
53. Šalkauskis, “Teigiamosios christianizacijos . . .” p. 739.
54. See XX Amžius (XX Century), July 7, 1939, p. 3.
55. See Jonas Statkus, “Mūsų kelias” (Our Way), Vairas, July 20, 1939, p. 557. There is reason to think that one factor responsible for the Social Democrats’ refusal to associate with the Catholic-Populist anti-Nationalist front was their distrust of Catholic fidelity to democracy. Interview with Jonas Vilkaitis, September 25, 1961.
56. An epithet derived from the chief export commodity.
57. See J[uozas] Keliuotis, “Šiandieninė epocha ir jaunuomenės misija” (The Contemporary Epoch and the Mission of the Young People), Naujoji Romuva, November 12, 1939, pp. 797-798; Jurgis Strazdas, “Visuomeniškumo krizė” (The Crisis of Public-Mindedness), Naujoji Romuva, March 24, 1940, p. 245; Lietuvos Žinios (News of Lithuania), April 4, 1940, p. 1; Tautos Mokykla, January 1, 1940, p. 2; Naujoji Romuva, April 7, 1940, p.285; Justinas Razma, “Nepateisinti lūkesčiai ir propaganda” (Unfulfilled Hopes and Propaganda), Vairas, April 27, 1939, p. 307.
58. Letter in Naujoji Romuva, April 9, 1939, p. 316.
59. For two poems documenting the ardor of a latent intellectual revolt, see Kultūra (Culture), no. 10 (1939), p. 588; Lietuvos Žinios, March 2, 1940, p. 12.
60. D[omas] Cesevičius, “Mūsų politinės sąmonės evoliucija” (The Evolution of Our Political Thought), Vairas, June 8, 1939, p. 409; V. M., “Nueitas kelias” (The Road Traversed), Vairas, April 6, 1939, p. 260.
61. See Domas Cesevičius, “Rūpesčiai ir viltys” (Worries and Hopes), Vairas, March 30, 1939, p. 238.
62. See Jonas Statkus, “Reikia pastovios vienybės” (A Stable Unity is Needed), Vairas, March 30, 1939, p. 246; Bronius Tomas Dirmeikis, ”Entuziazmas ar blaškymasis” (Enthusiasm or Vacillation), Vairas, April 14, 1939, p. 279; V. M., “Nueitas kelias,” p. 260.
63. Interview with Vincas Rastenis; Kazys Škirpa, “Pakeliui su Mykolu Sleževičium” (On the Road with Mykolas Sleževičius), Antanas Rūkas, ed. Mykolas Sleževičius, (Chicago: Terra, 1954), p. 294; Merkelis, p. 346.
IV. THE CENTERS OF OPPOSITION
1. At this point a word of caution is in order. In the discussion of “Catholic,” “Populist,” or “Social Democratic” attitudes under dictatorial conditions there is danger that what is attributed to the whole may in fact characterize only a part. Furthermore, for the same reason the leading men of the several centers of opposition might at times also find it difficult to determine conclusively what constituted or conformed to their party’s “general line” and what merely multiplied inconsequential deviations.
2. Vytautas Alantas, “Politinė tautos vienybė” (The Nation’s Political Unity), Vairas, December 14, 1939, p. 929; Nationalist chairman Domas Cesevičius was also puzzled as to the form of government the Catholics favored. See Lietuvos Aidas, January 11, 1940, p. 6.
3. See Stasys Šalkauskis, “Katalikiškosios pasaulėžiūros reikšmė Lietuvos ateičiai” (The Significance of the Catholic World View for Lithuania’s Future), in Krikščionybė Lietuvoje: praeitis, dabartis, ateitis (Christianity in Lithuania: The Past, the Present, the Future), ed. Mantvydas, Kaunas: Šv. Kazimiero Draugija, 1938, pp. 85-86.
4. See XX Amžius, January 11, 1940, p. 12.
5. Ibid., November 14, 1939, p. 10.
6. Ibid., May 4, 1940, p. 6.
7. Juozas Brazaitis, personal letter to author, October 31, 1961.
8. See J[uozas] Girnius ed., Lietuvių enciklopedija (Lithuanian Encyclopedia; South Boston, Massachusetts: Lietuvių enciklopedijos leidykla, 1960), XXII, 198; Ateitis (The Future), no. 9 (April, 1939), p. 516; Draugija, March 30, 1939, pp. 406-407; Mūsų Laikraštis (Our Newspaper), December 14, 1939, p. 16; Naujoji Vaidilutė (The New Priestess), no. 7 (July, 1939), p. 342.
9. See pp. 66-74.
10. Juozas Audėnas, unpublished memoirs, pp. 72-83.
11. See Žygis (Action), December 17, 1938, pp. 7, 10-11.
12. Professor Augustinas Voldemaras was an influential figure in Lithuanian politics of the first interwar decade. Head of the ephemeral first cabinet formed on November 11, 1918, Voldemaras also led his country’s delegation to the Paris peace conference and served as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the first five cabinets. After the coup in 1926, he once more became the Prime Minister and held that post until his forced resignation on September 19, 1929. The rightist Voldemaras deprived the national minorities of some of their rights, vigorously pursued an anti-Polish policy, and endeavored to build a personal following among the younger nationalist officers who were favorably impressed by emergent Fascism.
13. See Bendras Žygis (Joint Action), January 8, 1939, pp. 1-2, 7, and 16.
14. See XX Amžius, March 30, 1939, p. 2.
15. Interview with Kipras Bielinis, August 31, 1961; Kipras Bielinis, “Socialdemokratija Lietuvoje” (Social Democracy in Lithuania), paper prepared for publication in Lithuanian Encyclopedia, South Boston, Massachusetts.
16. See Stasys Raštikis, Kovose dėl Lietuvos: kario atsiminimai (In the Struggles for Lithuania: Memoirs of a Soldier; Los Angeles: Lietuvių Dienos, 1956), I, 529.
17. See Lietuvos Aidas, April 17, 1940, p. 5.
18. See Benedict V. Mačiuika ed., Lithuania in the Last 30 Years, Human Relations Area Files, Inc., (New Haven, Connecticut, 1955), p. 58.
V. THE COMMUNIST UNDERGROUND
1. The term “nationalists” here refers to those who wished to constitute the Lithuanian people into a single independent state. It is not synonymous with Smetona’s Nationalist party.
2. See S. Lopajevas, Lietuvos komunistų partijos idėjinis ir organizacinis stiprėjimas (The Increase in Ideological and Organizational Strength of the Communist Party of Lithuania; Vilnius: Valstybinė politinės ir mokslinės literatūros leidykla, 1964), p. 95.
3. See G. Feigelsonas and others (eds.), Lietuvos komunistų partijos atsišaukimai (Appeals of the Communist Party of Lithuania; Vilnius: Valstybinė politinės ir mokslinės literatūros leidykla, 1962), I, 222-229; Lopajevas, pp. 52-53; A. Gaigalaitė and others (eds.), Lietuvos TSR istorija (History of the Lithuanian SSR; Vilnius: Mintis, 1965), HI, 153.
4. See Gaigalaitė and others (eds.), III, 158-159.
5. Ibid., p. 163.
6. Ibid., p. 164. Leaders of the Communist Party occasionally deviated from the established tactics by suggesting to the leaders of the Social Democratic Party the advisability of cooperation between the two parties. They made overtures to that effect in August 1925, March 1933, September 1934, and at other times. Ibid., 169 and 287; J[uozas] Žiugžda ed., Lietuvos TSR istorijos šaltiniai (Sources for the History of the Lithuanian SSR; Vilnius: Lietuvos TSR mokslų akademija, 1961), IV, 548.
7. The argument that there was no crisis is contained in E. Bilevičius, “Vienu Lietuvos KP istorijos klausimu” (Concerning One Question in the History of the Communist Party of Lithuania), Komunistas (The Communist), no. 11 (November, 1965), pp. 51-54.
8. See K[onstantinas] Jablonskis and others (eds.), Lietuvos TSR istorija (History of the Lithuanian SSR; Vilnius: Lietuvos TSR mokslų akademija, 1958), p. 364; Žiugžda ed., IV, 354; Gaigalaitė and others (eds.), III, 264-265; R. Šarmaitis ed., Revoliucinis judėjimas Lietuvoje (Revolutionary Movement in Lithuania; Vilnius: Partijos istorijos institutas prie LKP CK, 1957), pp. 388-389.
9. At the time these decisions were made Lithuania had some 52,202 workers in industry, commerce, and transport, and approximately 153-764 hired agricultural laborers who permanently worked on the farms. See Statistikos Biuletenis (Bulletin of Statistics), no. 3 (March, 1939), P. 99; A. Musteikis ed., Lietuvos žemės ūkis ir statistika (Lithuanian Agriculture and Statistics); Dillingen: Žemės ūkio darbuotojų sąjunga, 1948), pp. 94-95; Jurgis Krikščiūnas, Agriculture in Lithuania, trans. Vikt. Kamantauskas (Kaunas: The Lithuanian Chamber of Agriculture, 1938), p. 43.
10. See Balsas (Voice), August 25, 1928, p. 428; Šaltinis (The Fountainhead), January 27, 1940, p. 75.
11. See Liet. Komunistų Partijos V konferencijos rezoliucijos (Resolutions of the Fifth Conference of the Communist Party of Lithuania; n.p.: LKP CK, 1934), pp. 9, 11, and 14; Žiugžda (ed.), IV, 476-480.
