Search

Kai po Pirmojo pasaulinio karo žlugo Vokietijos, Austrijos-Vengrijos ir Rusijos imperijos, naujai susikūrusiose Europos valstybėse vokiečiai tapo mažuma. Gana didele tautine mažuma vokiečiai tapo Čekoslovakijoje, ypač Čekoslovakijos ir Vokietijos pasienyje, Sudetų krašte, kur gyveno 3 mln. vokiečių, sudarę 23 proc. visų Čekoslovakijos gyventojų. Lietuvoje, be Klaipėdos krašto, 1923 m. gyveno 29 200 vokiečių, kurie sudarė 1,4 proc. visų Lietuvos gyventojų. Prie Lietuvos prijungtame Klaipėdos krašte, 1925 m. surašymo duomenimis, gyveno 64 158 vokiečiai, kurie sudarė 45,2 proc. visų krašto gyventojų, taip pat Klaipėdos krašte gyveno 34 337 vadinamieji „klaipėdiškiai“, kurie sudarė 24,2 proc. krašto gyventojų.

In 1939 the Baltic states became the victims of cruel Hitler and Stalin agreements. Hitler and Stalin agreed that the German minority from the Baltic states would repatriate to Germany. Since 1939 till 1944 more than one million Germans were forced to leave over 40 states and settle down in Germany. In 1923, in Lithuania, there lived 28 thousand 671 Germans or 1.5 percent of the population. In 1940, there were 36 thousand Germans. The number of Germans increased because of Nazi agitation, then Lithuanians changed their nationality into German. In Latvia in 1930, there lived about 70 thousand, and in Estonia—16 thousand Germans. In 1939, more than 50 thousand Germans repatriated from Latvia, and about 13 thousand 700 Germans from Estonia. In 1940, again 18 thousand Germans were forced to leave Estonia and Latvia. The repatriation from Lithuania was executed in the winter of 1941; more than 50 thousand Germans and Lithuanians left the country. German historians ascribed the preparation for repatriation to the German community. In fact, the German community was directed by local Nazi organizations and its leaders. German historians agree that the news from Berlin about the German repatriation was first given to the leaders of the Nazi movement in the Baltic states. Although there are some historical researches, nobody noticed the important role played by the Nazi organizations during the German repatriation. The leaders of the Nazi movement in the Baltic states were at the same time the leaders of the German community. The Nazi movement had thousands of members, it received instructions and financial support from Berlin. German historians made an impression that the German community obeyed Hitler's order and did its best to leave the country as quickly as possible. The German Nazi movement (Bewegung) was especially active in Latvia, led by Erhard Kroeger. The Nazi organization in Estonia was directed by Oskar Lutz and Baron Wrangel, the president of the German community. On the 25th of September 1939, E. Kroeger visited Hitler in his staff in Poland. E. Kroeger informed Hitler about the political situation in Latvia and asked him to rescue the Baltic Germans. During the secret negotiations between Hitler and Stalin, the question of Germans in the Baltic states was discussed too. On the 2nd of October, the leaders of the Baltic Nazi organizations were informed about Hitler's decision to transfer the German minority from Estonia and Latvia to Germany. On the 6th of October, Hitler officially proclaimed the repatriation from the Baltic states. The "Rigasche Rundschau" published the proclamation of E. Kroeger about the preparation for the repatriation. In three weeks, the Germans abdicated their previous citizenship, transferred their personal property to special German institutions, and with small luggage, left the country. In autumn of 1939, the Nazi organization Kulturverband in Lithuania also started preparation for German repatriation. But the negotiations with Lithuanian authorities did not start. After secret agreements between Hitler and Stalin, Lithuania should be handed to the Soviets. The German and Soviet negotiations started in 1940 after the Soviets occupied Lithuania. Although Hitler did not proclaim the German repatriation from Lithuania, practically the German minority was prepared for it. Berlin ordered Kulturverband to give real figures about the German minority in Lithuania. The leaders of Kulturverband, R. Kosmann, K. Cerpinski, O. Reichard, von der Ropp, and E. Klug controlled the community, spread the information about repatriation, and followed the instructions from Berlin. The leaders of Kulturverband were told about the place where the German minority from Lithuania would be settled down. In comparison with the repatriation from Latvia and Estonia, the Lithuanian German minority experienced hardship and suffered losses because the preparation continued for about two years (since October 1939 till March of 1941). Nazi organizations in the Baltic states fulfilled the instructions of the German SS and other institutions: made registration of Germans and their property, gave new documents for the repatriates, and spread the information. Nazi organizations in the Baltic states helped German institutions execute the repatriation in a short time.

