Prūsijos lietuviai ir Lietuvos nepriklausomybės kovos 1919 m. pirmoje pusėje

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Collection:
Mokslo publikacijos / Scientific publications
Document Type:
Straipsnis / Article
Language:
Lietuvių kalba / Lithuanian
Title:
Prūsijos lietuviai ir Lietuvos nepriklausomybės kovos 1919 m. pirmoje pusėje
Alternative Title:
Prussian Lithuanians and the Lithuanian independence struggle in the first half of 1919
Authors:
Pocytė, Silva
In the Journal:
Karo archyvas. 2023, 38, p. 73-107
Subject Category:
LT
Ginkluotosios pajėgos. Kariuomenė / Armed forces. Army; Politikos veikėjai / Political figures; Tarptautiniai konfliktai. Karai / International conflicts. Wars; Jurgis Aukštuolaitis; 1918-1940. Lietuva tarpukario metais; Lietuva (Lithuania); Tauragė.
Summary / Abstract:

LTStraipsnyje, remiantis publikuotais ir archyviniais šaltiniais, analizuojamos Prūsijos lietuvių karo tarnybos patirtys pasibaigus Pirmajam pasauliniam karui, sutelkiant dėmesį į Prūsijos lietuvių įsitraukimą į Lietuvos kariuomenę ir dalyvavimą Nepriklausomybės kovose 1919 m. pirmoje pusėje, akcentuojant Žemaičių bataliono, kuris buvo skirtas Prūsijos lietuviams, Tauragėje kūrimą ir gana trumpalaikę veiklą. Aptariamos Žemaičių bataliono, kuris galimai buvo svetimas Prūsijos lietuvių tapatybei, pavadinimo suteikimo priežastys, fragmentiški šio dalinio kovos epizodai, jo vado Jurgio Aukštuolaičio vaidmuo organizuojant Prūsijos lietuvius ir agituojant stoti į Lietuvos kariuomenę. Remiantis Vokietijos užsienio reikalų ministerijos Politiniame archyve saugomais dokumentais, nagrinėjama Vokietijos karinės ir civilinės vadovybės pozicija dėl Prūsijos lietuvių tarnybos Lietuvos kariuomenėje. Pagrindiniai žodžiai: Prūsijos lietuviai, Lietuvos nepriklausomybės kovos, Žemaičių batalionas (1 Prūsijos Lietuvos batalionas), Jurgis Aukštuolaitis. [Iš leidinio]

ENThe most obvious example of the involvement of Prussian Lithuanians in the Lithuanian army and their participation in the episodes of the Lithuanian independence struggles can be singled out—the Samogitian battalion organised in Tauragė in early 1919, operating from the beginning of February to the end of March. The battalion was not only supposed to include the Prussian Lithuanians in the fight of the Lithuanian army against the Red Army, but also to show the political orientation of the Prussian Lithuanians towards the Lithuanian state at a time when in the post-war peace negotiations (decisions made after the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on the 28 of June 1919). The issue of the political fate of the Klaipėda region, as well as the whole of East Prussia, was decided. The name Samogitian was not related to the history of the Prussian Lithuanians, their identity and characteristics, but rather, it corresponded to the tradition of forming military units on a national basis and should not raise hostile insinuations to the Germans, who, at that time, joined the fight against the Red Army, together with the Lithuanians. Despite the agitation and the location of the town of Tauragė as a border town, the number of Lithuanians of Prussian Lithuania and Germans from all over East Prussia in the Samogitian battalion was not large. According to different sources, there were between 30 to 60 of them. The key motives that led to their involvement in the Lithuanian army were predominantly unrelated to national or political aspects, but to economic ones. This was because the offered financial reward and food supply were an important motivation for survival in the difficult post-war period.The episodic performance of the battalion could have had a considerable influence on the controversial behaviour of the Prussian Lithuanian J. Aukštuolaitis in the position of commander, his relationship with the Lithuanian army colonel V. Grigaliūnas-Glovackis, who at that time was in conflict with the then Lithuanian government. The Samogitian factor in the name of the battalion cannot be ruled out either, because at the beginning of 1919 in Šiauliai local Lithuanian Bolsheviks organised the Samogitian Regiment, later named the 8th Red Regiment of Lithuanian Riflemen. Therefore, at the same time, in the first months of 1919, several military units organised under the name of Samogitian were operating on different sides of the battles, and this could cause a kind of confusion and false identifications in the battles. In the period of the first half of 1919 analysed in the article, Prussian Lithuanians and Germans had another alternative to choosing military service. They were urged to join the East Prussian Volunteer Corps and other German military units and prepare to fight against the approaching Red Army. However, considering the tradition of several hundred years of service of Prussian Lithuanians in the Prussian and German armies, which was closely connected with the strong monarchist attitude of these Lithuanians, it is understandable why the involvement of Prussian Lithuanians in the Lithuanian army, which was essentially at that time an adept of Russian military thought, order and law, did not become a mass phenomenon.Based on the documents stored in the Political Archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany, the attitude of the German military and civil authorities towards the transfer of Prussian Lithuanians to serve in the Lithuanian army, which has not been actualized in Lithuanian historiography until now, is revealed. This attitude was not the same. Around May–June 1919, the prevailing negative attitude was related to the spread of political agitation among Prussian Lithuanians, who spread the idea of annexing the territory of East Prussia to Lithuania; however, in the later period, the German position in respect of the service of Prussian Lithuanians in the Lithuanian army softened, apparently due to the small number of such Lithuanians. [From the publication]

DOI:
10.47459/ka.2023.38.3
ISSN:
1392-6489; 2424-6123
Subject:
Istorija / History
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https://www.lituanistika.lt/content/104666
Updated:
2023-10-16 21:56:48
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