12. As attested to by a top Lithuanian Communist, some four months before the Comintern congress the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Lithuania had drawn up a letter which was intended to pave the way for the popular front. However, for undisclosed reasons, the letter remained unpublished and nothing was done until the congress. The Central Committee termed this failure to implement its earlier decision a “political error.” See Z[igmas] Angarietis, “Lietuvos komunistų partijos darbas VII kongreso tarimų šviesoj” (The Work of the Communist Party of Lithuania in the Light of the Decisions of the Seventh Congress), Priekalas (Anvil), no. 10 (October, 1935), p. 594. Other sources indicate that the Communist Party of Lithuania began to spread the idea of a popular front as early as the spring of 1935. See V. Brazaitytė and others (eds.), Lietuvos komunistų partijos atsišaukimai (Appeals of the Communist Party of Lithuania; Vilnius: Valstybinė politinės ir mokslinės literatūros leidykla, 1963), IV, 49-57; Gaigalaitė and others (eds.), III, 294 and 306; S. Atamukas, LKP kova prieš fašizma, už tarybų valdžią Lietuvoje 1935-1940 metais (The Struggle of the Communist Party of Lithuania Against Fascism, for the Soviet Government in Lithuania, 1935-1940; Vilnius: Valstybinė politinės ir mokslinės literatūros leidykla, 1958), pp. 55-56.
13. See Žiugžda ed., IV, 573-575.
14. For an account of Communist activities in 1918-1919, see Alfred Erich Senn, The Emergence of Modern Lithuania (New York: Columbia University Press, 1959), pp. 34-107.
15. See B[oleslovas] Baranauskas, Devyniolika metų pogrindyje (Nineteen Years in the Underground; Vilnius: Vaga, 1965), p. 162.
16. See Lopajevas, p. 31; V. Kapsukas, “Karolis Požela” in Karolis Požela: Raštai (Karolis Požela: Writings), ed. R. Šarmaitis, (Vilnius: Mintis, 1966), pp. 28 and 30-31.
17. See Lopajevas, pp. 56 and 81.
18. Ibid., p. 62.
19. See Balsas, August 25, 1928, p. 428; ibid., September 25, 1929, p. 845; Žiugžda ed., IV, 413.
20. See report by Antanas Sniečkus quoted in A. Butkutė-Ramelienė, Lietuvos komunistų partijos kova už tarybų valdžios įtvirtinimą respublikoje 1940-1941 m. (The Struggle of the Communist Party of Lithuania for the Consolidation of Soviet Power in the Republic, 1940-1941; Vilnius: Valstybinė politinės ir mokslinės literatūros leidykla, 1958), pp. 166-167. However, correspondence with a prominent Communist suggests that according to new data at their disposal total membership was close to 2,000.
21. Ibid., pp. 98-99 and 168. Communist failure to attract industrial workers is amply documented. See Andrius Valuckas, Kolektyvinė tironija (The Collective Tyranny; Kaunas: Valstybinė leidykla, 1943), p. 19; Žiugžda ed., IV, 634; Šaltinis, January 13, 1940, p. 43; interview with Jonas Vilkaitis, September 25, 1961.
22. Žiugžda ed., IV, 634 and 726.
23. See Baranauskas, p. 172.
24. Atamukas, p. 63.
25. B. Sudavičius, LKP kova už darbininkų klasės vienybę, 19341937 (The Struggle of the Communist Party of Lithuania for the Unity of the Working Class, 1934-1937; Vilnius: Valstybinė politinės ir mokslinės literatūros leidykla, 1961), pp. 12-13.
26. See An. Ramutis, “Lietuvos darbininkų padėtis ir jų kova 1935 m.” (The State of Lithuanian Workers and Their Struggle in 1935), Priekalas, no. 5 (May, 1936), pp. 284-291; Priekalas, no. 4 (April, 1936), pp. 253-254; Atamukas, p. 80.
27. See Communist sources quoted in Juozas Daulius [Stasys, Yla], Komunizmas Lietuvoje (Communism in Lithuania; Kaunas: Šviesa, 1937), pp. 89-90.
28. See “LKP atstovo drg. Adomo kalba KJS VI kongrese” (Speech by the Representative of the Communist Party of Lithuania Comrade Adomas Before the VI Congress of the Communist League of Youth), Priekalas, no. 1 (January, 1936), pp. 14-17.
29. See Lopajevas, p. 83; E. Dirvelė and others (eds.), Lietuvos komjaunimas (The Communist Youth of Lithuania; Vilnius: Vastybinė politinės ir mokslinės literatūros leidykla, 1962), p. 63.
30. The Lithuanian Red Aid was commonly referred to by its Russian abbreviation as MOPR—Mezhdunarodnaia organizatsiia pomoshchi revoliutsioneram (International Organization of Aid to Revolutionaries).
31. See Butkutė-Ramelienė, p. 174; Balsas, June 10, 1931, p. 342; Priekalas, no. 10 (October, 1936), p. 656.
32. Anna Louise Strong, Lithuania’s New Way (London: Lawrence and Wishart Ltd., 1941), p. 26.
33. See Priekalas, no. 10 (October, 1936), p. 657.
34. The table does not include contributions from abroad intended for the Party. In 1927 the Party received about $10,000 from its supporters in the United States, and it is also known that it obtained some assistance in the years that followed. Figures, however, are not available. A. Beržinskaitė, LKP veikla auklėjant Lietuvos darbo žmones proletarinio internacionalizmo dvasia, 1927-1940 (The Activities of the Communist Party of Lithuania in Educating the Working People of Lithuania in the Spirit of Proletarian Internationalism, 1927-1940; Vilnius: Valstybinė politinės ir mokslinės literatūros leidykla, 1962), p. 93; Gaigalaitė and others (eds.), III, 257.
35. See Atamukas, p. 178.
36. Part IV discusses the surrender of Klaipėda, and Part V deals with the return of Vilnius and the arrival of the Red Army.
37. These Lithuanians of Russian descent, goaded by the Communists, caused labor problems that delayed the work. They served as a pretext for Soviet charges that Lithuanians were guilty of sabotage. See Jonas Audrūnas [Bronius Dirmeikis] and Petras Svyrius [Vincas Rastenis], Lietuva tironų pančiuose (Lithuania in Chains of Tyrants; Cleveland: Lietuvai vaduoti sąjunga, 1946), I, 39; Stasys Raštikis, Kovose dėl Lietuvos: Kario atsiminimai (In the Struggles for Lithuania: Memoirs of a Soldier; Los Angeles: Lietuvių Dienos, 1956), I, 629 and 692; U.S. Congress, Select Committee to Investigate the Incorporation of the Baltic States into the U.S.S.R., Hearings, Baltic States Investigation, Part 1, 83rd Cong., 1st Sess., 1954, p. 44; Valuckas, p. 19; Audėnas, unpublished memoirs, pp. 106-107.
38. See Žiugžda ed., IV, 740-741.
39. Ibid.
40. See Baranauskas, pp. 182, 196, 218, and 220.
VI. PROBLEMS ON THE LAND
1. See Appendix C.
2. See P. Cimbolenka, ed., 20 metų Tarybų Lietuvos liaudies ūkiui (Twenty Years of People’s Economy in Soviet Lithuania; Vilnius: Lietuvos TSR mokslų akademija, 1960), pp. 14-15; K. Meškauskas, Tarybų Lietuvos industrializavimas (The Industrialization of Soviet Lithuania; Vilnius: Lietuvos TSR mokslų akademija, 1960), p. 58; see Nationalist resolutions published in Lietuvos Aidas, January 7, 1940, p.4.
3. See Maciuika ed., Lithuania in the Last Thirty Years, Human Relations Area Files, Inc. (New Haven, Connecticut, 1955), p. 166.
4. See V[alerionas] Balčiūnas, Lietuvos kaimų žemės tvarkymas istorijos, ūkio ir statistikos šviesoje (The Organization of Lithuanian Rural Land in the Light of History, Economy, and Statistics; Kaunas: Žemės reformos valdyba, 1938), p. 101; St. Elsbergas, “Žemės reforma Lietuvoje” (Land Reform in Lithuania), Židinys (Hearth), no. 2 (February, 1940), p. 194.
5. See J. Krikščiūnas, Agriculture in Lithuania, trans. by V. Kamantauskas (Kaunas: Lithuanian Chamber of Agriculture, 1938), p. 33; Tautos Ūkis (National Economy), June 1, 1940, pp. 430-431.
6. See L. Truska, “Visuomenės klasinės sudėties pakitimas Lietuvoje socializmo statybos metais” (Change in the Class Structure of Lithuanian Society During the Years of Socialist Construction), in Lietuvos TSR Mokslų Akademijos Darbai (Works of the Academy of Sciences of the Lithuanian SSR), series A, no. 1 (1965), p. 118.
7. See J. P., “Lietuvos ūkių skaičius ir jų dydis” (The Number of Lithuanian Farms and Their Size), Žemės Ūkis (Agriculture), no. 7 (July, 1931), p. 430.
8. See Elsbergas, p. 205; K. Tiškevičius, “Fašistinės santvarkos krizė Lietuvoje tarybų valdžios atkūrimo išvakarėse, 1938-1940 m.” (The Crisis of the Fascist Regime in Lithuania on the Eve of the Restoration of Soviet Government, 1938-1940), in J[uozas] Jurginis, R[omas] Šarmaitis, and J[uozas] Žiugžda, eds., Už socialistinę Lietuvą (For a Socialist Lithuania; Vilnius: Valstybinė politinės ir mokslinės literatūros leidykla, 1960), p. 264; J. Krikščiūnas, “Kokio didumo ūkiai— stambūs, vidutiniai ar smulkūs—našiausi” (What Size Farms—Large, Medium, or Small—Are Most Productive), Tautos Ūkis, January 27, 1940, p. 61 ; A. Lukošaitis, “Kokio dydžio žemės ūkiai mums naudingiausi” (What Size Farms Are Most Beneficial to Us), Tautos Ūkis, January 20, 1940, p. 39; Lietuvos Ūkininkas (The Lithuanian Farmer), May 4, 1939, p. 3; Panevėžio Garsas (The Sound of Panevėžys), November 18, 1939, p. 1.
