Žinoma ir nežinoma Lietuvos garbės konsulo Bostone Antano Osvaldo Šalnos veikla (1939–1971)

The activities of the Honorary Consulate of Lithuania in Boston in 1939–1971 have not yet been in the focus of research. The history of the consulate is directly linked to the representation of the first Lithuanian honorary consul lawyer Antanas O. Šalna. The article discusses the Lithuanian policy in the establishment of honorary consulates in the United States of America. It reveals the reasons of establishment of the Honorary Consulate in Boston, its solemn opening and the key facts of the life and activities of A. O. Šalna as well as the arguments of selecting him a candidate to the consul. It also focuses on the position taken by A. O. Šalna in 1940 and its relations with Lithuanian career diplomats (envoy Povilas Žadeikis and consul - general Jonas Budrys). The article describes the activities of the honorary consul after the loss of Lithuania’s independence, his relations with the Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian émigré community in Massachusetts in the postwar period. It attempts to evaluate the role of A. O. Šalna in the Lithuanian diplomatic service.Lietuvos garbės konsulato Bostone veikla 1939–1971 m. mokslininkų dar nebuvo tirta. Konsulato istorija tiesiogiai siejama su pirmojo Lietuvos garbės konsulo advokato Antano Osvaldo Šalnos atstovavimu. Aptariama Lietuvos valdžios politika, steigiant garbės konsulatus Jungtinėse Amerikos Valstijose. Atskleidžiamos garbės konsulato Bostone įkūrimo priežastys, iškilmingas jo atidarymas bei A. O. Šalnos svarbiausi gyvenimo ir veiklos faktai, jo kaip kandidato į konsulus pasirinkimo argumentai. Išsamiau analizuojama A. O. Šalnos pozicija 1940 m. ir jo santykiai su Lietuvos karjeros diplomatais (pasiuntiniu P. Žadeikiu ir generaliniu konsulu J. Budriu). Aprašoma garbės konsulo veikla po Lietuvos valstybingumo praradimo, jo santykiai su lietuvių, latvių ir estų išeivija Masačusetso valstijoje pokario laikotarpiu. Bandoma įvertinti A. O. Šalnos vietą Lietuvos diplomatinėje tarnyboje

Lietuvos didžiųjų bendrovių centralizuoto eksporto organizavimas į JAV 1937-1939 m

In 1936 the company Maistas became interested in the USA market for its production and started its export. At the beginning, foodstuff producers did not consider the American market to be important because they had more profitable orders in Europe, i. e. Great Britain, Germany, and other countries. Lithuanian food production was distributed through middlemen, the most notable in 1937 being the Prodexlit company. It strived to have a monopoly in distributing Lithuanian meat production in the American market. When at the end of 1937 Maistas found out that possibilities for distributing their production had not been fully exploited, together with Pienocentras and Lietūkis it established its branch office Lithuanian American Import and Export Corporation (Litamcorp) on the 3rd of March, 1938. This was the first attempt by Lithuania‘s biggest companies to act jointly and centralized in the world trade market. Litamcorp took over the functions of a middleman, which caused strong discontent and opposition from Prodexlit. This company made an attempt to put pressure on Lithuanian companies through American govermental institutions, escalating the idea that Lithuanians tried to oust Jews from trade market. This disagreement was setlled in a relatively peaceful way because Lithuanian government and business people understood that conflicts might bring damage both to the Lithuanian foreign politics and to its business in the USA. Litamcorp‘s trade in 1938 and 1939 was profitable; moreover, the trade in Lithuanian production expanded. Gradually Lithuanian companys penetrated into the USA market, which was sensitive, had high requirements and great ambitions. Therefore, this period marked a new stage in the activities of Lithuanian food companies. The beginning of II World War limited the trade with the USA, and the Soviet occupation of Lithuania in 1940 brought it to an end

