Ponary massacre Lithuania

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Ponary massacre

The Ponary massacre (or Paneriai massacre, Polish: zbrodnia w Ponarach) was the mass-murder of 100,000 people, mostly Jews, by German SD, SS and Lithuanian Nazi Sonderkommando collaborators (Special SD and German Security Police Squad "Ypatingasis būrys" units) during World War II and the Holocaust in Reichskommissariat Ostland. The executions took place between July 1941 and August 1944 near the railway station of Paneriai (Polish: Ponary), now a suburb of Vilnius. Some 70,000 Jews were murdered in Ponary, along with estimated 20,000 Poles and 8,000 Russians, many from nearby Vilnius.


A group of cruel murderers including Juozas Luksa, Viktoras Vitkauskas, Petras Naujokas, Bronius Trumpa and Kazys Sirvys - all of them participated in the annihilation of the Jews of Kaunas and other places.

Background

Following the incorporation of the Republic of Central Lithuania into Poland, the town of Ponary became part of the Wilno Voivodship, (Kresy region). In September 1939, the region was taken over by the Soviets, and after about a month transferred to Lithuania. After the annexation of Lithuania by the Soviet Union, in June 1940, the Soviets began constructing an oil storage facility near Ponary in conjunction with a military airfield. That project was never completed, as in 1941 the area was occupied by Nazi Germany. The Nazis decided to take advantage of the large pits dug for the oil warehouses to dispose of bodies of unwanted locals. Their policy was to kill every Jewish individual in Lithuania, and the Baltic countries became the first place Nazis would mass execute Jews. Out of 70,000 Jews living in Vilnius, only 7,000 would survive the war; the Jewish culture in Vilnius, one of the greatest in Europe, ceased to exist.

Massacre


Ponary massacre on the map of occupied Poland (in top right corner, marked with a red skull).

The massacres began in July, 1941, when Einsatzkommando 9 arrived in Vilnius, rounded up 5,000 Jewish men of Vilnius and took them to Paneriai where they were shot. Further mass killings, often aided by Lithuanian volunteers, from Ypatingasis burys, took place throughout the summer and fall. In September, Vilnius Ghetto was created. By the end of the year, about 21,700 Jews had been killed at Paneriai. The pace of killings slowed in 1942, as slave workers were appropriated by the Wehrmacht. The total number of victims by the end of 1944 was between 70,000 and 100,000. According to post-war exhumation by the forces of Soviet 2nd Belorussian Front the majority (50,000–70,000) of the victims were Polish and Lithuanian Jews from nearby Polish and Lithuanian cities, while the rest were primarily Poles (about 20,000) and Russians (about 8,000). The Polish victims were mostly members of Polish intelligentsia (teachers, professors of the Stefan Batory University like Kazimierz Pelczar, priests like Romuald Świrkowski) and members of Armia Krajowa resistance movement. Among the first victims were approximately 7,500 Soviet POWs shot in 1941 soon after Operation Barbarossa begun. At later stages there were also smaller numbers of victims of other nationalities, including local Russians, Roma and Lithuanians, particularly communists sympathizers and members of general Povilas Plechavičius' Local Lithuanian Detachment who refused to follow German orders.


Professor Kazimierz Pelczar (1894–1943)


The Polish priest Romuald Świrkowski (1886-1942)

As Soviet troops advanced in 1943, the Nazi units tried to cover up the crime under the Aktion 1005 directive. Eighty inmates from the nearby Stutthof concentration camp prisoners were formed into Leichenkommando ("corpse units"). The workers were forced to dig up bodies, pile them on wood and burn them. The ashes were then ground up, mixed with sand and buried. After months of this gruesome work, the brigade managed to escape on April 19, 1944. Eleven of the group survived the war; their testimony contributed to revealing the massacre.

Commemoration

Information about the massacre began to spread as early as 1943, due to the activities and works of Helena Pasierbska, Józef Mackiewicz, Kazimierz Sakowicz and others. Nonetheless the Soviet regime, which supported the resettlement of Poles from the Kresy, found it convenient to deny that Poles or Jews were massacred in Paneriai; the official line was that Paneriai was a site of massacre of Soviet citizens only. This Soviet denial, as well as the fact that it was one of the biggest massacres on Poles in the East, led some - like Polish Prime Minister, Jerzy Buzek - to compare this to the Katyn Massacre. On 22 October 2000, a decade after the fall of communism, in independent Lithuania, an effort by a several Polish organizations resulted in raising a monument (a cross) to fallen Polish citizens, during an official ceremony in which representatives of both Polish and Lithuanian governments (Bronisław Komorowski, Polish Minister of Defence, and his Lithuanian counterpart), as well as several NGOs, took place.

The site of the massacre is commemorated by a memorial to the victims of the Holocaust, a memorial to the Polish victims and a small museum. The executions at Paneriai, are currently a matter of an investigation by the Gdańsk branch of the Polish Institute of National Remembrance.


Lithuania Ponary Monument

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Kazimierz Pelczar

Kazimierz Pelczar (1894–1943) was a Polish academic and physician. Professor of the Stefan Batory University in Vilnius and pioneer of oncology research and treatment, he was murdered in the Ponary massacre.



Biography

Kazimierz Pelczar was born on 2 August 1894 in Truskawiec. His father, Z. Pelczar, was a physician himself, owner of a sanatorium and author of about 20 articles. In the years 1912–1914 he studied medicine at Jagiellonian University in Kraków. During the First World War he was conscripted by the Austro-Hungarian Army, he was taken prisoner of war by the Russian Army in 1915 and soon joined the Red Cross. After the First World War he joined Polish Army and served as a physician for the Siberian Division (1918–1920). In 1920 he returned to the newly independent Poland, finishing studies at the Jagiellonian University where in 1925 he got his PhD.


Soldiers of 5th Polish Rifle (Siberian) Division in transport through Siberia,
winter 1919/1920

During the following years he worked in Collegium Medicum in Kraków, as well as in Germany and France. In 1929 he got his habilitation, and in 1930 he was invited to the Stefan Batory University in Vilnius, Wilno Voivodship in Poland, to head the Department of General and Experimental Pathology of Faculty of Medicine (from 1930 to 1939). He also was the head of Department of Bacteriology (1935–1937), the dean (school year 1937-1938) and vice-dean in the following year. Under his leadership the Vilnius Department of Medicine flourished, with many important publications, and with students who would went to become notable academics and physicians themselves (like professor J. Olszewski of Toronto, member of the Moscow Academy of Sciences M. Beklemishev, and J. Sztachelski, Poland's Minster of Health). In 1936 he organized the international 4th Congress Against Cancer in Vilnius.

In May 1931 noting the lack of oncology-related health care in the Vilnius region he established the Institute of Oncology and Clinic, which constantly grew under his supervision. He was personally engaged in treatment of many patients, in addition to his duties as a lecturer and researcher. He was a member of several Polish and international oncological organizations.

