[Tarp Trečiojo Reicho ir Trečiosios Romos: Vokietijos ir Sovietų politikos poveikis Baltijos šalių tarptautinei ir vidaus padėčiai tarpukaryje. Zenonas Butkus] : recenzija

Zenonas Butkus savo didelės apimties naujausioje knygoje neabejotinai susumavo ir išplėtojo ilgamečius tyrinėjimus, pasitelkdamas dokumentų medžioklės ne tik Lietuvos, bet ir Latvijos, Estijos, Rusijos ir Vokietijos archyvuose rezultatus, apibendrino per paskutinius kelis dešimtmečius pasirodžiusią istorinę literatūrą (detali istoriografinė apžvalga išdėstyta knygos įvade). Nepasakosiu didelį įdirbį turinčio istoriko naujausios knygos turinio ir teksto, ši recenzija nepakeis ilgamečio Z. Butkaus tyrimo skaitymo – perskaitykite VISĄ knygą, tikrai nenusivilsite. Autorius gerai žino istoriografiją ir tai leido laisvai lyginti ir analizuoti dviejų didžiųjų Lietuvos kaimynių tikslus ir siekius trijose Baltijos valstybėse 1919‒1940 m. Monografijoje autorius nepailsdamas vertina ir analizuoja prieš šimtą metų atsikūrusios Lietuvos ir jos kaimyninių valstybių atsikūrimo ir susikūrimo tarptautines aplinkybes, aiškina, kiek jos paskatino valstybingumo atgimimą, ar iš tikrųjų, kaip neretai teigiama, jos buvo lemtingiausios, o valstybingumo atsikūrimas tebuvęs Pirmojo pasaulinio karo padarinys, jo metu nusilpus Vokietijai ir Rusijai, anksčiau valdžiusioms lietuviškas žemes. Reikšminiai žodžiai: Zenonas Butkus. "Tarp Trečiojo Reicho ir Trečiosios Romos: Vokietijos ir Sovietų politikos poveikis Baltijos šalių tarptautinei ir vidaus padėčiai tarpukaryje

A "Jew-communist" stereotype in Lithuania, 1940-1941

The "Judeo-Bolshevik" image was formed in 1940-1941; that is - during the period of Sovietisation, after Lithuania lost its independence. Marginalization of the Jewish community to Lithuania’s political left came about historically, from when Lithuania’s leftist political parties defended the Jews from the attacks of right-wing radicals in 1923. Bolshevism and the Jews were accused for all of the adversities that Lithuania was faced with. A large part of Lithuanians saw Jewish Communists, but did not see Zionists, who were considerably greater in number; they saw Jews deporting Lithuanians to Siberia, but they did not see Jews being deported themselves; they blamed the Jews for social and economic changes, but did not see or did not want to see that it was the Jews who bore the greatest brunt of nationalization. Upon occupying Lithuania, the Soviets carried out a policy of national opposition, thus promoting anti-Semitism as well. This opened old wounds of society. The Nazis who occupied Lithuania began to use the Judeo-Bolshevik image very intensively. Nazi propaganda had a very strong influence on Lithuanians. The specificity of the Nazi Holocaust in Lithuania was that Jews were killed not just as such, but also as the seed of Bolshevism, as Judeo-Bolsheviks. The image of Judeo-Bolsheviks instilled by Hitler’s Nazis here intertwined with the image of a Jewish youth, a Soviet activist, which emerged during the first period of Soviet rule. The Holocaust began to be researched professionally in the early 1960s. For obvious reasons, such research was not possible in Lithuania. Unable to find a modus vivendi with the Jews in exile, a defensive position was taken

Document from 1946 addressed to VLIK (the Chief Lithuanian Liberation Committee) about Lithuanian-Jewish relations

The Document has been named as "In Quest of Lithuanian-Jewish Relations". This is the first attempt of Lithuanian DP's in Germany to reconsider the role of Jewish population in Sovietization, Lithuanian-Jewish relations. Holocaust in Lithuania, the problem of Lithuanians assistance to Nazis, rescue of Jews and extraordinarily difficult conditions of rescue. The document that is now being published clearly indicates several things: firstly, that Lithuanians were raged by the disposition toward Soviets showed by the Jews, their participation in Soviet administration, the scope of the aid extended by the Jews to the processes of sovietization Lithuanian provisional government is said to bear no guilt as far as anti-Jewish actions and Jewish victims are concerned. As soon as Lithuanians realized what the Nazis did to the Lithuanian Jews they forgave them and aided in all possible ways. The document provides important factual data about the rescuers of the Jews, some of whom were until now unknown. It also contains a chapter "Page of Shame" about the Lithuanian participation in Jewish genocide, but mostly concerning the interregnum period, i.e. when Lithuania was no longer ruled by the Soviets and not yet governed by the German administration. The document tends to blame Jews for the "crimes" made to Lithuanians; almost all Jews are blamed for their involvement in Sovietization while the role of Lithuanian communists and actions of Soviet oppressors are hardly mentioned. The document constructs the theory of "two genocides" or the theory of symmetry of German Nazi and Soviet genocides. In his notes accompanying the document, the author of publication, historian comments and corrects many of its theses