Aukščiausių prieškario Lietuvos valdininkų žmonos : recenzija

Lietuvoje istorikai vis labiau domisi vienos iš lokalios istorijos sričių – šeimos istorijos – tyrinėjimais. Šeimos istorijoje bene didžiausias dėmesys skiriamas moters vaidmeniui. Autorės pateiktas tyrimas išskirtinis tuo požiūriu, jog ji pirmoji taip plačiai analizuoja vienų iš žymiausių prieškario Lietuvos politikų – prezidento A. Smetonos ir premjero J. Tūbelio – žmonų gyvenimą ir veiklą (neaplenkiant vaikų ir anūkų likimų). Pažymėtina, kad Ingrida Jakubavičienė, baigusi LEU Istorijos fakultetą ir VU doktorantūrą, sėkmingai apgynė daktaro disertaciją, skirtą Lietuvos vokiečių–nacių veiklai 1918–1940 m. nušviesti. Tačiau gyvenimas ir darbas Istorinėje prezidentūroje Kaune jos mokslinius interesus pasuko kita linkme. Jaunos mokslininkės dėmesio sulaukė prieškario Lietuvos elito moterys, jų kasdienybė, buitis bei tarpusavio santykiai. I. Jakubavičienę reikia pagirti už sugebėjimą iš esmės nušviesti svarbiausius ir reikšmingiausius šių dviejų moterų, nuolat buvusių to meto visuomenės dėmesio centre, nuopelnus, atskleisti charakteringiausius asmeninius bruožus. Knygos struktūra logiška, formuluojami teiginiai grindžiami naujais šaltiniais ir moksline literatūra. Žavi įdomios ir naujos medžiagos gausa. Ji iliustruota dideliu kiekiu nuotraukų, kurių didžioji dauguma publikuojama pirmą kartą. Tikslo siekiamas nuosekliai, panaudojant ne tik chronologinį, bet ir teminį principus. Autorė rašo lengvai ir nenuobodžiai, priimtinai paprastam skaitytojui. Knyga jau susilaukė didelio dėmesio – pirmas jos pristatymas Istorinėje prezidentūroje Kaune negalėjo sutalpinti visų norinčių. Reikšminiai žodžiai: Moteris; Politika; Tarpukaris; Valdininkas; Valdininkija; Žmona; Žmonos; Bureaucracy; Female; Interwar period; Lithuania; Official; Politic; Wife; Wive

Issue of Lithuania's debt to the United States in the 20th century's fourth decade

Straipsnyje nagrinėjamas Lietuvos skolos JAV klausimas 1934–1940 metais. Kaip tik šis skolos laikotarpis istorikų dar nebuvo analizuotas. Skirtingai nuo ankstesnio laikotarpio, tuo metu jau Lietuvos vyriausybės, pripažindamos skolą, bet, kaip ir kitos šalys, iki pat Antrojo pasaulinio karo ir sovietų okupacijos, nemokėjo nei skolos, nei procentų už ją. Nacių Vokietijai atsisakius mokėti Prancūzijai, Didžiajai Britanijai, Italijai ir kitoms reparacijas už Pirmojo pasaulinio karo padarinius, minėtos valstybės lygiagrečiai nevykdė ir savo finansinių įsipareigojimų JAV. Lietuvos vyriausybė nemokėjimo politiką vykdė atsižvelgdama į didžiųjų valstybių skolininkių poziciją, motyvuodama Lietuvos ekonominiais sunkumais, Klaipėdos krašto praradimu bei atgauto Vilniaus krašto atstatymu ir pan. Lietuvos valdžia elgėsi labai atsargiai, brangino santykius su JAV, ilgai nesiryžo siūlyti amerikiečiams naujos, sau palankios sutarties skolos klausimu. Lietuvos pasiuntinys Povilas Žadeikis, skirtingai nei Lietuvos užsienio reikalų ir finansų ministerijų vadovai, buvo skolos sumažinimo ir jos išmokėjimo šalininkas. Jis matė, kaip jautriai į skolos klausimą žiūrėjo JAV visuomenė ir dalis lietuvių išeivijos, kaip neigiamai skolų nemokėjimą vertino JAV Kongresas. Lietuvos pasiuntinys savo poziciją motyvavo ir tuo, kad ateityje Lietuvai gali prisireikti rimtos moralinės ir materialinės JAV paramos. Skola taip ir nebuvo sumokėta. Antrasis pasaulinis karas ir jo padariniai skolos klausimą padarė nebe svarbiausia JAV problema. Esminiai žodžiai: Lietuva, JAV, karo skola, procentai, Vašingtonas, Vengrija, Povilas Žadeikis, Franklinas D. Rooseveltas, Alfredas Bilmanis, Juozas Urbšys.Like most countries, the Republic of Lithuania (1918–1940) had foreign debts, with the majority owed to the United States. Payment for various goods received after the war, including substandard ones, had to be made in cash. On September 22, 1924, in Washington, a treaty was signed between Lithuania and the US, whereby the Lithuanian government committed to paying $14,531,940 to the United States over a period of 62 years, including interest, even though the actual debt amounted to only$6,045,225. Until 1932, Lithuania dutifully made payments and participated in the debt moratorium authorized by the US government in 1931–1932. By 1934, $1,236,419.26 (including interest) had already been paid. The remaining archival material allows for a more detailed examination of the fate of Lithuania’s debt after 1933, which has not yet been explored by historians. After Nazi-controlled Germany refused to pay war reparations to France, Great Britain, Italy, and other countries, those countries decided not to repay the loans that were linked to the reparations to the United States. The Lithuanian government also took advantage of this situation, and from 1934 to 1940, it argued that it could not pay its debts because Germany had failed to pay reparations to Lithuania, the economic crisis had negatively affected the country’s economy, it had lost significant revenue after the loss of Klaipėda, and the costly restoration of the Vilnius region was underway. They also reminded the US that the goods received in 1919 had been overpriced. The Lithuanian authorities valued their relationship with the United States and carefully shaped their policy on debt, closely monitoring the actions of other countries, especially major debtors such as Great Britain and France. Lithuania’s debt was perhaps the only aspect of Lithuanian-US relations that received more attention from the US government, showing initial interest in Lithuania rather than the other way around. Based on this, political circles in Washington “remembered” Lithuania twice a year. Unlike Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Finance, Lithuanian envoy Povilas Žadeikis advocated debt reduction and its necessary payment. He recognized the sensitive view of the debt issue held by American society and a portion of the Lithuanian diaspora, as well as the negative perception of debt non-payment by the US Congress. The envoy justified his position by emphasizing the potential need for significant moral and material support from the United States in the future and that even the partial repayment of the debt was a matter of Lithuania’s prestige and strengthening its authority in the eyes of the Americans. He consistently urged the Lithuanian government to show initiative and renegotiate the debt payment terms, suggesting that part of the debt be paid with Lithuanian goods. The belief that payment might not be necessary was stronger than the commitment to fulfill the signed obligations or to initiate renegotiations. The belief was further reinforced by the Americans themselves: the press, economists, and certain politicians voiced the opinion that it would be impossible to fully recover all the debts. They proposed either canceling the debts or at least reducing them. Americans suggested using a portion of the debt as US investments within debtor countries: for construction projects, creating joint funds, financing science, education, and so on. Each debtor country would also contribute its own funds. Such proposals were received by the Lithuanian government in 1938, but they did not generate interest because, at that time, Hungary, one of the smaller debtors, was trying to negotiate highly favorable debt repayment conditions, which the Lithuanian government hoped to take advantage of as well. As documents and statistics show, debt repayment would not have significantly affected the Lithuanian economy. However, the unpaid amount of approximately$1.6 million, including interest, from 1934 to 1940 was redirected to finance other needs in Lithuania. The debt was never fully repaid due to the outbreak of World War II and its consequences, which shifted the focus away from the debt issue, turning it into a matter of history. Keywords: Lithuania, USA, war debt, interest, Washington, Hungary, Povilas Žadeikis, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Alfred Bilmanis, Juozas Urbšys