With the coming signs of war, he was offered positions by many other universities - from Warsaw, Rome, Paris, London and New York - but refused. After the German and Soviet invasions of Poland in 1939, Vilnius was occupied by the Soviet Union. Professor Pelczar helped the Polish Red Cross provided care for thousands of refugees. In 1941 after German invasion of the Soviet Union, he continued to help various refugees, among them, Jews hiding from the Nazis, and working with medical services of Polish resistance organization Armia Krajowa. At night, from 16 to 17 September 1943, he was arrested by the Lithuanian Security Police ('Sauguma') in a standard retaliatory actions against the Armia Krajowa, whose members on 15 September assassinated a Lithuanian Gestapo collaborator, member of Lithuanian security police, Marianas Padabas. Out of 100 arrested members of Polish intelligentsia, 10 were randomly selected and executed on the morning of September 17, becoming ones of the 100 000 victims who died in Ponary. Professor Pelczar was among them, along with fellow professor of the Stefan Batory university, Mieczysław Gutkowski, 2 Polish army officers, 3 officials, a lawyer and 2 engineers. A day later an order from Germany ordered his release - but it was too late.

Works

The main fields of medicine in which he worked and published many publications were oncology, arthrology, cardiology, hematology and halth-resort science. In total, he published about 85 large scientific works in Polish, French and German and many popular articles in everyday press.

Selected works:

* "Transplantation of malignant tumours" (Paris, 1928)
* "Aleksin and cancer" (Paris, 1931)
* "Importance of inheritance in human pathology" (1932)
* "Repiratory System and Blood" (Wilno, 1936)
* "Pathology of Respiratory System and Blood" (Wilno, 1936)
* "Pathology of pancreas" (1937)
* "General Pathology" (Wilno, 1938),

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The Lithuanian jews

Lithuanian Jews under the Russian Empire

In 1795 the final Third Partition ended the existence of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the former lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuanian became part of the Russian partition.

By the end of the nineteenth century, many of Lithuania's Jews were part of the general flight of Jews from Eastern Europe to the New World due to conflicts and pogroms engulfing the Russian Empire and the anti-Semitism of the Russian czars.

Millions of Jews, including tens of thousands of Lithuanian Jews, emigrated to the United States of America. Many Lithuanian Jews emigrated to South Africa, which became famous as a haven for its 120,000 Jews who were spared the Holocaust. A small number also emigrated to the British Mandate of Palestine.

Republic of Lithuania (1918–1940)

Lithuanian Jews took active part in Freedom wars of Lithuania. Then on December 29, 1918, Lithuania's government called for volunteers to defend the Lithuanian state; from 10,000 volunteers there were more than 500 Jews. Altogether more than 3000 Jews served in the Lithuanian army between 1918 and 1923. Initially, the Jewish community was given a wide amount of autonomy in education and taxation through community councils, or kehillot.

By 1934, in a nationalist trend that reflected throughout Europe, the government scaled back much of this autonomy, and cases of anti-semitism increased.

During the Soviet annexation and occupation, cadres of communist Jews assumed significant roles in the NKVD and local communist nomenklatura. This was a common trend throughout the Soviet Union. Secular Jews, because of their literacy and prewar attachment to Communist ideals, became the visible image of the communist regime and were considered disloyal fifth columnists. Other Jews, particularly religious Jews and Zionists, were treated harshly by the Soviet-imposed communist government in Lithuania prior to the German invasion.

Because of the depradations of the communist regime, some Lithuanians blamed Jews, took spontaneous actions against them, and otherwise participated in German-led campaigns of harassment and mass murder. It is impossible to disaggregate the identity of the victims and the motives of the perpetrators as originating in anti-Semitism, anti-Bolshevism, or some combination of both.

The Second World War and the Holocaust


Jews beaten to death by Lithuanians with iron bars in Kovno

The Lithuanian Republic was occupied by Soviet Union in June 1940, and one year later, in June 1941, occupied by the Germans. During World War II, 91% of Lithuanian Jews were killed, almost all the Jews who had not managed to leave Lithuania and its environs. This was one of the highest casualty rates in the Holocaust.


The Choral Synagogue of Vilna, the only synagogue in the city to survive the Nazi holocaust and post-war Soviet oppression.

The only European yeshiva to survive the Holocaust was the Mir yeshiva. With help of the Japanese consul in Kaunas, Chiune Sugihara, its leaders and students managed to escape to the Shanghai ghetto.


The Japanese consul in Kaunas, Chiune Sugihara

The Soviet era (1944-1990)

Following the expulsion of Nazi German forces in 1944, The Soviets reannexed Lithuania as a Soviet republic, and prosecuted a number of Lithuanians for collaborating with the Nazis. Sites of wartime massacres, such as the Ninth Fort near Kaunas became monuments. To avoid nationalist themes, the memorials were declared in the name of all victims, though the clear majority of them are Jewish. Most survivors never returned, moving to Israel instead. Throughout Soviet rule, there was tension between the Jewish community and the authorities over the right to emigrate to Israel, and how to properly commemorate the Holocaust. The majority of Jews in Soviet Lithuania arrived after the war, with Russian and Yiddish as their primary language.

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Poles in Lithuania


Waldemar Tomaszewski, a Lithuanian Pole

The Polish minority in Lithuania numbers 234,989 persons, and at 6.74% of the population of Lithuania (the current population of Lithuania is estimated at approximately 3,350,400 people), it forms the largest ethnic minority in modern Lithuania and one of the largest Polish diaspora groups in a former Soviet republic. Poles are concentrated in the Vilnius Region (Polish: Wileńszczyzna). People of Polish ethnicity have lived on the territory of modern Lithuania for many centuries.

The relationship between the two groups is long and complex. The countries were united during the era of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, but this ended after that state was partitioned in the late 18th century. Both countries succeeded in regaining their independence in the wake of World War I, but hostilities over the ownership of Vilnius (Polish: Wilno) and the surrounding region, broke out in 1920. The disputes became moot after the Soviet Union exercised its authority over both countries during and immediately after World War II. Some tensions over the Vilnius Region resurfaced after Lithuania regained its independence in 1990, but have since remained at manageable levels. Poland was highly supportive of the Lithuanian independence, and became one of the first countries to recognize independent Lithuania, despite apprehensions over Lithuania's treatment of its Polish minority.

Statistics

According to the Lithuanian census of 2001, the Polish minority in Lithuania numbers 234,989 persons. The Polish minority (or Polonia), forming 6.74% of the population of Lithuania, is the largest ethnic minority in modern Lithuania; the second largest being Russian minority in Lithuania. Poles are concentrated in the Vilnius region. The vast majority of Poles live in Vilnius county (216,012 people, forming 26% of the county's population); Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, has 101,526 Poles, who form 19.3% of the city's population. Especially large Polish communities are found in Vilnius district municipality (61.3% of the population) and Šalčininkai (Soleczniki) district municipality (79.5%).