[Lietuvos su Klaipėda ir Vilniumi genezė: anglų ir rusų "Didžiojo žaidimo" Baltijos aspektas. Česlovas Laurinavičius] : recenzija

2020 m. birželio 11 d. Lietuvos istorijos institute vykusiame knygos pristatyme Č. Laurinavičius pažymėjo, kad pagrindinė jo knygos tezė – lietuvių tautą „sukonstravo“ ne rusai, o rusai ir anglai, kad rusai nėra priešai – tik palaikant santykius su jais reikia pusiausvyros, kurios ne kartą nesilaikyta. Tame pačiame pristatyme kalbėjęs dr. Vladas Sirutavičius pažymėjo, kad Č. Laurinavičius savo knygoje vykusiai pagauna politikos niuansus, turi savo požiūrį. Ir su tuo reikia sutikti. Visų pirma autoriui (iš pažiūros gana lengvai) paklūsta dideli archyvinių dokumentų klodai ir plati naudota literatūra, kurios paskiri tomai, kaip sako pats autorius, kartais atsako tik į labai siaurus klausimus. Ko tekste daugiau – geopolitikos ar istorijos, atsakymas aiškus: geopolitikos daugiau pirmojoje dalyje, tačiau jau nuo Georgo Sauerweino veiklos, jo ir aušrininkų sąlyčių neginčijamai pradeda dominuoti istorija (ir įdomumas). Tyrimas yra naujas dėl to, jog Lietuva, įtaka jai apžvelgiama kaip Lietuvos su Vilniumi ir Klaipėda prasme, nors jau knygos pradžioje Č. Laurinavičius pažymi, kad nė viena ašis nematė tokios, ar matė tik su Vilniumi, ar tik su Klaipėda, o kas dar blogiau – Lietuva vis tiek buvo matoma kaip „sezoninė“ valstybė, kuri kažin ar išsilaikys apskritai

Lietuvos kariuomenės vadovybės 1933 m. pabaigoje–1934 m. pradžioje inicijuotas lenkiškai kalbančių Trakų (Kaišiadorių) apskrities gyventojų tyrimas

Lietuvos kariuomenės vadovybės iniciatyva 1933 m. pabaigoje laiškus su anketomis „Lenkų pasienio tyrimo reikalu“ gavo pasienio apskričių – Utenos, Ukmergės, Trakų, Alytaus, Marijampolės ir Vilkaviškio – karo komendantai. Vyriausiojo štabo valdybos II (informacijos) skyriaus vadas plk. ltn. Juozas Lanskoronskis, parengęs atitinkamą palei administracinę liniją su Lenkija įsikūrusių gyventojų tyrimo planą, 1933 m. lapkričio 2 d. (gruodžio 2 d. pakartotinai) išsiuntė prašymą atsakyti į anketos klausimus ir atsakymus atsiųsti iki gruodžio 20 d. Karo komendantai, kaip pareigūnai, esantys arčiausiai gyventojų, turėjo surinkti duomenis ir įvertinti kariuomenės vaidmenį puoselėjant lietuvybę. Vyr. štabo viršininkas įsakė parengti studiją, surinkus statistinius duomenis apie pastaruosius 6–7 metus: kiek „lenkuojančių“ yra tapę neabejotinais lietuviais, kiek yra svyruojančių, kiek nepalankių, nes kariuomenės vadovybė turėjo žinoti, ar gali kilti grėsmių iš lenkų tautinės mažumos, ar ji bus lojali krizės metu. Pažymėta, jog toks žinių rinkimas neturi iškilti į viešumą. Straipsnyje analizuojami iš Trakų apskrities paštininkų, mokytojų, kunigų, agronomų, policijos valdininkų surinkti duomenys apie Trakų apskrities (kurios centras buvo Kaišiadorys) gyventojus, jų lietuvinimą, Lietuvos kariuomenės vaidmenį lietuvinimo procese, lenkų kalbos vartojimą, gyventojų požiūrį į Lietuvos valdžią ir valstybę, lenkakalbių (jie vadinami „lenkuojančiais“, labai retai – lenkais) ryšius su anapus demarkacijos linijos gyvenančiais jų giminaičiais ir pažįstamais, jų lojalumą Lietuvai. Ši unikali archyve rasta byla, kurioje sukaupti atsakymai į anketos klausimus ir pateiktos karo komendanto plk. Vlado Žutauto išvados, liudija, jog lenkiškai kalbančių gyventojų lietuvinimas vyko nekoordinuotai. Tai nepaprastai disonuoja su to meto tautininkų spaudoje viešinamais aktyviais svarstymais, raginimais atlietuvinti „lenkuojančius“ piliečius. Trakų apskrityje po šio tyrimo imtasi tarp vietos lenkų itin uoliai platinti lietuvišką spaudą. Tuo labiausiai rūpinosi pats karo komendantas