9. See Elsbergas, p. 200; Žemės Ūkio Ministerijos metraštis, 1918-1938 (Yearbook of the Ministry of Agriculture, 1918-1938; np.: n.d.), p. 329.
10. Ibid., pp. 378-379; Statistikos Biuletenis, no. 1 (January, 1937), p. 33; ibid., no. 1 (January, 1938), p. 35; ibid., no. 1 (January, 1939), p. 33; ibid., nos. 5 and 6 (May-June, 1940), p. 49; Gaigalaitė and others (eds.), Lietuvos TSR istorija (History of the Lithuanian SSR; Vilnius: Mintis, 1965), III, 221.
11. See Balčiūnas, p. 186.
12. On January 6, 1940, the Nationalists themselves went on record as favoring the abolition of the experimental farm. See Lietuvos Aidas, January 7, 1940, p. 4.
13. See Elsbergas, p. 202; Butkutė-Ramelienė, Lietuvos Komunistų partijos kova ui valdžios įtvirtinimą respublikoje, 1940-1947 m. (The Struggle of the Communist Party of Lithuania for Consolidation of Soviet Power in the Republic, 1940-1941; Vilnius: Valstybinė politinės ir mokslinės literatūros leidykla, 1958), p. 113; Lietuvos Ūkininkas, July 6, 1939, p. 1.
14. See Balčiūnas, pp. 189-192; Elsbergas, p. 198; S. Jakubauskas, “Dėl žemės reformos gilinimo” (Concerning the Intensification of Land Reform), Vairas, May 4, 1939, pp. 323-324; Lietuvos Ūkininkas, May 9, 1940, p. 4.
15. See Krikščiūnas, Agriculture in Lithuania, p. 43.
16. See M[arijonas] Gregorauskas, Tarybų Lietuvos žemės ūkis, 1940-1960 (Agriculture of Soviet Lithuania, 1940-1960; Vilnius: Valstybinė politinės ir mokslinės literatūros leidykla, 1960), p. 68; Truska, p. 123.
17. One thousand workers entered Germany illegally in the summer of 1939; figures for similar seasonal migrations into Latvia are lacking. The agreement of March 8, 1940, had authorized the Estonian government to recruit its labor force from the ranks of war refugees residing in Lithuania, but the possibility of hiring Lithuanian citizens too was not excluded. By mid-April 1940, as many as 5,000 rural workers set out for Estonia. See Lietuvos Aidas, June 2, 1940, p. 2; Vilniaus Balsas (Voice of Vilnius), April 17, 1940, p. 6; Šaltinis, July 8, 1939, p. 562; Lietuvos Ūkininkas, March 14, 1940, p. 1.
18. See A. Kondrotas, “Žemės ūkis ir bedarbiai” (Agriculture and the Unemployed), Lietuvos Aidas, February 22, 1940, p. 3.
19. Ibid.; Lietuvos Ūkininkas, March 7, 1940, p. 5.
20. Panevėžio Garsas, December 23, 1939, p. 4.
21. See Vilniaus Balsas, May 26, 1940, p. 1.
22. Mūsų Laikraštis (Our Newspaper, Kaunas), December 21, 1939, p. 21.
23. See Lietuvos Aidas, February 5, 1940, quoted in Lietuvos Ūkininkas, February 8, 1940, p. 3.
24. See Z. Ruseckas, “Žemės ūkio darbininkų klausimu” (Concerning the Question of Agricultural Labor), Vairas, April 20, 1939, p. 300.
25. See J[onas] Pikčilingis, “Idėjiniai pagrindai Lietuvos socialinei politikai” (Theoretical Bases for Lithuania’s Social Policies), Vairas, June 8, 1939, p. 415.
26. Imports of agricultural machinery in 1939 totalled 4,699,900 lits, an increase of 26 per cent over 1938. Moreover, it was reported in April 1940 that the Chamber of Agriculture would increase its subsidies to purchasers of agricultural machinery from 50 to 75 per cent of the total sales value. See Tautos Ūkis, April 6, 1940, p. 252.
27. Lietuvos Ūkininkas, May 9, 1940, p. 4.
28. See Šaltinis, January 27, 1940, p. 71.
29. See Lietuvos Ūkininkas, February 15, 1940, p. 9.
30. Ibid., December 7, 1939, p. 2.
31. See VI. Balsys, “Dėl priemonių, kovojant su darbininkų bėgimu iš kaimo” (Concerning the Means in Combating Labor Flight from the Village), Tautos Ūkis, June 3, 1939, pp. 487-488.
32. See Mūsų Laikraštis, February 22, 1940, p. 13; Lietuvos Ūkininkas, February 8, 1940, p. 3. The government move to drive the profitmaking middleman out of business also typifies the prevailing frame of mind of a large segment of rural society.
33. See Vyriausybės Žinios (Government News), May 6, 1940, p. 331.
34. See Lietuvos Aidas, March 21, 1940, p. 4; ibid., June 2, 1940, p. 2; Lietuvos Ūkininkas, March 7, 1940, p. 8.
VII. URBAN CONDITIONS
1. References in this essay to a study conducted by the Central Bureau of Statistics and published in Kaunas in 1937 under the title of Résultats de l’enquête organisée en Lithuanie durant les années 1936-1937, sur les budgets de 297 familles ouvrières, d’employés et de fonctionnaires will be minimal, for its scope is limited and insufficiently representative.
2. See Lietuvos Aidas, March 22, 1940, p. 1 ; Lietuvos Žinios, April 12, 1940, p. 9.
3. See XX Amžius, December 21, 1939, p. 7.
4. Compared with 1939, production in mid-January 1940 had decreased as follows: rubber, 50 to 70 per cent; knitwear, 50 per cent; furniture, 25 per cent; textiles, metals and machinery, candy and chocolate, 20 per cent. Four months later the outlook changed. Grain mills were reported to have increased their operations 20 per cent; textile, leather, and footwear industries were producing at their 1939 capacity; but other industries still registered a decline in production: knitwear, 25 per cent; rubber, 15 per cent; furniture, 10 to 15 per cent; candy and chocolate, 10 to 15 per cent; metals and machinery, 10 percent. See Lietuvos Banko Biuletenis (Bulletin of the Bank of Lithuania), February 20, 1940, p. 2; ibid., May 24, 1940, p. 2.
5. See Tautos Ūkis, June 29, 1940, p. 467.
6. See Lietuvos Žinios, October 10, 1939, p. 7.
7. See Tautos Ūkis, June 29, 1940, pp. 467-468.
8. R. Šarmaitis ed., Revoliucinis judėjimas Lietuvoje (Revolutionary Movement in Lithuania; Vilnius: Partijos istorijos institutas prie LKP CK, 1957), p. 578; A. Butkutė-Ramelienė, Lietuvos Komunistų partijos kova už tarybų valdžios įtvirtinimą respublikoje, 1940-1941 m. (The Struggle of the Communist Party of Lithuania for the Consolidation of Soviet Power in the Republic, 1940-1941, Vilnius: Valstybinė politinės ir mokslinės literatūros leidykla, 1958), p. 105.
9. See Lietuvos Aidas, June 2, 1940, p. 2.
10. See Butkutė-Ramelienė, p. 105; Šarmaitis ed., p. 578; Priekalas, no. 1 (January, 1936), p. 53.
11. See Statistikos Biuletenis, no. 8 (August, 1940), p. 94.
12. See Lietuvos Aidas, March 10, 1940, p. 4.
13. Ibid.; XX Amžius, March 9, 1940, p. 12.
14. See Mūsų Laikraštis, December 21, 1939, p. 19; ibid., February 29, 1940, p. 2; Panevėžio Garsas, December 2, 1939, p. 3.
15. Šaltinis, December 16, 1939, p. 920.
VIII. THE COOPERATIVE MOVEMENT
1. Talka (Collective Action), June 15, 1939, p. 247.
2. M. Ragevičius, “Kooperatyvų revizavimas-instruktavimas” (The Auditing-Instructing of Cooperatives), Talka, June 15, 1939, p. 261.
3. Talka, June 15, 1940, p. 1.
4. Ibid., August 1, 1939, p. 303.
5. See J[onas] Glemža, “Kooperatyvų uždaviniai gyvenamuoju momentu” (The Tasks of the Cooperatives at the Present Time), Talka, November 15, 1939, p. 473.
6. See Tautos Ūkis, April 27, 1940, p. 305.
7. See Jonas Biržys, “Kooperatinio dinamizmo siekiant” (In Quest of Cooperate Dynamism), Talka, June 1, 1939, p. 222.
8. See P. Vasinauskas, “Gabūs žmonės kooperacijoje” (Able People in Cooperation), Talka, April 1, 1939, pp. 125-126; K. Bartkus, “Tiesos beieškant” (In Quest of Truth), Talka, June 15, 1939, pp. 244-245.
9. See Lietuvos Aidas, April 9, 1940, p. 10.
10. Talka, April 30, 1940, p. 235; see also V. Pauliukonis, “Kooperacijos įaugimas į valstybinio-monopolistinio kapitalizmo sistemą buržuazinėje Lietuvoje” (The Incorporation of the Cooperatives into the System of State-Monopolistic Capitalism in Bourgeois Lithuania), Lietuvos TSR Aukštųjų Mokyklų Mokslo Darbai: Ekonomika (Works of the Higher Schools of the Lithuanian SSR: Economics), II (1962), 94; A. Venckus, “Prekybinės kooperacijos socialinis bei ekonominis vaidmuo buržuazinėje Lietuvoje” (The Social and Economic Role of the Trade Cooperatives in Bourgeois Lithuania), Lietuvos TSR Aukštųjų Mokyklų Mokslo Darbai: Ekonomika (Works of the Higher Schools of the Lithuanian SSR: Economics), III, Part 2 (1963), 72.