Languages

Out of the 234,989 Poles in Lithuania, 187,918 (80.0%) consider the Polish language to be their mother tongue. 22,439 Poles (9.5%) speak Russian as their first language, while 17,233 (7.3%) speak Lithuanian. 6,279 Poles (2.7%) did not indicate their first language. The remaining 0.5% speaks various other languages.

Education

As of 1980, about 20% of Polish-Lithuanian students chose Polish at school. In the same year, about 60-70% of rural Polish community chose Polish. However, even in towns with predominantly Polish population the share of Polish language education was less than the percentage of Poles. Even though, historically Poles tended to strongly oppose Russification, one of the most important reasons to choose Russian language education was the absence of Polish language college and university learning in the USSR, and during Soviet times Polish students were not allowed to get college/university education directly in Poland. Only in 2007, the first small branch of the Polish Białystok University opened in Vilnius. In 1980 there were 16,400 school students instructed in Polish. Their number declined to 11,400 in 1990. In independent Lithuania between 1990 and 2001 the number of Polish mother tongue children attending schools with Polish as the language of instruction doubled to over 22,300, then gradually decreased to 18,392 in 2005.

History

People of Polish ethnicity have lived in Lithuania for many centuries. Many Poles in Lithuania today are the descendants of Polonized Lithuanians or Ruthenians. Historically, the number of Poles on modern Lithuanian territory has varied during different periods. Polish culture began to influence the Grand Duchy of Lithuania around the time of the Union of Lublin (16th century), and during the time of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569-1795) much of the Lithuanian nobility was polonized and joined the Polish-Lithuanian szlachta class. Reformation gave another impetus to the spread of the Polish language, as the Bible and other religious texts were translated from Latin to Polish. In 1697 Polish replaced Ruthenian as an chancellery language. In 19th century peasants of Polish nationality started to appear in Lithuania, mostly by Polonization of Lithuanian peasants in Dzūkija and to a lesser degree in Aukštaitija.

A large portion of the Vilnius area was controlled by the Second Polish Republic during the interwar period, particularly the area of the Republic of Central Lithuania, which contained a significant Polish speaking population (for example, the Wilno Voivodeship in 1931 contained 59.7% Polish speakers and only 5.2% Lithuanian speakers). From 1918 to 1921 several conflicts - such as the activity of Polish Military Organization, Sejny uprising (that was met with massive outrage in Lithuania) and discovered attempted of Polish coup on Lithuanian government. From the documents stolen in POW headquarters safe in Vilnius and given to Prime Minister of Lithuania Augustinas Voldemaras it is clear, that this plot was directed by Józef Piłsudski himself., the Polish-Lithuanian War and Żeligowski's Mutiny contributed to worsening of Polish-Lithuanian relations; increasingly Polish people were viewed with suspicion in Lithuania. The loss of Vilnius was a stunning blow to Lithuanian aspirations and identity, and the unrelenting irredentist demand for its return became one of the most important elements of Lithuanian political and social life in the interwar period. The irredentist campaign resulted in the emergence of feelings of hatred and revenge directed against the Poles in the Lithuanian society. In fact, the largest social organization in interwar Lithuania was the League for the liberation of Vilnius (Vilniaus Vadavimo Safunga, or WS), which trumpeted the irredentist line in its magazine "Our Vilnius" (Mūsų Vilnius)."

Hence in the interwar period Polish minority was persecuted by the administration of independent Lithuania. The Lithuanian census of 1923 showed that Poles constituted 65,600 of Lithuania inhabitants (3.2% of total population). In interwar Lithuania, people declaring Polish ethicity were officially described as polonized Lithuanians who merely needed to be re-Lithuanianized, Polish-owned land were confistacted, Polish religious services, schools, publications, and voting rights were restricted.

During the WWII expulsions and shortly after the war, the Soviet Union, during its struggle to establish the People's Republic of Poland, forcibly resettled many Poles who lived in the Lithuanian SSR and were seen as 'enemies of the state' into Siberia. After the war, in 1945-1948, the Soviet Union allowed to leave 197,000 of Poles to Poland; in 1956-1959, another 46,600 were able to leave. In 1950s the remaining Polish minority was a target of several attempted campaigns of Lithuanization by Communist Party of Lithuania, which tried to ban any teaching in Polish language; those attempts where however vetoed by Moscow which saw them as too nationalistic. The Soviet census of 1959 showed 230,100 Poles concentrated in the Vilnius region (8.5% of the Lithuanian SSR's population). The Polish minority increased in size, but more slowly than other ethnic groups in Lithuania; the last Soviet census of 1989 showed 258,000 Poles (7.0% of the Lithuanian SSR's population). The Polish minority, subject in the past to massive, often voluntary Russification and Sovietization, and recently to mostly voluntary processes of Lithuanization, shows many and increasing signs of assimilation with Lithuanians. However some young Poles don't speak Lithuanian fluently, so they prefer to study in Poland or in Polish language University of Białystok branch in Vilnius, rather than in Lithuanian universities.

Some Poles living southwards of Vilnius speak a dialect of Polish, containing many substratical relics from Lithuanian and Belarusian.

Current situation


Grey: Areas with majority Polish population in modern Lithuania. Red: pre-WWII Polish-Lithuanian border

The situation of the Polish minority in Lithuania has caused occasional tensions in Polish-Lithuanian relations during the late 20th and early 21st centuries. When Lithuania declared its independence from the Soviet Union in 1990, Gorbachev sought help from the Polish minority. Polish minority, still remembering the 1950s attempts to ban Polish language, was much more supportive of the Soviet Union and afraid that the new Lithuanian government might want to reintroduce the Lithuanization policies. According to surveys conducted in the spring of 1990, 47% of Poles in Lithuania supported the pro-Soviet Communist party (in contrast to 8% support among ethnic Lithuanians), while 35% supported Lithuanian independence. The regional authorities in Vilnius and Šalčininkai region, under Polish leadership, with support from Soviet authorities, argued for the establishment of an autonomous region in South Eastern Lithuania, a request that was declined by the Lithuanian government and left lasting resentment among some residents. The same Polish regional leaders later voiced support for the Soviet coup attempt of 1991 in Moscow. Government of Poland however never supported the autonomist tendencies of the Polish minority in Lithuania.

Current tensions arise regarding Polish education and spelling of names. The United States Department of State stated, in a report issued in 2001, that the Polish minority had issued complaints with regard to its status in Lithuania, and that members of the Polish Parliament criticized the government of Lithuania over alleged discrimination against the Polish minority. In recent years, the Lithuanian government budgets 40,000 litas (~$15,000) for the needs of the Polish minority (out of the 7 million litas budget of the Department of National Minorities). In 2006 Polish Foreign Minister Stefan Meller asserted that Polish educational institutions in Lithuania are severely underfunded. Similar concerns were voiced in 2007 by a Polish parliamentary commission. According to a report issued by the European Union Fundamental Rights Agency in 2004, Poles in Lithuania were the second least-educated minority group in Lithuania. Branch of University of Białystok in Vilnius educates mostly members of the Polish minority.