Since 1920 national European countries made their efforts to support their national policy and it caused problems among national minorities and they started actions in order to keep their national identity. In Klaipėda region there were over 65 thousand Germans. There they had a number of sport clubs and cultural, political, religious organizations. In 1923 Klaipėda region was appended to Lithuania but Germans never abandoned their revanchist sentiments to return the region to Germany. Since 1933 as Hitler came into power in Germany, Germans in Klaipėda started Nazi policy. The leaders of sports clubs were members of Nazi organizations and they started military training in the clubs, some sportsmen became shock troops. The German sport organizations showed a clear political support for National Socialism and Hitler's policy in Germany. In 1934 Nazi organizations in Klaipėda were closed and their leaders were imprisoned for illegal work, so the Germans decided to continue Nazi policy in legal organizations, such as sport clubs. German sport clubs in Klaipėda had a big number of members (in 1931 - 28 clubs with 2199 members, in 1936 - 52 clubs with 2907 members, in 1938 - 75 clubs and more than 3000 members), a lot of various sport clubs, good material basis and financial support from Germany. German sport clubs wanted to stay apart from Lithuanian teams. German sportsmen competed only among their clubs or with clubs in Germany. The leaders of German sport organizations even refused to send German sportsmen to an international sport tournament to represent Lithuania. Such a behavior caused some conflicts between German sport clubs and Lithuanian authorities. Every effort of Lithuanian Palace of Physical Culture (Kūno kultūros rūmai) to make German clubs observe Lithuanian laws was unsuccessful. Every time the resistance of German sport clubs grew stronger. At the end of the conflict with Lithuanian authorities in 1938 the German leading sport organization „Sportbund" proclaimed its isolation from Lithuanian authorities. In general German sport clubs in Klaipėda region since 1930s ignored Lithuanian sport clubs, refused to play and compete with Jewish sport clubs, and demonstrated chauvinism. In Lithuania there were about 30 thousand Germans, they had only two sport clubs: „K.S.K. Kultus" in Kaunas and „Sportverein" in Kybartai. Both were loyal to Lithuanian authorities and participated in Lithuanian competitions. These clubs were quite in a long distance from Klaipėda region, they had a small number of members and received neither political nor financial support from Germany.

Copyright of History: A Collection of Lithuanian Universities' Research Papers / Istorija: Lietuvos Aukštųjų Mokyklų Mokslo Darbai is the property of Vytautas Magnus University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

An annotated bibliography of dissertations on the history of Lithuania defended in 2007 is given, including "Vilniaus seimelio veikla 1717-1795 m," [Work of the Vilnius Dietine during 1717-1795], by Robertas Jurgaitis, "Lietuvos vokiečių nacionalsocialistiné veikla (XX a. 3-4 dešimtmečiuose)," [National Socialist Activities of Lithuanian Germans (in the 1920s-1930s)], by Ingrida Jakubavičienė, and "Antrojo pasaulinio karo pabégéliai Lietuvoje 1939-1940 metáis," [The World War II Refugees in Lithuania in 1939-1940], by Simonas Strelcovas.

Copyright of Knygotyra is the property of Vilnius University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Colloquia is the property of Institute of Lithuanian Literature & Folklore and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of History: A Collection of Lithuanian Universities' Research Papers / Istorija: Lietuvos Aukštųjų Mokyklų Mokslo Darbai is the property of Vytautas Magnus University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Soter: Journal of Religious Science / Religijos Mokslo Žurnalas is the property of Vytautas Magnus University, Faculty of Theology-Philosophy and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of History: A Collection of Lithuanian Universities' Research Papers / Istorija: Lietuvos Aukštųjų Mokyklų Mokslo Darbai is the property of Vytautas Magnus University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of History: A Collection of Lithuanian Universities' Research Papers / Istorija: Lietuvos Aukštųjų Mokyklų Mokslo Darbai is the property of Vytautas Magnus University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)