11. Talka, April 30, 1940, p. 235.
12. See Talka, June 1, 1939, pp. 223-224; P. G., “Tarnautojų darbo sąlygos” (The Employees’ Conditions of Work), Talka, April 15, 1939, pp. 152-153.
13. See Talka, April 15, 1939, p. 162; Lietuvos Ūkininkas, December 21, 1939, p. 16.
14. Ibid.
15. Talka, May 30, 1940, p. 1.
16. A. G-nas, “Suvažiavimą prisiminus” (Recollections of the Convention), Talka, April 1, 1939, p. 128.
IX. THE GREAT DEBATE
1. See A[lbertas] Tarulis, “Viešieji darbai ir pramoninės investicijos” (Public Works and Investments in Industry), Tautos Ūkis, April 13, 1940, p. 260.
2. V. Mačys, “Reikalinga prekybos įmonių steigimo priežiūra” (The Need for Supervision of the Establishment of Trading Firms), Tautos Ūkis, May 20, 1939, p. 438.
3. For a detailed criticism of the development of industry and trade, see K. Stapulionis, “Pramonės racionalizavimas” (The Rationalization of Industry), Tautos Ūkis, May 13, 1939, pp. 411-413; J. Miknevičius, “Steigtinas ūkio racionalizacijos institutas” (The Case for an Institute to Rationalize the Economy), Tautos Ūkis, January 13, 1940, pp. 2223; Mačys, pp. 438-439; Cimbolenka, ed., 20 metų Tarybų Lietuvos liaudies ūkiui (Twenty Years of People’s Economy in Soviet Lithuania; Vilnius: Lietuvos TSR mokslų akademija, 1960), p. 21; A. Nasvytis, “Mūsų pramonės racionalizavimas” (Rationalization of Our Industry), Tautos Ūkis, March 16, 1940, pp. 202-203.
4. See Talka, November 15, 1939, p. 471.
5. See J[onas] Pikčilingis, “Viešosios labdaros etika socialinės pagalbos įstatymo projekte” (Ethics of Public Charity in the Social Assistance Bill), Vairas, December 7, 1939, p. 910; V[incas] Vileišis, “Ūkiniams uždaviniams ryškėjant” (While the Economic Tasks Become Clear), Vairas, October 19, 1939, pp. 803-805.
6. A. Andrašiūnas, “Planingas tautos ūkis” (Planned National Economy), Naujoji Romuva, May 28, 1939, pp. 469-470.
7. See Talka, June 1, 1939, pp. 221 and 228.
8. Ibid., p. 222.
9. See Lietuvos Aidas, May 1, 1940, p. 3.
10. See Talka, May 10, 1940, p. 279.
11. Ibid., November 15, 1939, pp. 471-472.
12. See Lietuvos Žinios, March 6, 1940, p. 1.
13. For resolutions adopted by the Nationalists on January 6, 1940, see Lietuvos Aidas, January 7, 1940, p. 4.
14. See XX Amžius, December 14, 1939, p. 3.
15. See Lietuvos Aidas, April 9, 1940, p. 10.
16. J. P., “Žmoniškumo variantai” (The Variants of Humaneness), Vairas, November 9, 1939, p. 851.
17. Ibid., pp. 851-852.
18. See interview with Finance Minister Jonas Sutkus published in Tautos Ūkis, July 22, 1939, p. 579; also the Finance Minister’s speech in Tautos Ūkis, April 22, 1939, p. 339; J. Raistys, “Lietuvos ūkio keliai” (The Ways of Lithuanian Economy), Vairas, April 20, 1939, p. 295.
19. See Lietuvos Ūkininkas, July 20, 1939, p. 3; Tautos Ūkis, January 27, 1940, p. 76.
20. Lietuvos Aidas, April 8, 1940, p. 6.
21. See Vyriausybės Žinios, May 11, 1940, pp. 335-337.
22. See Lietuvos Aidas, April 8, 1940, p. 6.
23. See Lietuvos Žinios, April 12, 1940, p. 1; Talka, April 30, 1940, p. 236.
X. AUTHORITARIANISM IN RETREAT
1. See memorandum by Foreign Minister Stasys Lozoraitis prepared for the President in 1935 and published in A. Merkelis, Antanas Smetona: jo visuomeninė kultūrinė ir politinė veikla (Antanas Smetona: His Civic, Cultural and Political Activities; New York: Amerikos lietuvių tautinė sąjunga, 1964), pp. 485-489.
2. Petras Mačiulis, Trys ultimatumai (Three Ultimatums; New York: Darbininkas, 1962), p. 54.
3. See Vyriausybės Žinios, March 22, 1939, p. 74. The state of emergency in the city and district of Kaunas had been in effect since December, 1938.
4. XX Amžius, March 22, 1939, p. 1.
5. For an account of Catholic-Populist collaboration against the ruling Nationalists, see pp. 43-44.
6. Lietuvos Žinios, March 24, 1939, quoted in Pasaulio Lietuvis (The World Lithuanian), April 15, 1939, p. 126.
7. A reference to those who in 1918 volunteered to fight for independent Lithuania.
8. Žemaičių Prietelius (The Friend of Žemaičiai), March 23, 1939, p. 8.
9. Lietuvos Aidas, March 22, 1939, p. 1.
10. Karys, March 23, 1939, p. 378; Lietuvos Aidas, March 24, 1939, p. 4.
11. General Raštikis asserted that President Smetona had asked him to deliver this radio address in order to pacify the population. See S. Raštikis, Kovose dėl Lietuvos: kario atsiminimai; (In the Struggles for Lithuania: Memoirs of a Soldier; 2 vols; Los Angeles: Lietuvių Dienos, 1956-1957), I, 545. However, it is unlikely that the President had seen the message before it became public.
12. Karys, March 23, 1939, p. 380.
13. Lietuvos Aidas, March 28, 1939, p. 5.
14. See Lietuvos Ūkininkas, April 27, 1939, p. 3.
15. See speech by the director of the Bank of Lithuania published in Tautos Ūkis, March 9, 1940, pp. 179-183.
16. See Albertas Tarulis, “Klaipėdos krašto pramonės netekus” (Having Lost the Klaipėda Industries), Tautos Ūkis, April 1, 1939, P. 293.
17. See Jurgis Krikščiūnas, “Kiek nukentėjo mūsų žemės ūkis, atskyrus Klaipėdos kraštą” (What Losses Has Our Agriculture Sustained After the Detachment of the Klaipėda Area), Tautos Ūkis, April 1, 1939, p. 293.
18. See Juozas Audėnas, unpublished memoirs, p. 99.
19. After the loss of Klaipėda the Communist Party of Lithuania was known to have favored the creation of a patriotic front and to have urged the populace to take up arms against the danger of German occupation. See K. Jablonskis and others (eds.), Lietuvos TSR istorija (History of the Lithuanian SSR; Vilnius: Lietuvos TSR mokslų akademija, 1958), p. 378.
20. See Raštikis, I, 552.
21. Ibid., pp. 552-554.
22. Lietuvos Aidas, March 28, 1939, p. 3; Jonas Statkus, “Pervertinimų šviesoje” (In the Light of Reappraisal), Vairas, June 15, 1939, p. 450.
23. Šaltinis, April 9, 1939, p. 243.
24. Lietuvos Aidas, March 30, 1939, p. 3.
25. Vairas, March 30, 1939, p. 256.
26. See Šaltinis, May 6, 1939, p. 299. It is known that the Communist Party, too, had favored the idea of a Patriotic Front. This could have been one reason the government frowned on the effort. See Jablonskis and others (eds.), p. 378; V. Brazaitytė, G. Feigelsonas and others (eds.), Lietuvos komunistų partijos atsišaukimai (Appeals of the Communist Party of Lithuania; Vilnius: Valstybinė politinės ir mokslinės literatūros leidykla, 1963), IV, 392.
27. See Lietuvos Aidas, April 4, 1939, p. 1.
XI. THE NEW DEAL
1. See Lietuvos Ūkininkas, April 6, 1939, p. 3.
2. Ibid.
3. XX Amžius, April 6, 1939, p. 13.
4. Ibid.
5. See Tiškevičius, K., “Fašistinės santvarkos krizė Lietuvoje tarybų valdžios atkūrimo išvakarėse, 1938-1940 m.” (The Crisis of the Fascist Regime in Lithuania on the Eve of the Restoration of Soviet Government, 1938-1940), in J. Jurginis, R. Šarmaitis and J. Žiugžda (eds.), Už Socialistinę Lietuvą (For a Socialist Lithuania; Vilnius: Valstybinė politinės ir mokslinės literatūros leidykla, 1960), p. 270; K. Jablonskis and others (eds.), Lietuvos TSR istorija (History of the Lithuanian SSR; Vilnius: Lietuvos TSR mokslų akademija, 1958), p. 378.
6. See Lietuvos Ūkininkas, April 6, 1939, p. 1.
7. Deputy Prime Minister Kazys Bizauskas arrived in Ukmergė on April 21; Agriculture Minister Jurgis Krikščiūnas visited Alytus on April 23; Ministers Kazys Musteikis and Leonas Bistras shared the rostrum in Vilkaviškis on April 23; Justice Minister Antanas Tamošaitis travelled that same day to Kėdainiai; on April 29 Finance Minister Jonas Sutkus addressed a meeting at Šiauliai; the following day Bistras spoke at Panevėžys, Tamošaitis at Raseiniai, and Interior Minister Kazys Skučas at Šakiai; on May 7 Bizauskas was greeted at Tauragė; and a week later both Bistras and Krikščiūnas made a trip to Šiauliai.