A report by the Council of Europe, issued in 2007, stated that on the whole, minorities were integrated quite well into the everyday life of Lithuania. The report expressed a concern with Lithuanian nationality law, which contains a right of return clause. The citizenship law was under discussion during 2007; it was deemed unconstitutional on 13 November 2006. A proposed constitutional amendment would allow the Polish minority in Lithuania to apply for Polish passports. Several members of the Lithuanian Seimas, including Gintaras Songaila and Andrius Kubilius, publicly stated that two members of the Seimas who represent Polish minority there (Waldemar Tomaszewski and Michal Mackiewicz) should resign, because they accepted the Karta Polaka.

Lithuanian law stipulates that everyone who has Lithuanian citizenship and resides within the country has to forcibly Lithuanianise their name (i.e. spell it in the Lithuanian phonetics and alphabet); for example, the name Kleczkowski has to be spelled Klečkovski in official documents. Representatives of the Lithuanian government demanded removal of Polish names of the streets in Maišiagala (Mejszagoła), Raudondvaris (Czerwony Dwór), Riešė (Rzesza) and Sudervė (Suderwa). Tensions have been reported between the Lithuanian Roman Catholic clergy and its Polish parishioniers in Lithuania. The Seimas voted against foreign surnames in Lithuanian passports.

The situation is further escalated by extremist groups on both sides. Lithuanian extremist nationalist organization Vilnija seeks the Lithuanization of ethnic Poles living in the Eastern part of Lithuania. The former Polish ambassador to Lithuania, Jan Widacki, has criticized some Polish organizations in Lithuania as being extreme far-right and nationalist. Jan Sienkiewicz has criticized Jan Widacki [58].

In late May 2008, Association of Poles in Lithuania issued a letter, addressed to the government of Lithuania, complaining about anti-minority (primarily, anti-Polish) rhetoric in media, citing upcoming parliamentary elections as a motive, and asking for better treatment of the ethnic minorities. The Association has also filed a complain with the Lithuanian prosecutor, asking for investigation of the issue.

Lithuania has not ratified the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.

Surnames

The surnames of Lithuanian Poles are of Polish forms, many of them ending in suffixes -e/owski, -e/owicz, rarer -(ń)ski and more rare -cki (Lithuanian spelling -e/ovski, -e/ovič, -(n)ski, -cki), are commonly the same as their counterparts in Poland and usually has cognates among Lithuanian surnames, what reflects the historical living in the common cultural area, ethnic, cultural or linguistic assimilation, common use of the same Slavic patronymic suffixes: Pol. -e/owski, -e/owicz : Lith. -(i)auskas, -e/avičius : Belarusian -оўскі, -e/овіч. The suffixes -e/owski, -(ń)ski, -cki is historically characteristic to Polish names and -e/ovič − to Belarusian names. The surname ending -e/ovič, which is more frequent among Lithuanians (-e/-avičius), Belarusians and Lithuanian Poles is rarer in Poland.

The frequency of Lithuanian-specific surnames among the surnames of Lithuanian Poles is moderate. The sketchy examples include anthroponyms of two roots − Talmont, Narvoiš, Bowgerd, Dowgiało, Golmont, Žybort etc.; with Lithuanian patronymic suffixes – Pieciun, Wickun, Mikalajun, Masojć, Matulaniec; with Lithuanian diminutive suffixes − Jurgiel, Wierbiel, Jusel, Drawnel, Rekiel, Szuksztul; Lithuanian root − Garszwo, Plokszto, Pażuś, Gejgall, Szyllo, Wojsznis; Lithuanian root with a Slavic suffix − Mieżewicz, Pażusińskaja, Dziedulewicz, Gilewicz, Błaszkiewicz, Balsewicz, Dajnowicz, Tarejkowicz, Narkiewicz.

Measuring the historical ethnic "charge" of a surname has certain specific features, as, for example, there were many surnames made from the same Christian names and Slavic-form suffixes used by Lithuanian, Belarusian and Polish speakers, surnames could also be made from Lithuanian root and Slavic suffix, Belarusian-characteristic root and Polish-characteristic suffix and so on.

Organizations

The Lithuanian arm of the Poles in Lithuania is organized by several groups and associations.

The Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos lenkų rinkimų akcija, Polish: Akcja Wyborcza Polaków na Litwie) is an ethnic minority-based political party formed in 1994, able to exert significant political influence in the administrative districts where Poles form a majority or significant minority. This party has held 1-2 seats in the parliament of Lithuania for the past decade; in the last general elections it got about 4% of votes. The party is more active in local politics and controls several municipal councils.

The Association of Poles in Lithuania (Polish: Związek Polaków na Litwie) is an organization formed in 1989 to bring together Polish activists in Lithuania. It numbers between 6,000 to 11,000 members. It defends the civil rights of the Polish minority and engages in educational, cultural and economic activities.

Prominent Poles

Prior to 1940

* Gabriel Narutowicz - president of Poland
* Józef Piłsudski - Polish statesman
* Wiktor Budzyński - politician

Today

* Dariusz Ławrynowicz (Lithuanian: Darjuš Lavrinovič) - basketball player
* Krzysztof Ławrynowicz (Lithuanian: Kšyštof Lavrinovič) - basketball player
* Artur Ludkowski (Lithuanian: Artur Liudkovski) - former deputy mayor of Vilnius
* Jarosław Niewierowicz (Lithuanian: Jaroslav Neverovič) - former vice-minister of foreign affairs
* Czesław Okińczyc (Lithuanian: Česlav Okinčic) - politician, journalist
* Artur Płokszto (Lithuanian: Artur Plokšto) - secretary of Ministry of National Defence
* Leokadia Poczykowska (Lithuanian: Leokadija Počikovska) - politician
* Jan Sienkiewicz (Lithuanian: Jan Senkevič) - politician, journalist
* Waldemar Tomaszewski (Lithuanian: Valdemar Tomaševski) - leader of Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania
* Jarosław Wołkonowski - dean of branch of University of Białystok in Vilnius

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Unresolved Problems of Polish community in Lithuania as a Menace to the Existence of Poles

The Polish community in Lithuania has been struggling against various problems for many years which despite the promises of the authorities in Vilnius are not resolved. What is worse, after Lithuania's accession to the European Union some of the standards concerning the rights of national minorities in Lithuania were not only not improved, but even a regress was marked in complying with them. The situation in which the Polish community has found itself after 5 years of Lithuania‘s presence in the EU, namely the questions concerning education, public use of the Polish language in the territories where compact concentration of Poles is observed in the Vilnius district, worsening election standards or longstanding problems of estate restitution (especially land restitution) raises serious concerns about the existense of Polish minority as a community.