Meeting of Lithuanian representatives in the USA on March 13-14, 1941 in New York

1941 m. kovo 13–14 d. Niujorke, Lietuvos generaliniame konsulate, įvyko eilinis Lietuvos atstovų JAV pasitarimas. Proga pasitarti, išsiaiškinti svarbius dalykus atsirado po to, kai buvo sutiktas kovo 10 d. į Niujorką atvykęs prezidentas Antanas Smetona su šeima. Lietuvos atstovai aptarė savo sunkią finansinę padėtį, galimybę rasti lėšų Lietuvos pabėgėliams šelpti; svarstė sudėtingus JAV lietuvių santykius, jų finansinių fondų reikalus. Lietuvos atstovai sutarė, kad tik sujungus išeivių fondus galima rimčiau finansiškai paremti lietuvių reikalus, pagelbėti Lietuvos diplomatams. Pasitarimų tikslas – nustatyti bendrą poziciją einamaisiais politiniais klausimais ir dėl santykių su JAV lietuviais.On March 13–14, 1941 a regular meeting of Lithuanian representatives in the United States took place at the Consulate General of Lithuania in New York. The opportunity to consult and clarify important issues came after President Antanas Smetona arrived with his family in New York on March 10. Lithuanian representatives discussed their difficult financial situation, the possibility of finding funds to help Lithuanian refugees, the complicated relations between Lithuanians in the USA and the issues of their financial resources. The representatives of Lithuania agreed that only by merging the diaspora funds could it be possible to more seriously financially support Lithuanian affairs and help Lithuanian diplomats. The purpose of the meetings was to establish a common position on current political issues and on relations with Lithuanians in the United States

Lietuvos ir Lenkijos diplomatiniai santykiai 1938-1940 metais: dokumentų rinkinys

Reikšminiai žodžiai: Istoriniai šaltiniai; Diplomatiniai santykiai; Užsienio politika; Lenkija (Lenkijos karalystė. Kingdom of Poland. Poland); Historical sources; Diplomatic relations; Foreign policy; Lithuani