8. Mykolas Krupavičius, personal letter, November 3, 1961.
9. For an account of the Council, see p. 107.
10. Lietuvos Ūkininkas, April 13, 1939, p. 3.
11. Ibid.; Lietuvos Ūkininkas, April 27, 1939, pp. 3 and 5.
12. On April 30 Interior Minister Skučas upbraided the public for making irrational demands and on May 1 Prime Minister Černius aired his misgivings about alleged excesses some speakers had committed. See D[omas] Cesevičius, “Kalbos ir nuotaikos” (Speeches and Tempers), Vairas, May 4, 1939, p. 321.
13. Musteikis, personal letter to author, November 19, 1961.
14. Cesevičius, p. 321.
15. See Vairas, May 4, 1939, p. 335.
16. See Lietuvos Ūkininkas, May 11, 1939, p. 1.
17. Naujoji Romuva, April 1, 1939, p. 289.
18. The Social Democrats, who applauded the new administration, named freedom of the press as the one aspiration which they hoped the coalition government would realize. See Mintis (Thought), March 1939, pp. 42-43.
19. A protracted tug of war between the Nationalist censors and the Catholic editors was largely responsible for the appearance in 1936 of XX Amžius. Its immediate predecessor, the rebellious Rytas, did not get along very well with the authorities, shunned their texts, and eventually disappeared altogether.
20. See Vyriausybės Žinios, November 16, 1935, pp. 1-4; J. Žiugžda ed., Lietuvos TSR istorijos šaltiniai (Sources for the History of the Lithuanian SSR, Vol. IV; Vilnius: Lietuvos TSR mokslų akademija, 1961), p. 611; Audėnas, unpublished memoirs, p. 74.
21. Žiugžda ed., IV, 609, 616, and 617.
An illustrious case, pointing out both government sensitivity to press handling of matters affecting foreign powers and the reasons which in part were responsible for it, occurred on May 4, 1940, when the refractory XX Amžius carried a front page political cartoon, plainly identifying the Soviet whip as a source of inspiration to some leftist writers in Lithuania. The newspaper paid a fine for potentially endangering relations with Lithuania’s eastern neighbor, and it was thought the incident was over. However, Vyacheslav Molotov, Chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars, referred to it when the Lithuanian Prime Minister visited Moscow in June. For half an hour the Soviet leader reproached his guest for permitting the press to foment a public opinion unfriendly to the USSR. See Lietuvos Žinios, May 31, 1940, p. 8; Antanas Smetona, unpublished pro memoria, p. 7.
22. For an account of the problem, see pp. 146-147.
23. Interview with Vincas Rastenis, October 5, 1961.
24. Vairas, November 9, 1939, p. 860.
25. See Raštikis, Kovose dėlLietuvos: kario atsiminimai (In the Struggles for Lithuania: Memoirs of a Soldier, 2 vols.; Los Angeles: Lietuvių Dienos, 1956-1957), I, 675; Stasys Raštikis, personal letter, October 24, 1961.
26. Interview with Vincas Rastenis; Razma, “Nepateisinti lūkesčiai ir propaganda,” pp. 307-309.
27. See Lietuvos Ūkininkas, April 20, 1939, p. 1.
28. See Vairas, May 11, 1939, p. 351. Effective May 1, a second Secretary-General within the Ministry of the Interior was entrusted with the supervision of press and public organizations. Sec Vyriausybės Žinios, May 10, 1939, p. 302.
29. One such little weekly, published in a provincial town, was uncommonly predisposed to violate propriety. Apparently evading the censor, it publicly sympathized with the Czechs in their conflict with Germany, and had no difficulty whatever in finding a suitable occasion to write about the “ugly and abominable” face of Communism. See Šaltinis, March 25, 1939; ibid., July 1, 1939, p. 443.
30. See Vairas, December 21, 1939, p. 950.
31. Justice Minister Tamošaitis estimated that by the beginning of 1939 some 4,268 people were behind bars. The total includes 500 political prisoners, 80 of whom were charged with espionage and high treason. See Lietuvos Aidas, April 27, 1939, p. 3; Lietuvos Ūkininkas, April 27, 1939, p. 2.
32. See Lietuvos Ūkininkas, June 15, 1939, p. 11; ibid., July 27, 1939, p. 1.
33. Musteikis, personal letter to author, November 19, 1961.
34. See Lietuvos Ūkininkas, May 4, 1939, p. 9.
35. See Vyriausybės Žinios, May 10, 1939, pp. 303-304.
36. See Lietuvos Ūkininkas, June 29, 1939, p. 2.
XII. THE NATION PREPARES FOR THE WORST
1. See Karys, April 6, 1939, p. 445.
2. Ibid., March 30, 1939, p. 405.
3. Ibid., April 20, 1939, p. 491; ibid., May 11, 1939, p. 573.
4. See Lietuvos Ūkininkas, April 20, 1939, p. 12.
5. Karys, April 13, 1939, p. 479.
6. Contributions in kind, expected receipts from Lithuanians living abroad, and incomplete statistics make it difficult to estimate the total contribution to the Fund. Its partial income for the first six weeks was as follows:
The total for 1939 is estimated at 2,027,419 lits. See Karys, May 11, 1939, P. 573: Lietuvos Aidas, June 13, 1940, p. 4.
7. See Lietuvos Ūkininkas, March 7, 1940, p. 4.
8. Karys, June 15, 1939, p. 717.
9. Ibid., May 22, 1939, p. 599.
10. Ibid., June 15, 1939, p. 724.
11. A brief survey of Karys indicates that by the middle of the 1939-1940 academic year national guard companies in secondary schools, both gymnasia and professional schools, appeared in the following towns: Belvederis, Biržai, Dotnuva, Joniškis, Kaunas, Kėdai niai, Kelmė, Kretinga, Kybartai, Pasvalys, Prienai, Šiauliai, Tauragė, Ukmergė, Utena, Vilkaviškis, Vilnius, and Zarasai.
12. See Lietuvos Ūkininkas, March 7, 1940, p. 8. For an account of other reasons responsible for the increase in membership, see p. 36.
13. R[omualdas] Medelis, “Kariškas parengimas pradžios mokykloje” (Military Training in Primary Schools), Tautos Mokykla, May 1, 1939, p. 191.
14. Ibid.
15. Alfa Sušinskas, “Trys milijonai lietuviškų tankų” (Three Million Lithuanian Tanks), Ateities Spinduliai (Rays of the Future), November 1939, p. 99.
16. Karys, February 8, 1940, p. 180.
17. Ibid., March 30, 1939, p. 420.
18. Ibid., April 20, 1939, p. 504.
19. Tautos Mokykla, May 1, 1939, p. 210.
20. See Skautų Aidas (Echo of the Scouts) June 1939, p. 272.
21. See Karys, May 9, 1940, p. 520.
XIII. THE NATIONALIST COUNTERDRIVE
1. See D[omas] Cesevičius, “Tautiškumo perspektyvos” (The Perspectives of National-Mindedness), Vairas, November 30, 1939, p. 895; Cesevičius, “Mūsų politinės sąmonės evoliucija” (The Evolution of Our Political Thought), Vairas, June 8, 1939, p. 409; Smetona, unpublished pro memoria, p. 2; Vairas, November 30, 1939, p. 893; E. Jacovskis and others (eds.), Tarybų valdžios atkūrimas Lietuvoje 1940-1941 metais: dokumentų rinkinys (The Restoration of Soviet Power in Lithuania, 1940-1941: collection of documents; Vilnius: Mintis, 1965), p. 34.
2. Interview with Vincas Rastenis, October 5, 1961.
3. See A. Smetona, Pasakyta parašyta, 1927-1934 (Spoken Written, 1927-1934; Kaunas: Pažanga, 1935), pp. 101 and 325; Alantas, “Politinė tautos vienybė” (The Nation’s Political Unity), Vairas, December 14, 1939, p. 930.
4. Jonas Statkus, “Momento reikalavimai” (The Demands of the Moment), Vairas, August 31, 1939, p. 674.
5. Jonas Statkus, “Gyvybinė sąlyga” (The Vital Condition), Vairas, October 19, 1939, p. 798; Cesevičius, “Tautiškumo perspektyvos” p. 895; Alantas, “Politinė tautos vienybė,” p. 930; Lietuvos Aidas, March 11, 1940, p. 3.
6. Vairas, September 21, 1939, p. 723.
7. Former party secretary Rastenis was quite right when he conceded that Vairas had not published a single article suggesting the need to review the basic tenets of authoritarianism. See Vincas Rastenis, “Reikia, bet ir užtenka” (Necessary and Sufficient), Vairas, June 8, 1939, P. 437; K. Galinis, “Reikia apsispręsti” (It is Necessary to Make up Our Minds), Vairas, July 20, 1939, p. 672.
8. See pp. 146-147.
9. Vyt[autas] Alantas, “Nacionalizmo baimė” (Fear of Nationalism), Vairas, September 21, 1939, p. 719.
10. Alantas, “Žygiuojanti tauta” (A Nation on the March), Vairas, June 8, 1939, p. 437.
11. Vairas, December 14, 1939, p. 926.
12. See Lietuvos Aidas, January 7, 1940, p. 4.
13. Cesevičius, “Tautiškumo perspektyvos,” p. 896.
14. Ibid.
15. See pp. 167-168.
16. Tautos Mokykla, January 15, 1940, pp. 36-37.
XIV. THE DECISION TO REMAIN NEUTRAL
1. S. Raštikis, Kovose dėl Lietuvos: kario atsiminimai (In the Struggles for Lithuania: Memoirs of a Soldier, 2 vols.; Los Angeles: Lietuvių Dienos, 1956-1957), I, 596-597 and 612.