In the field of education the greatest threat to the Polish schools is posed by the decision No 257 of March 2008 by the government which refers to the criteria of the formation of classes. The decision of the government wants to equalize the requirements for the formation of classes in national minorities’ schools and in Lithuanian schools. The same criteria in the formation of classes seem to be discriminating the schools of national minorities, as the minorities are not able to match the numerical requirements posed to the dominating Lithuanian majority in the state for the objective reasons. Overstated numerical requirements for the formation of classes put in danger more than a half of rural schools with the Polish teaching language.

Too low pupil‘s basket and the double subordination of Polish and Lithuanian schools in the Vilnius region are another examples of a threat to the Polish education in Lithuania. The over-financing coefficient of pupil‘s basket for schools of national minorities is only 15 percent in relation to Lithuanian schools (when the real needs for additional funding for Polish schools are estimated by the Polish Educational Society to amount to 30-40 percent). Lots of schools with Lithuanian teaching language in the Vilnius district are exclusively subordinated not only to municipalities but directly to government units what makes them being treated as privileged by the state.

The Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Lithuania has been making inroads on the Polish language status in Polish schools in the Vilnius district. This way without any logical argument the final examination of the Polish language has been eliminated, still the efforts to replace the teaching of particular subjects in Polish language with the Lithuanian language are being made.

The Polish language is also systematically eliminated by the central authorities from the public use even in the localities and communes of Vilnius district where Poles constitute obvious majority. Contrary to the Council‘s of Europe Framework Convention for Protection of National Minorities which was signed and ratified by Lithuania with no exeptions, as well as contrary to the domestic law on national minorities (the Article 4 of which states that ‘in the local offices and organizations of territorial administering units where compact concentrations of representatives of any national minority exist, the language of such minority (local language) can be used alongside the state language‘. Moreover, the Article 5 of the law states that ‘in the administrative-territorial units where compact concentrations of representatives of any national minority exist the language of such minority (local language) can be used alongside the state language in informative superscriptions’. Today the authorities of Lithuania try to demand from the local governments of Vilnius and Šalčininkai districts to remove the dual (in Polish and Lithuanian) street name plates by adopting legal and administrative pressure. The authorities of the mentioned municipalities guarding national minorities‘ rights are harassed in this field by the government representative by courts which impose fines for using dual street name plates.

The issue of the original spelling of the names and surnames of Lithuanian Poles has not been solved for 15 years despite numerous promises of the Lithuanian authorities. Although this issue is symbolic, it is however showing the attitude of Lithuanian political elite towards the citizens belonging to national minorities. The Constitutional Court of Lithuania recently pronounced a judgement claiming that the surnames in ones’ identification cards should be written using Lithuanian characters and diacritics, whereas original names and surnames using original characters of the citizens of not Lithuanian nationality could be put down as the supporting inscription in the place where the data concerning the place of residence or blood group of a citizen is recorded.

In Lithuania, since the dawn of her independence a law on estate restitution, robbed by the Soviet regime, for citizens exists. Following the law, thousands of Poles from Vilnius and Vilnius district requested for the land restitution, which before the last world war was the property of their ancestors. Unfortunately, after 20 years of the process of restitution the procedure has practically stopped (it should be mentioned that for the Lithuania‘s citizens of Polish nationality mostly) mere in Vilnius and in the neighbourghoods. While land was returned to its former owners for almost 100 percent of claimants all across the country, in some communes near Vilnius only about 30 percent of land was returned and only 17 percent in Vilnius. The worst results of the process of reprivatisation in the capital and its regions were influenced by both politics of the state authorities (who wanted to ‚transfer‘ as much as possible land from distant parts of the country to the territories near Vilnius under the guise of reprivatisation and this way dilute compact concentrations of Lithuanian Poles) and all embracing corruption in the process, the effect of which hundreds or even thousands unlawful behaviour cases of officials in relation to former legal owners are observed.

The elections in Lithuania simply confirm the sad fact that authorities just want to weaken the power of Polish votes at most. In order to do this the threshold of 5 percent was introduced for the political organizations of national minorities as well during the election to the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania in the middle of 90s.

This barrier is too difficult to overcome for the Polish community that makes 7 percent of all the Lithuania‘s inhabitants. Moreover, single-mandate constituencies (the Lithuanian parliament is elected partially from national rolls and partially from single-mandate constituencies) in the Vilnius district were structured that way thus any constituency (except Vilnius-Šalčininkai district) would not be inhabitet by Poles mostly. Meanwhile, if the requirements of the Framework Convention , which prohibit distracting compact concentrations of national minorities in the constituencies formations would be applied, the Polish national minority in Lithuania which amounts to 240 thousand of people would have even 4 or 5 constituencies with the majority of Poles.

The restriction of election rights as well as the obstruction of election campaign of Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania (EAPL) (e.g. by not allowing to use the Polish language during the election campaign) caused the number of the members of Polish nationality of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania to decrease from 10 to 3 members in comparison with the begining of 90s. Such deacrese in the number of Polish members (although in the coming elections the support for EAPL continues to rise from 2 to 4.8 percent in the mentioned period) severely hampers the defense of political rights of the Polish community in Lithuania.

[tuftabis]

A very good internet finds , vastly broadening the knowledge. But why the Poles in Lithuania are a part of Ponary? They do deserve a seperate thread, don't they ;D ;D

[pieter]

20,000 Poles were massacred in Ponary (Paneriai in Lithuanian), and next to that more Poles were murdered by Lithuanian Nazi-collaborators.

Polish–Lithuanian relations during World War II

The issue of Polish and Lithuanian relations during the World War II is a controversial one, and some modern Lithuanian and Polish historians still differ in their interpretations of the related events, many of which are related to the Lithuanian collaboration with Nazi Germany and the operations of Polish resistance organization of Armia Krajowa on territories inhabited by Lithuanians and Poles. In recent years a number of common academic conferences have started to bridge the gap between Lithuanian and Polish interpretations, but significant differences still remain.

Background

Polish–Lithuanian relations were strained during the interwar period, mostly due to the conflict over the Vilnius (Wilno) Region (which had a Polish majority but was seen by Lithuanians as their historical capital). This conflict resulted in enmity within local communities and the mutual harsh treatment of the Polish and Lithuanian ethnic minorities living in both countries. The tensions had begun to diminish by early spring of 1938 (see 1938 Polish ultimatum to Lithuania), when both nations restored normal relations, and telephone, mail, rail, and road communications were established. The re-approachment was however stopped when Germany and Soviet Union invaded Poland in September 1939. Lithuania remained independent at the beginning of World War II, however it was soon occupied by the Soviet Union, then by Germany and then again by the Soviet Union, which had earlier annexed it as one of its republics.