Partisan general Jonas Žemaitis-Vytautas

[...] Jonas Žemaitis was a child of the first generation of the independence; he went to a Lithuanian primary school and secondart school (gymnasium), was able to see with his own eyes the state of Lithuania growing: the year 1922 saw the adoption of the first democratic Constitution, introduction of a national currency, passing of many mandatory economic laws, a true breakthrough in agriculture - land reform that turned Lithuanian rural populace into farmers and led to establishing thousands of new settler farms: the parcelling of manors, including the division of villages into homesteads, covered about 56% of the whole of the country’s territory. This reform was instrumental in modernising the domestic economy: if, with the war approaching its end, roughly 35% of all tillable land in the country ravaged by war and occupation was virgin soil, in 1921 this ratio was a mere 6%. In 1922 already, Lithuania went back to the pre-war level in terms of crop and grain harvest, and even surpassed that level when it comes to the volume of livestock. In 1924-1925, Lithuania’s industry returned to its pre-war productivity as well. Education flourished; by early 1923, the number of schools doubled, and the number of pupils tripled (up to 117,000). Key governmental bodies operating in Lithuanian were established, and a fast-growing athletic movement began. The tertiary course in Kaunas soon evolved into the Lithuanian University, which was opened on 16 February 1922. In less than two decades, it raised 3,700 specialists, scholars, educators. The Lithuanian language attained the status of the national language of the civil institutions and the official language of the government, its ministries, the military, science, and research. New traditions were born, with the first national song festival taking place in Kaunas in 1924. The first census of Lithuania’s residents that took place on 17 September 1923 showed that the country’s population was 2,028,971 (exclusive of Vilnius and Klaipėda regions). Lithuanians accounted for 82%, Jews 7%, Germans 4%, Poles 3%, Russians 2.3% of the total population. The ethnic minorities were free to foster their language and culture. Lithuania was an agricultural country, 84% of its population living in rural areas and Lithuanians accounting for 91% of all rural inhabitants. The professions in the country were largely represented by Lithuanians, with Jewish entrepreneurs traditionally dominating the export and import sector; on top of that, Jews owned 83% of all trade companies, compared to 13% owned by Lithuanians. At the time, around 330,000 Lithuanians were living in the US (180,000 of them born in Lithuania), another 100,000 in the Vilnius region and Lithuania Minor (mainly the region of Klaipėda) each, yet another 6,000 in England. During the years of independence, thousands of expats returned to Lithuania and were buying land, starting businesses, launching industrial companies and banks. Transfers from US Lithuanians accounted for 1/10 of the Lithuanian national budget, political movements of the diaspora were funding Lithuanian political parties, collecting donations for the efforts to build the state and its culture. The young Jonas Žemaitis and dozens of thousands of young people saw Lithuania getting back on its feet, and the only matter left unresolved was the destiny of Vilnius as the historical capital: it was occupied by Poland; in early 1923, however, success was achieved in incorporating Klaipėda, which had been sliced off Germany under the Versailles Treaty - that way, Lithuania got its own Baltic seaport. These two regions belonging to Lithuania was the most critical issue Lithuania and its diplomatic service had to address over two whole decades. Unfortunately, after Lithuania’s independence had been defended on the battlefield, the period of peace and creative work was but brief. The Soviet Union and Germany signed a non-aggression pact and the secret protocols in Moscow on 23 August 1939 spelled the fate of the Baltic states, the Republic of Lithuania among them, and the Nazi-Soviet conspiracy was finally sealed on September 28 with the boundary and friendship treaty and several more secret protocols. On 15 June 1940, the USSR government violated international law and every bilateral agreement, issued an ultimatum demanding that the government be replaced and an unlimited number of Red Army troops be stationed in the country, trespassed the border of Lithuania and occupied its entire territory. After the Germany-USSR war began on 22 June 1941, the Nazis replaced the Soviet invaders who returned to Lithuania in 1944; only this time, contrary to 1940, they were met with an armed opposition from the Lithuanian nation. The first partisan territorial units to combat the Soviet invaders already started appearing in the fall of 1944, and Lithuanian people fought an unequal fight against the USSR’s repressive units for nearly 10 years. Tens of thousands of Lithuanian men left their homes for partisan territorial units, one of them being Jonas Žemaitis, one of the most prominent figures of the Lithuanian nation, a talented soldier, a renowned organiser and unifier of partisan armed forces who was appointed to lead the national resistance. The international situation permitting, if Lithuania broke free from the Soviet occupation after February 1949, before a democratic Parliament of Lithuania is formed, the post of the President of the Republic of Lithuania would be held by the Chairman of the MSFL Council’s Presidium. [...