2. See Vairas, August 24, 1939, p. 667.
3. See J[onas] S[tatkus], “Lietuvos neutralumas” (Lithuania’s Neutrality), Vairas, August 24, 1939, pp. 657-658.
4. J. Statkus, “Momento reikalavimai” (The Demands of the Moment), Vairas, August 31, 1939, p. 673.
5. See p. 127.
6. See his series of articles entitled “Vilnius—nepriklausomybės raktas” (Vilnius—Key to Independence) published in Sėja in 1956 and 1957.
7. See Raštikis, I, 591-592; Raštikis, personal letter to author, October 24, 1961; interview with Kazys Škirpa, October 14, 1961; U.S. Department of State, Documents on German Foreign Policy 1918-1945, series D, vol. VIII, Washington, 1953-1954, pp. 55, 63, and 75; Kazys Musteikis, Prisiminimų fragmentai (Fragments of Reminiscences; London: Nida, 1970), pp. 43-44.
8. See Raštikis, I, 592; Pranas Ancevičius, “Istorija be pagražinimų” (History Without Trimmings), Naujienos (News), September 14, 1960, p. 3.
9. Raštikis, I, 591-592.
10. See Sėja, no. 1 (1957), pp. 11-12; interview with Kazys Škirpa. Even after the government decision to hold back from any military measures, the Prime Minister toyed with the idea of provoking guerilla activities in the area and using them as a pretext for Lithuanian intervention. Interview with Kazys Škirpa; Documents on German. . . VIII, 63.
11. Interview with Vincas Mašalaitis, October 19, 1961.
12. Interview with Kazys Škirpa, October 10, 1961.
13. See U.S. Department of State, House of Representatives, Select Committee to Investigate the Incorporation of the Baltic States into the USSR, Hearings, Baltic States Investigation, Part 1, 83rd. Congress, 1st. Session, Washington, 1954, p. 287.
14. See Sėja, no. 5 (1957), p. 10.
15. Ibid., no. 6 (1957), p. 14; interview with Kazys Škirpa.
16. See U.S., Congress, House, Third Interim Report of the Select Committee on Communist Aggression, 83rd Congress, 2d Session, Washington, 1954, H.R. 346 and H.R. 438, p. 444.
XV. ARRIVAL OF RUSSIAN TROOPS AND THE RETURN OF VILNIUS
1. See Lietuvos Aidas, October 3, 1939, p. 1.
2. A reference to Poland. The implication was that Moscow would be well-advised to transfer Vilnius to Lithuania.
3. XX Amžius, October 7, 1939, p. 12.
4. See Lietuvos Ūkininkas, October 5, 1939, p. 3.
5. See S. Raštikis, Kovose dėl Lietuvos: Kario atsiminimai (In the Struggles for Lithuania: Memoirs of a Soldier, 2 vols.; Los Angeles: Lietuvių Dienos, 1956-1957), I, 605-618; Vincas Mašalaitis, Former Secretary-General of the Lithuanian Council of Ministers, an unpublished statement, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, October 25, 1953.
6. Raštikis, I, 613.
7. Lietuvos Aidas, October 16, 1939, p. 1.
8. Lietuvos Žinios, October 10, 1939, p. 1.
9. Vairas, October 12, 1939, p. 758.
10. See J[uozas] Gobis, “Vilnius, Lietuva ir SSSR” (Vilnius, Lithuania and the USSR), Draugija, December 21, 1939, p. 1225; Panevėžio Garsas, November 11, 1939, p. 1.
11. J[uozas] Gobis, “Mažosios tautos dabartinio karo akivaizdoje” (The Small Nations in the Presence of the Current War), Draugija, May 5, 1940, p. 438.
12. See XX Amžius, October 11, 1939, p. 12; Lietuvos Ūkininkas, October 12, 1939, p. 3.
13. See XX Amžius, October 16, 1939, p. 2; K. Jablonskis and others (eds.), Lietuvos TSR istorija (History of the Lithuanian SSR; Vilnius: Lietuvos TSR mokslų akademija, 1958), p. 379. According to the State Security Department, quoted in Communist sources, the number of those arrested in Kaunas on October 11-13 climbed to 161. Of this total some 57 Communists were sent to concentration camps. See Tiškevičius, “Fašistinės santvarkos krizė Lietuvoje tarybų valdžios atkūrimo išvakarėse, 1938-1940 m.” (The Crisis of the Fascist Regime in Lithuania on the Eve of the Restoration of Soviet Government, 1938-1940, in J. Jurginis, R. Šarmaitis, and J. Žiugžda (eds.), Už socialistinę Lietuvą (For a Socialist Lithuania; Vilnius: Valstybinė politinės ir mokslinės literatūros leidykla, 1960, p. 276.
14. See Draugija, October 20, 1939, p. 1081; ibid., November 1, 1939, p. 1126; Šaltinis, October 28, 1939, p. 822.
15. See Lietuvos Ūkininkas, October 19, 1939, p. 1.
16. U.S. Department of State, Documents on German Foreign Policy 1918-1945, Series D, vol. VIII, Washington, 1953-1954, p. 285.
17. See Lietuvos Ūkininkas, November 2, 1939, p. 3.
18. Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers. The Soviet Union, 1933-1939, Department of State Publication 4539 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1952), p. 967.
19. Kazys Musteikis, personal letter, November 1, 1961.
20. Mūsų Žinynas (Our Record), no. 10 (October, 1939), pp. 345-346.
21. Ibid., pp. 347-350.
22. See Panevėžio Garsas, November 11, 1939, p. 1.
23. Vincas Mašalaitis, an unpublished statement; Raštikis, I, 628; Raštikis, personal letter.
24. See Raštikis, I, 628. General Raštikis recalls that Moscow was not entirely pleased with the outcome of the military talks and that, consequently, it dismissed the delegation chairman, Kovalev, from his post as commander of the Minsk military district. According to Lithu anian sources, the delegation’s arrogant vice-chairman, division commander Pavlov, on June 15, 1940, occupied the country with two Russian armies. See Raštikis, I, 630; Raštikis, personal letter to author, October 24, 1961.
25. Vincas Mašalaitis, an unpublished statement.
26. Foreign Relations ȯf the United States, p. 981; Raštikis, I, 629.
27. See Tiškevičius, p. 284; Jacovskis and others (eds.), Tarybų valdžios atkūrimas Lietuvoje 1940-1941 metais: dokumentų rinkinys (Restoration of Soviet Power in Lithuania, 1940-1941: Collection of Documents; Vilnius: Mintis, 1965), pp. 47-49.
28. See Lietuvos Ūkininkas, November 23, 1939, p. 12.
29. Musteikis, personal letter to author, November 19, 1961.
30. See Vilniaus Balsas, January 9, 1940, p. 3.
31. Ibid., April 18, 1940, p. 3.
32. Lietuvos Aidas, June 10, 1940, p. 1.
33. Ernestas Galvanauskas, personal letter, December 30, 1961.
34. One historian recalls that “Vilnius was transferred to Lithuania only on October 28, 1939, eighteen days after the signing of the treaty. Those days seemed very long for the nation, but even longer for the denizens of Vilnius beset with the Bolshevik terror and pillage. No merchandise was left in the city, not even bread. The inhabitants were suffering from hunger and lived in perennial fear lest any night they should be spirited away like so many of their neighbours and acquaintances. Not content with the imposition of their usual Bolshevik regime, the Russians plundered everything and sent the spoils to Russia; they carried off even the archives, libraries, other cultural treasures, and door knobs, window and plumbing fixtures of public buildings.” Adolfas Šapoka, Vilnius in the Life of Lithuania, trans. E. J. Harrison (Toronto: Lithuanian Association of the Vilnius Region, 1962), p. 158.
35. According to Polish sources, the ethnic differentiation in the returned portion of the Vilnius area was as follows (in thousands, October 1939):
A. W. De Porte writes that “since the area was so important a source of contention between Poland and Lithuania, and the nationality of its population so much disputed, these figures—which are based on the census of an interested party—are not to be taken at face value. The extremely high Polish population and the very small proportion of Lithuanians are particularly suspect, for it was commonly understood by impartial observers that there were more Lithuanians than Poles in the countryside, but more White Russians than either, and that in the city itself, which accounted for considerably less than half of the population of this area, there were more Poles than Lithuanians, but more Jews than either. However, there seems no method to go behind these figures, or to assign any given number of persons listed as ‘Poles’ to other categories, but it should be remembered in later breakdowns of the Lithuanian population that there are considerably fewer Poles and more Lithuanians, and perhaps White Russians, than are stated.” A. W. De Porte, “Population,” Lithuania in the Last 30 Years, ed. Benedict V. Mačiuika (New Haven, Connecticut: Human Relations Area Files, Inc., 1955), p. 18; see also K. M. Smogorzewski, “The Russification of the Baltic States,” World Affairs, IV, October 1950, 468-481. The census of 1942 taken by the German occupation authorities is quoted in Šapoka, pp. 136-137; also in Kazys Pakštas, “National and State Boundaries,” Lituanus, no. 3, September 1959, p. 71.
36. The action against the area’s large proprietors appears to have received popular support among the Lithuanians. At a discussion held in Vilnius on April 17, a Christian Democratic leader suggested that the large landowners be dispossessed of all their holdings. The audience responded with unanimous approval. See Vilniaus Balsas, April 19, 1940, p. 6. Cf. p. 222-223.