Conflicting ideologies

Vilnius Region had a mixed population of often conflicted Polish, Jewish, Belarusian and Lithuanian communities. This was further aggravated by Germans forcibly relocating Lithuanian families to the region from Western parts of Lithuania. During the war these conflicts resulted in thousands of deaths, as groups on both sides used the opportunities offered by the war to commit violent acts against those they perceived as enemies.

A significant number of Lithuanians started collaborating with the German occupiers, a prominent example being the Lithuanian Activist Front, many members of whom came from the National Unionists whose pre-war slogan was 'Lithuania for Lithuanians'. The Lithuanian government, encouraged by the Germans, hoped that the Germans would grant Lithuania as much autonomy as it has granted Slovakia. Even through LAF faded after 1941, and Germans never granted the Lithuanians the autonomy they desired, elements within the Lithuanian government, collaborating with Germans, engaged in the program of ethnic and racial purification, targeting Jews, Poles and other non-Lithuanian ethnic minorities. Anti-Polish rhetoric and violence became common under the Juozas Ambrazevičius government in 1944 (followed by the reign of Petras Kubiliūnas). Kubiliūnas led the puppet-Council by the Nazi Ziwilvervaltung led by Generalkommissar of Lithuania Theodor Adrian von Renteln. Some Lithuanian clergy called for pogroms of Poles, stating that the Poles were worse than the Jews and offered indulgencies for killing Poles. A Lithuanian professor wrote a pamphlet on "Why Should we hate the Poles", and LAF campaigned for the establishment of ghettos for Poles, requirement for them to wear identifying badges, and reduction of their food rations, claiming that "under Soviets, we killed 50% of Poles, under Germans we will kill the other 50%". One of the most infamous series of incidents took place in the Paneriai (Ponary) district of Vilnius, where from 1941 to 1943 Germans and Lithuanians massacred tens of thousands of Jews and Poles.

Around 1943 one of the political factions of the Government Delegate's Office at Home for the Vilnius region, the Democratic Union of Vilnius (Wileńska Koncentracja Demokratyczna) – the underground union of leftist Polish parties, partly because of the pro-Nazi stance of Lithuanian authorities, and partly influenced by the nationalist stance of Polish Endecja party, stated a plan to occupy Lithuania after the war, submit it under the rule of Polish General Commissariat and to re-educate "corrupt" Lithuanians. On March 1, 1944, Polish Convent of Political Parties issued declaration expressing preparation to fight for Eastern territories (Vilnius, Hrodna, Lviv, Lida, Navahradak, and Pinsk). In 1944 Polish underground published letter of AK commander of Vilnius region demanding all Lithuanians to leave the region. It must be noted, however, that such declarations of local Polish politicians differed significantly from the official statement and actions of the Polish government in exile, which was the only country among the anti-Nazi coalition which declared its support for the cause of Lithuanian post-war independence.

Although Lithuanian and Polish resistance movements had common enemies – Nazi Germany and Soviet Union – they never became allies. The main obstacle in forming an alliance was the question of Vilnius – the Polish government in exile and the Polish resistance regarded Vilnius as part of Poland, while Lithuanian resistance regarded Vilnius as the capital of Lithuania. Lithuanian resistance saw Soviet Union as the main enemy and Nazi Germany as its secondary enemy. Polish resistance saw Nazi Germany as the main enemy and had no clear consensus on the Soviet Union. Only in 1944–1945, after the Soviet reoccupation, did Lithuanian and Polish resistance start cooperating in the fight against the Soviets.

Armed conflict

Lithuanian authorities had been aiding Germans in their actions against Poles since the very beginning of German occupation in 1941, which resulted in the deaths of thousands of Poles. Thousands of Poles were killed by Lithuanian collaborators working with Nazis (like the German subordinated Lithuanian Security Police or the Local Lithuanian Detachment under the command of general Povilas Plechavičius, many more were deported into Germany as slave labour) Tadeusz Piotrowski notes that thousands of Poles died at the hand of Lithuanian collaborators, and tens of thousands were deported.


Aleksander Krzyżanowski

In autumn 1943 Armia Krajowa started operations against the Lithuanian collaborative organization, the Lithuanian Secret Police, which has been aiding Germans in their operation since its very creation. Polish political and military underground cells were created all over Lithuania, Polish partisan attacks were usual not only in Vilnius Region but across demarcation line as well. Soon a significant proportion of AK operations became directed against Nazi Germany allied Lithuanian Police and local Lithuanian administration. During the first half of 1944 AK killed hundreds of Lithuanians serving in Nazi auxiliary units or organizations: policemen, members of village self-defence units, servants of local administration, soldiers of the Lithuanian Territorial Defense Force and other Nazi collaborators. Civilians on both sides increasingly numbered among the casualties.

In response, Lithuanian police, who had murdered hundreds of Polish civilians since 1941, increased its operations against the Poles, executing many Polish civilians; this further increased the vicious circle and the previously simmering Polish–Lithuanian conflict over the Vilnius Region deteriorated into a low-level civil war under German occupation. The scale of disruption grew over time; Lithuanian historian Stanislovas Buchaveckas noted, for example, that AK was able to paralyze the activities of many Lithuanian educational institutions in 1943.

In May 1944 in the battle of Murowana Oszmianka AK dealt a significant blow to the Lithuanian Territorial Defense Force which has been terrorizing local Polish population. At that time, Aleksander Krzyżanowski, AK commander of Vilnius region, commanded over 9000 armed Armia Krajowa partisans.

On June 23, 1944, in response to an earlier massacre on June 20 of 37 Polish villagers in Glitiškės (Glinciszki) by Lithuanian Security Police rogue AK troops from the unit of the 5th Vilnian Home Army Brigade (under the command of Zygmunt Szendzielarz "Łupaszko" who was not present at the events) committed a massacre of Lithuanian policemen and civilians, at Dubingiai (Dubinki), where 27 Lithuanians, including women and children were murdered. These rogue units were acting against specific orders of Krzyżanowski which forbade reprisals against civilians. In total, the number of victims of Polish revenge actions at the end of June 1944 in Dubingiai and neighbouring towns of Joniškis, Inturkė, Bijutiškis, and Giedraičiai, was 70–100 Lithuanians, including many civilians. Massacre at Dubingiai was the only known massacre carried out by units of AK. Further escalation by either side was cut short by the Soviet occupation of Vilnius region two weeks later.