37. See V. Vazalinskas, “Žemės reformos klausimu” (Concerning the Question of Land Reform), Naujoji Romuva, November 26, 1939, pp. 845-849.
38. See Tautos Ūkis, March 16, 1940, p. 212.
39. See Lietuvos Ūkininkas, December 14, 1939, p. 2; ibid., November 23, 1939, p. 2; Lietuvos Banko Biuletenis, May 24, 1940, p. 10.
40. Lietuvos Aidas, April 16, 1940, p. 1. See also Justas Paleckis, Gyvenimas prasideda (Life Begins; Vilnius: Vaga, 1967), pp. 204, 210, and 224-225. A prominent Lithuanian recalls, however, that he found much sympathy toward Lithuania among the residents of the area. See Rapolas Skipitis, Nepriklausoma Lietuva: atsiminimai (Independent Lithuania: Memoirs; Chicago, 1967), pp. 161 and 164-165.
41. Maceina, “Tauta ir valstybė” (The Nation and the State), Naujoji Romuva, March 19, 1939, p. 229.
42. A[ntanas] Maceina, “Tautinis auklėjimas nutautintoje Vilniaus aplinkoje” (National Education in Denationalized Vilnius Surroundings), Lietuvos Mokykla (The Lithuanian School), no. 1 (January, 1940), pp. 8-9.
43. A[lbertas] Tarulis, “Lietuvių kultūrai saugoti įstatymas” (The Law to Protect Lithuanian Culture), Naujoji Romuva, December 10, 1939, p. 908.
44. See XX Amžius, March 13, 1940, p. 10.
45. See Vilniaus Balsas, April 11, 1940, p. 6; ibid., April 19, 1940, p. 6.
46. See Lietuvos Žinios, May 3, 1940, p. 2.
XVI. END OF JOINT ACTION
1. S. Raštikis, Kovose dėl Lietuvos: kario atsiminimai: (In the Struggles for Lithuania: Memoirs of a Soldier, 2 vols.; Los Angeles: Lietuviu Dienos, 1956-1957) I, 557-558 and 631-632; Raštikis, personal letter to author, October 24, 1961.
2. See XX Amžius, June 14, 1939, p. 4.
3. For a detailed analysis of what size farms were most suitable for Lithuanian agriculture, see J. Krikščiūnas, “Kokio didumo ūkiai— stambūs, vidutiniai ar smulkūs—našiausi” (What Size Farms are Most Productive—Large, Medium or Small), Tautos Ūkis, January 27, 1940, pp. 59-61; A. Luksošaitis, “Kokio dydžio žemės ūkiai mums naudingiausi?” (What Size Farms are Most Beneficial to Us?), Tautos Ūkis, January 20, 1940, pp. 39-40.
4. See Lietuvos Ūkininkas, October 19, 1939, p. 8.
5. See XX Amžius, October 21, 1939, p. 12.
6. A. Valuckas, Kolektyvinė tironija (Collective Tyranny; Kaunas: Valstybinė leidykla, 1943), pp. 18-19.
7. See Karys, December 7, 1939, pp. 1419-1422.
8. J. Audėnas, unpublished memoirs, p. 125.
9. See Lietuvos Aidas, January u, 1940, p. 7.
10. Interview with Vincas Rastenis, October 5, 1961.
11. See U.S. House of Representatives, Hearings, Baltic States Investigation, Part 1, 83rd Congress, 1st. Session, 1954, p. 283; interview with Vincas Mašalaitis, October 19, 1961.
12. For an account of the formation of the Merkys cabinet, see Raštikis, I, 632-636. A different version of the formation of the new cabinet appears in Merkelis, Antanas Smetona: jo visuomeninė, kultūrinė ir politinė veikla (Antanas Smetona: His Civic, Cultural and Political Activities; New York: Amerikos lietuvių tautinė sąjunga, 1964), pp. 560-562 and 564.
13. See Lietuvos Aidas, November 22, 1939, p. 1.
14. See XX Amžius, November 22, 1939, p. 10.
15. Ibid., December 7, 1939, p. 12.
16. See p. 127.
17. See Raštikis, I, 673-677; ibid., II, 20; Lietuvos Ūkininkas, January 25, 1940, p. 12.
18. See Raštikis, I, 693-694.
19. See Lietuvos Aidas, January 7, 1940, p. 4; ibid., January n, 1940, p. 6.
20. Šaltinis, June 10, 1939, p. 389; ibid., June 17, 1939, p. 406.
21. See XX Amžius, February 13, 1940, p. 4.
22. See Draugija, April 20, 1940, pp. 45-49.
23. See Tiesos Kelias (The Road of Truth), no. 6, June 1940, pp. 22-27.
24. See Audėnas, unpublished memoirs, pp. 113-114.
25. See Lietuvos Ūkininkas, May 9, 1940, p. 3.
26. See Audėnas, unpublished memoirs, pp. 112-113; Lietuvos Žinios, April 18, 1940, pp. 1 and 5; XX Amžius, April 23, 1940, p. 12.
XVII. THE PRECIPITATE END
1. See Lietuvos Aidas, April 2, 1940, p. 2.
2. See Audrūnas and Svyrius, Lietuva tironų pančiuose (Lithuania in Chains of Tyrants, vol. I; Cleveland: Lietuvai vaduoti sąjunga, 1946), p. 37.
3. See J. Audėnas, unpublished memoirs, p. 175.
4. Lietuvos Ūkininkas, June 6, 1940, p. 12.
5. Ibid.
6. Ibid.; Vincas Mašalaitis, unpublished statement relative to Lithuania’s occupation; Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, October 25, 1953; Juozas Audėnas, former Minister of Agriculture, unpublished statement, New York, October 21, 1953.
7. See Lietuvos Aidas, May 30, 1940, p. 1; Lietuvos Žinios, May 30, 1940, quoted in XX Amžius, May 31, 1940, p. 6; Vilniaus Balsas, May 31, 1940, p. 1; XX Amžius, May 30, 1940, p. 12.
8. U.S. Department of State, Documents on German Foreign Policy 1918-1945, IX, 475.
9. Smetona, pro memoria, p. 6.
10. The question of a military alliance with Latvia and Estonia was repeatedly brought up by the Russians. “An official Russian statement describes the ultimatum [the Russian ultimatum to Lithuania on June 14] as having charged Lithuania with violation of the spirit of the mutual assistance pact concluded with the Soviets last year by signing a secret military treaty with Estonia and Latvia.” The New York Times, June 16, 1940, p. 1; ibid., June 17, 1940, p. 6.
The Treaty of Good Understanding and Cooperation between the three Baltic states, which was applauded by Soviet commentators at the time of its conclusion in 1934, did not terminate in a military alliance. Former Minister of Defense Musteikis recalls that by the end of 1939 the Baltic governments had agreed to standardize military equipment and ammunition. However, it was apparently too late to give effect to this decision. Musteikis, personal letter, November 19, 1961.
11. Smetona, pro memoria, p. 7.
12. Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers, 1940, Department of State Publication 6818 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1959), I, 366.
13. See Audėnas, unpublished memoirs, p. 183; Nepriklausoma Lietuva (Independent Lithuania), June 15, 1955, p. 2; interview with Bronius Dirmeikis, March 10, 1961; Kazys Musteikis, Prisiminimų fragmentai (Fragments of Reminiscences; London: Nida, 1970), p. 95.
14. See Lietuvos Aidas, June 9, 1940, p. 1; ibid., June 10, 1940, p. 1.
15. See Lietuvos Ūkininkas, June 20, 1940, p. 2.
16. James W. Gantenbein ed., Documentary Background of World War II, 1931 to 1941 (New York: Columbia University Press, 1948), P. 752.
17. For a concise account of government deliberations on the eve of Russian occupation, see statement by Vincas Mašalaitis; see also Smetona, pro memoria, pp. 10-20; statement by Juozas Audėnas; Audėnas, unpublished memoirs, pp. 193-205; Raštikis, Kovose dėl Lietuvos: kario atsiminimai (In the Struggles for Lithuania: Memoirs of a Soldier, 2 vols.; Los Angeles: Lietuvių Dienos, 1956-1957), II, 21-25; Musteikis, Prisiminimų fragmentai, pp. 101-108.
18. President Smetona, who had stayed briefly in Germany, was permitted to come to the United States. He died in Cleveland on January 9, 1944.
19. See Smetona, pro memoria, p. 1.
20. Ernestas Galvanauskas, personal letter to author, December 30, 1961.
21. Ibid.; Smetona, pro memoria, pp. 1-2; U.S. House of Representatives, Hearings, Baltic States Investigation, Part 1, 83rd. Congress, 2nd. Session, Washington 1954, p. 43; see also Musteikis, Prisiminimų fragmentai, pp. 86-87 and 103.
22. See Nepriklausoma Lietuva, June 15, 1955, p. 2.
23. Ibid.
24. Ernestas Galvanauskas, personal letter to author, December 30, 1961.
25. See Raštikis, II, 27
XVIII. COLLABORATION BY COMPULSION: THE ALLIANCE OF THE LEFT
1. See Lietuvos Žinios, June 17, 1940, p. 10.
2. Lietuvos Ūkininkas, June 20, 1940, p. 1.
3. XX Amžius, quoted in Lietuvos Žinios, June 17, 1940, p. 6.
4. Vilniaus Balsas, June 18, 1940, p. 1.
5. See Lietuvos Aidas, June 16, 1940, p. 1; ibid., June 17, 1940, p. 1.
6. The Soviet envoy arrived in Kaunas on June 15. His counterpart in Estonia was A. A. Zhdanov and in Latvia, A. Y. Vyshinski. Dekanozov was liquidated by the Russians after the fall of Lavrenti Beria in 1953.
7. Vincas Mašalaitis, unpublished statement relative to Lithuania’s occupation, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, October 25, 1953; Juozas Audėnas, unpublished statement relative to Lithuanian-Soviet tension in 1939-1940, New York, October 21, 1953; Ernestas Galvanauskas personal letter to author, December 30, 1961.
8. See Appendix B.
9. Ernestas Galvanauskas, personal letter to author, December 30, 1961.
10. See V[incas] Krėvė-Mickevičius, “Bolševikų invazija ir Liaudies vyriausybė” (The Bolshevik Invasion and the People’s Government), Lietuvių archyvas: bolševizmo metai, ed. J. Balčiūnas (Lithuanian Archives: The Bolshevik Years; 2d. ed.; Kaunas: Studijų biuras, 1942), III, 7-9.
11. Reminiscing in the Soviet Union twenty years after the events under consideration, former Defense Minister Vincas Vitkauskas divulged that even before the Bolshevik onset in 1940 he was already secretly engaged in the Communist cause. See Vincas Vitkauskas, “Tą neužmirštamą vasarą” (That Unforgettable Summer), Švyturys (The Beacon), June 30, 1960, p. 11. However, the disclosure is widely discounted as an inconsequential misrepresentation of history inspired by the peculiar needs of the society to which he belonged.
12. See Krėvė, “Bolševikų invazija,” p. 8.
13. See Krėvė, “Pasikalbėjimas Maskvoje su V. Molotovu” (The Conversation with V. Molotov in Moscow), Aidai (Echoes), no. 3, March 1953, p. 122.
14. See Lietuvos Ūkininkas, June 20, 1940, p. 3.
15. Ibid., July 4, 1940, p. 1; ibid., June 20, 1940, p. 12; ibid., June 27, 1940, p. 1.
16. Ibid., July 4, 1940, pp. 1 and 5.
17. See Lietuvos Ūkininkas, July 4, 1940, p. 5; ibid., July 25, 1940, p. 12.
18. See Darbo Lietuva (Labor Lithuania), July 18, 1940, p. 4.
19. See Vilniaus Balsas, June 19, 1940, p. 1.
20. Ibid., June 28, 1940, p. 1.
21. XX Amžius, June 26, 1940, p. 10.
22. See Darbo Lietuva, July 16, 1940, p. 1; Lietuvos Žinios, August 1, 1940, p. 1; XX Amžius, August 1, 1940, p. 10.
23. Lietuvos Ūkininkas, June 27, 1940, p. 1.
24. Ibid.
25. See Vilniaus Balsas, July 2, 1940, p. 1.
26. Ibid., July 3, 1940, p. 6; Lietuvos Žinios, July 3, 1940, p. 10.
27. Ūkininko Patarėjas quoted in Vilniaus Balsas, July 6, 1940, p. 6; Tiesa quoted in Lietuvos Ūkininkas, July 4, 1940, p. 2.
28. See Darbininkų Žodis (The Workers’ Word), June 30, 1940, p. 5.
29. The Communist Party had tried to repress lawlessness by threatening with expulsion all members guilty of arbitrary acts. However, the admonition appears to have carried little weight. See Darbininkų Žodis, July 6, 1940, p. 10.
30. See Krėvė, “Pasikalbėjimas Maskvoje,” pp. 122-123.
31. Ibid., p. 127; Krėvė, “Bolševikų invazija,” p. 11. Krėvė’s account of his talks with Molotov appears in U.S. Congress, House, Third Interim Report of the Select Committee on Communist Aggression, 83rd. Congress, 2nd. Session, 1954, H.R. 346 and H.R. 438, pp. 454-460.
32. Vilniaus Balsas, July 6, 1940, p. 1.
33. Ibid.
34. See Krėvė, “Bolševikų invazija,” p. 14.
35. Ibid., p. 15. Writing in Soviet-occupied Lithuania some twenty-five years after the events under consideration, Paleckis recalls that those were “complex, difficult, and moving” days, and that his responsibilities were a “heavy burden.” He further states that each day brought “an unusual nervous tension.” See J. Paleckis, Gyvenimas prasideda (Life Begins; Vilnius: Vaga, 1967), p. 233.
36. See Krėvė, “Bolševiku invazija . . .,” pp. 14-15.
37. Ibid., p. 16.
38. See Lietuvos Ūkininkas, July 11, 1940, p. 1.
39. Ibid., p. 2; for a short analysis of the electoral law, see X. Y. [Mykolas Römeris], Lietuvos sovietizacija 1940-1941 m. (The Sovietization of Lithuania in 1940-1941; Augsburg: Lietuvos Teisininkų Tremtinių Draugija, 1949), pp. 19-21.
40. See Lietuvos Ūkininkas, July 11, 1940, p. 3.
41. See Liudas Dovydėnas, “Mano kelias į Liaudies Seimą” (My Road to the People’s Diet), Lietuvių archyvas: bolševizmo metai, III, 51; A[ntanas] Garmus, “Lietuvos įjungimas į SSSR—Maskvos diktatas” (Lithuania’s Incorporation into the USSR—Moscow’s Dictate), Lietuvių archyvas: bolševizmo metai, ed. J. Prunskis (Lithuanian Archives: The Bolshevik Years; Brooklyn, N. Y.: Tėvų Pranciškonų spaustuvė, 1952), p. 11. The book compiled by Prunskis is an abridged edition of the report on Bolshevik occupation published in 1942.
42. See A. Butkutė-Ramelienė, Lietuvos komunistų partijos kova ui tarybų valdžios įtvirtinimą respublikoje, 1940-1941 m. (The Struggle of the Communist Party of Lithuania for the Consolidation of Soviet Power in the Republic, Vilnius: 1958), pp. 37-38.
43. See Dovydėnas, p. 51; Garmus, p. 9.
44. A former legislator refers to an unsuccessful effort, on the part of the Populists, to put forward their own contestants for People’s deputies. See Garmus, p. 11. However, the assertion cannot be verified, as the émigré Populists who were asked for comment denied either the existence of such an attempt or any knowledge of it. Liudas Šmulkštys, personal letter, October 1, 1961; Jonas Kardelis, personal letter, January 5, 1962; interview with Juozas Audėnas, October 24, 1961.
45. See S. Raštikis, Kovose dėl Lietuvos: kario atsiminimai (In the Struggles for Lithuania: Memoirs of a Soldier, 2 vols. Los Angeles: Lietuvių Dienos, 1956-1957), II, 87.
46. Darbininkų Žodis, July 6, 1940, p. 2.
47. See Lietuvos Aidas, July 11, 1940, p. 1; Lietuvos Žinios, July 12, 1940, p. 5.
48. See U.S. House of Representatives, Committee to Investigate Communist Aggression in the Baltic States Third Interim Report, Washington, 1954, pp. 468-470; Mykolas Krupavičius and Vaclovas Sidzikauskas, Appeal by Representatives of the Baltic Nations to the General Assembly of the United Nations, presented November 24, 1947 (n.p.: n.d.), p. 8; unpublished testimony by MM, Lithuanian National Martyrological Archives, Chicago, Illinois.
49. See Audrūnas and Svyrius, Lietuva tironų pančiuose (Lithuania in Chains of Tyrants, vol. I, Cleveland, 1946), pp. 105-107; Pranas Mickus, “Liaudies Seimo rinkimų duomenų klastojimas,” (The Falsification of Returns of Elections to the People’s Diet), Lietuvių archyvas: bolševizmo metai, III, 21.
50. Lietuvos Ūkininkas, July 11, 1940, p. 1.
51. Ibid., July 18, 1940, p. 1.
52. See XX Amžius, July 20, 1940, p. 8.
53. See Liudas Dovydėnas, Užrašai (Diary; 2nd. ed.; Kaunas: Br. Daunoro leidykla, 1944), pp. 185-186.
54. In a statement of August 30, 1942, a group of former members of the People’s Government and the People’s Diet placed the total count at approximately 18 per cent. It is this figure that is usually quoted in non-Communist sources. However, it appears that this is a conservative estimate, based on the lowest number of votes registered in some electoral districts; it does not take into account the higher percentages believed to have been cast in urban communities.
55. See Audrūnas and Svyrius, p. 201.
56. See Darbo Lietuva, July 17, 1940, p. 2; ibid., July 19, 1940, p. 4.
57. See XX Amžius, July 20, 1940, p. 8.
58. See Dovydėnas, Užrašai, p. 197; X. Y., p. 26.
59. For some eloquent passages on the attitudes of the legislators before the opening session, see Dovydėnas, Užrašai, pp. 179-197; see also Garmus, p. 14.
60. See Dovydėnas, Užrašai, p. 198; Garmus, pp. 19-20.
61. See Dovydėnas, “Mano kelias į Liaudies Seimą” (My Road to the People’s Diet), in J. Balčiūnas ed., Lietuvių archyvas: bolševizmo metai, vol. III; Kaunas: Studijų biuras, 1942), pp. 53-54.
62. Dovydėnas, Užrašai, p. 195.
63. Large-scale digressions from the ethics appropriate to free elections are amply documented. For evidences of intimidation of voters, the application of physical force, the presence of foreign soldiers at polling places, and the generous addition of ballots by members of the electoral commissions in order to augment the total count, see World Lithuanian Archives, Chicago, 111., 4451, 4621, 4956; unpublished testimony by LL and MM, Lithuanian National Martyrological Archives, Chicago, 111.; P. Mickus, “Liaudies Seimo rinkimų duomenų klastojimas” (The Falsification of Returns of Elections to the People’s Diet), in J. Balčiūnas ed., p. 34.
XIX. CONCLUSION
1. Lietuvos Ūkininkas, July 25, 1940, p. 12.
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