Polish and Lithuanian historians have to yet reach an agreement on the number of victims. Polish-Lithuanian historian Jarosław Wołkonowski puts the number of the Lithuanians killed by rogue AK elements at under 100. An estimate by a Lithuanian investigator Rimas Bružas is that about 500 Lithuanian civilians were killed by Poles during the war. A state commission was established by the Government of Lithuania to evaluate activities of Armia Krajowa in Lithuania which had to present conclusions by 1 December 1993. Not a single member of Armia Krajowa, many veterans of which live in Lithuania, has been charged with any crimes as of 2001. A Lithuanian historian Arūnas Bubnys stated that there were no mass murders carried by AK (with the only exception being Dubingai), but that AK was guilty of some war crimes against individuals or selected families; he also notes that any accusations of genocide are false and have an underlying political motive, among them a counteraction to the accusations of widespread German–Lithuanian collaboration and crimes committed by units such as the Lithuanian Secret Police (see also Holocaust in Lithuania).

Postwar developments

The postwar assessment of AK's activities in Lithuania was a matter of controversy. In Communist Poland the actions of AK in general, and particularly the actions of commanders and units operating in Lithuania, were presented in a very negative light (see cursed soldiers). The Communist regime executed or imprisoned commanders of the AK en masse after the war for political reasons, preventing any fair legal examination of crimes they may have committed during wartime. Zygmunt Szendzielarz "Łupaszka", after several years in the postwar underground, was arrested by the Polish Communist authorities, sentenced to death and executed on February 8, 1951 for his anti-communist activities. The assessment of his actions outside of Communist Poland was different, and in 1988 he was posthumously awarded the Virtuti Militari, the highest Polish military award, by the Polish government in exile. Similarly the Lithuanian general Povilas Plechavičius who was engaged in fighting the Polish and Soviet partisans received a medal from Lithuanian president in post-Soviet Lithuania. For these reasons, the AK is considered to be a controversial organisation in today's Lithuania in a manner somewhat similar to the view taken of Soviet partisans. Similarly, in Lithuania, many heroes of Lithuanian resistance against the Soviets are blamed as Nazi collaborators who cooperated in the murder of the Poles and Lithuanian Jewry, which caused controversy in Poland.

In 1993 Lithuanian Government established commission consisting from historians to evaluate Armia Krajowa activities in Lithuania. Tomas Venclova distanced himself from the commission and called it a "pathetic spectacle" and "anti-Polish propaganda campaign" in one of his essays.

On 20 August 2004 Lithuanian government revoked the ban on using the name 'Armia Krajowa' in public spaces and allowed the renaming of Polish veterans organization to include the name of AK. On September 9, 2004 veterans of AK and some veterans of Local Lithuanian Detachment signed a Declaration of Peace. This initiative was encouraged by President of Lithuania Valdas Adamkus, Prime Minister of Lithuania Algirdas Brazauskas and President of Poland Aleksander Kwaśniewski, whose representative, Andrzej Majkowski, together with Lithuanian president and prime minister, was present at the reconciliation ceremony. Veterans of Local Lithuanian Detachment who signed the declaration did so without approval of Union of Soldiers of Local Lithuanian Detachment (Lithuanian: Lietuvos vietinės rinktinės karių sąjunga).


Former Lithuanian president Valdas Adamkus



Glinciszki massacre

Glinciszki massacre refers to a mass murder that occurred on 20 June 1944 in the village of Glitiškės (Polish: Glinciszki). In the massacre, thirty-seven mostly Polish villagers were killed by Nazi subordinated Lithuanian policemen retaliating for the death of four policemen (from the 258th Police battalion) that occurred during a fight with element of the 5th Brigade of the Polish resistance of Armia Krajowa earlier that day.

The commander of the company of the 258th battalion ordered 10 villagers to be killed for every Lithuanian casualty in his unit. Ironically he was arrested by the Germans, because one of the victims was employed by the German administration. He would be eventually tried and executed by the German authorities.

The massacre triggered an act of revenge by Polish partisans against Lithuanian policemen and civilians in Dubingiai (20 to 27 Lithuanian civilians would perish).

Dubingiai massacre


Lithuanian civilians killed by the Armia Krajowa on 23 June, 1944 in the Molėtai district.

The Dubingiai massacre was the mass murder of between 20 and 27 Lithuanian civilians in the town of Dubingiai (Dubinki) on 23 June 1944, by a unit of the Armia Krajowa, a Polish resistance group, in a reprisal action for the Glinciszki (Glitiškės) massacre of 20 June.

Background

Polish-Lithuanian relations during the interbellum period were strained since both sides had laid claim to the Vilnius region. During the Second World War these tensions were exacerbated due to conflicts between the Lithuanian pro-German administration and military units, and the anti-Nazi Polish resistance, as well as the discrimination against Poles by the independent Lithuanian state between 1939 and 1940. On 20 June 1944 members of the Polish resistance killed four members of the Lithuanian police, and wounded several others in the village of Glitiškės (Glinciszki); in retaliation the Lithuanian police killed thirty-six Polish villagers (the Glinciszki massacre). After hearing of this, as well as other information about intensified pacification actions by the Lithuanian forces, the Armia Krajowa ("AK") command for the Vilnius region (under Aleksander Krzyżanowski "Wilk") assumed that it represented a beginning of a new, large anti-Polish operation and only a demonstration of the strength of Polish forces in the region could stop the killings and protect the Polish civilians. Leaflets were distributed through the region that AK was planning to execute members of the Lithuanian units guilty of the Glinciszki massacre, and a raid on the pre-war Lithuanian Republic territory was planned. The AK command did not plan, and actually strictly forbade, any reprisals against innocent civilians.

In the meantime, elements of the 5th AK Brigade under command of Zygmunt Szendzielarz aka "Łupaszko" learned that some of the responsible individuals and their families were stationed in the police station in Dubingai. An AK unit - a company of the 5th Brigade under Jan Wiktor Wiącek "Rakoczy" - decided to destroy the police station in the village as well as to execute several Nazi-Lithuanian informants in the village. There are different versions as to who led the raid on Dubingiai; most sources attribute it to the commander of the 5th Brigade, Szendzielarz - although Henryk Piskunowicz, Polish historian and author of several publications about Armia Krajowa operations in Vilnius region, specifically pointed to Wiącek.

The AK headquarters having learned of that initiative, and afraid that the soldiers of the 5th Brigade who have freshly witnessed the aftermath of Glinciszki may not follow the orders forbidding actions against civilians, sent a courier from AK headquarters in Vilnius ordering the 5th Brigade to stay put, the courier, however, did not reach the local commanders in time.

Events in Dubingai

The village was warned that the Polish attack was imminent, and many individuals—including the policemen who participated in the Glinciszki massacre—escaped before the Poles began the killings. The AK targeted Dubingiai's Lithuanian populace, using Lithuanian prayer books as a means of identifying Lithuanians, but sparing those inter-married with Poles. While collaborators were supposedly the AK's prime targets, the killings included the elderly, children, and even infants. A Polish woman and her 4-year old son were also reported to have been killed. The total number of victims is estimated at between 20 and 27.

Aftermath

The reprisal actions of AK in Dubingiai, even if premature and unplanned by AK command, marked the beginning of a wider AK operation in which units beyond the 5th Brigade were involved. From 25 to 27 June various Polish units entered pre-war Lithuanian territory and carried out a series of actions against Lithuanian Nazi police forces and those labeled as Nazi sympathizers. Bridges and telecommunication lines were destroyed. Polish sources note that a number of civilian casualties, both Lithuanian and Polish, occurred as a result of the wider operations during that period, particularly when several buildings caught fire. According to Lithuanian sources between 70-100 Lithuanians, including civilians, were killed in total by the end of June 1944 in Dubingiai and the neighbouring villages of Joniškis, Inturkė, Bijutiškis, and Giedraičiai.

Boradyn contends the AK's reprisal of 23-27 June was successful, since there were no further actions by Lithuanian forces similar to the preceding Glinciszki massacre. This contention of success against the Lithuanians is, however, largely speculative as the potential for further escalation by either side was cut short by the Soviet occupation of Vilnius (pre-war Wilno) two weeks later.

This chain of events stained the reputation of AK in Lithuania. According to Boradyn this was the only reprisal action against Lithuanians ever undertaken by the AK.

Zygmunt Szendzielarz, the commander of the 5th Brigade, which was responsible for the massacre, and later member of the Polish anti-Soviet resistance, was arrested in 1948 by the communist Polish secret police and after more than two years of torture and interrogation was executed by the communist Polish government in 1951. After the fall of the communism, Szendzielarz was rehabilitated and declared innocent of charges which he had been accused of. On 2007 Polish president Lech Kaczyński posthumously awarded Szendzielarz the order of Polonia Restituta, creating controversy in Lithuania.

[tuftabis]

Pieter, I am aware of what happened in Ponary. Also, I am aware of the delicate matters (murders, deception, mistrust etc etc) in our joint history of Poland and Lithuania (concord, power, understanding, trust, union). What got my interest is why do you link the Ponary massacre with today's Poles in Lithuania.

[pieter]

Jul 15, 2010 14:49:48 GMT -7 tuftabis said:

Pieter, I am aware of what happened in Ponary. Also, I am aware of the delicate matters (murders, deception, mistrust etc etc) in our joint history of Poland and Lithuania (concord, power, understanding, trust, union). What got my interest is why do you link the Ponary massacre with today's Poles in Lithuania.

Tuftabis,

Probably the relationship between Poland and Lithuania has improved like the relationship with the Ukraine and Germany over the years. What strikes me is that the anti-polonism in the past of the Lithuanians, Ukrainians and Germans were comparable, but differant also. What is the relationship between Lithuania and Poland today? Both are EU and NATO members, and they are neighbours, the differance is that Lithuania is a Baltic state and Poland a West-Slav state. There are linguistic, cultural, ethnic, economical and political differances. The hate of the past is gone, but history should not be forgotten.

Pieter

[pieter]

Tuftabis,

I am not against Lithuania or the Baltic states, but I want to get the historical image and background straight.
For you and many other Poles that is probably common place, for many non-Poles abroad it isn't. They don't know that shared, troubled history, and sometimes from that lack of knowledge and information can not understand the refined, delicate, underlying layers of Polish-Lithuanian diplomacy, foreign relations, bilateral negociations and cooperation between the two European countries. Lithuania has a Modern, Internet based, New and creative economy country, linked to the West(It's Polish minority), and connected to the east (with it's Russian minority).
According to the study carried out by Speedtest.net, Lithuania has the fastest internet upload speed in the world and is sixth by download speed.

Pieter

[pieter]

www.president.lt/en/press_center/press_releases/presidents_of_lithuania_and_poland_committed_to_strengthening_bilateral_strategic_partnership.html

[tuftabis]

Jul 15, 2010 15:13:45 GMT -7 pieter said:

Tuftabis,

I am not against Lithuania or the Baltic states, but I want to get the historical image and background straight.
For you and many other Poles that is probably common place, for many non-Poles abroad it isn't. They don't know that shared, troubled history, and sometimes from that lack of knowledge and information can not understand the refined, delicate, underlying layers of Polish-Lithuanian diplomacy, foreign relations, bilateral negociations and cooperation between the two European countries.

You are right, Pieter. In interbellum period Lithuanian-Polish relations were bad and remained bad during the war. The animosity was later used by the Russians. Now, Poland and Lithuania are backk what they were during most of their history, allies who understand each other very well. Of course there are tensions even today, which you have presented and indeed very correctly! But these tensions don't have the flavour of the old ones. So I find the connection Ponary - mistreatment of Polish minority in todays Lithuania, misleading. Do we look at, for instance, Franco-German relations through Verdun? ;D

[tuftabis]

Jul 15, 2010 15:13:45 GMT -7 pieter said:

negociations and cooperation between the two European countries. Lithuania has a Modern, Internet based, New and creative economy country, linked to the West(It's Polish minority), and connected to the east (with it's Russian minority).
According to the study carried out by Speedtest.net, Lithuania has the fastest internet upload speed in the world and is sixth by download speed.

Pieter

Yes Lithuania is on the fast track of development. They were unlucky to be a direct part of Russian Empire till the last decade of past century, and the signs of that are still very visible. The capital city of Wilno is flourishing. However out of the capital, and especially in the rural parts signs of sovietization are still clear, and need to be overcome.

[tuftabis]

Jul 15, 2010 15:34:58 GMT -7 pieter said:

www.president.lt/en/press_center/press_releases/presidents_of_lithuania_and_poland_committed_to_strengthening_bilateral_strategic_partnership.html

Pieter, President Grybauskaite, as every Lithuanian president since independence makes public speeches in Poland in Polish. This should help understand the relations, better. Which is not to say that
Polish language and education mistreatment of the Poles should not be fixed.

[Jaga]

Jul 15, 2010 15:13:45 GMT -7 pieter said:

Tuftabis,

I am not against Lithuania or the Baltic states, but I want to get the historical image and background straight.
For you and many other Poles that is probably common place, for many non-Poles abroad it isn't. They don't know that shared, troubled history, and sometimes from that lack of knowledge and information can not understand the refined, delicate, underlying layers of Polish-Lithuanian diplomacy, foreign relations, bilateral negociations and cooperation between the two European countries. Lithuania has a Modern, Internet based, New and creative economy country, linked to the West(It's Polish minority), and connected to the east (with it's Russian minority).
According to the study carried out by Speedtest.net, Lithuania has the fastest internet upload speed in the world and is sixth by download speed.

Pieter

every country has a troubled history. For me the most troubling is the fact that the history is seen from the side of Holocaust mainly... as like Jewish people were always victims and everybody else was guilty of their suffering. The tragedy of Holocaust is known to the 10th power. The average American and european does not know anything about Lithuanian history and the fact that these people were opressed.
Why the guide book about Vilnius has Jewish Vilnius section but not Polish history section???

Just talking about Holocaust ignoring Jews as opressers or the realities of the occupied countries is a historical deviation