Lietuvos generalinis konsulatas Vilniuje (1939 m. rugsėjis–spalis)

LTRemiantis analizės, aprašomuoju ir pirminių bei antrinių šaltinių gretinimo metodais, straipsnyje aiškinamasi, kiek laiko veikė Lietuvos generalinis konsulatas Vilniuje ir kokios buvo jo veiklos apimtys. Pirmą kartą istoriografijoje bandoma nustatyti konsulato išduotų tranzito vizų skaičių bei jų išdavimo mechanizmą ir patikrinti B. Verkelytės filme pateikiamus faktus apie tranzito vizų prašiusius karo pabėgėlius Lenkijos piliečius. Pirmą kartą aptariami konsulato finansai ir jų apskaita 1939 m. rugsėjo 6–1940 m. sausio 8 d. [Iš leidinio]Reikšminiai žodžiai: Vilnius; Lietuvos generalinis konsulatas Vilniuje; Antanas Trimakas; Birutė Verkelytė; Pranas Žižmaras; Vilnius; Consulate-General of Lithuania in Vilnius; Antanas Trimakas; Birutė Verkelytė; Pranas Žižmaras.

ENOn the basis of analytical and descriptive methods, as well as the method of comparison of primary and secondary sources, the article focuses on the duration and scope of activities of the consulate. The first part of the article deals with the circumstances of appointment of the consul; the second part addresses the date of arrival of Consul Antanas Trimakas in Vilnius; the third part elaborates on the composition of the staff of the consulate and the circumstances of their appointment, arrival and work at the consulate. The fourth part of the article reveals the courses and specific characteristics of activities of the consul; the fifth part deals with the financing of the consulate; finally, the sixth part focuses on the circumstances of the closure of the consulate. The article marks the first attempt ever made to find out the number of transit visas issued by the consulate and the mechanism of their issue, as well as to check the facts on the Polish war refugees applying for transit visas as provided by Birutė Verkelytė in the film. It is also the first publication to discuss the finances of the consulate and their accounting in the period from 6 September 1939 to 8 January 1940. The analysis of primary and secondary sources carried out in the article gives grounds to dispute the fact circulating in the historiography and public discourse to this day, according to which Consul Antanas Trimakas arrived in Vilnius and settled in it even before World War II. The information contained in archival documents, periodical press, as well as the memoirs of Jeronimas Cicėnas, leads to an undisputable conclusion that the Consul-General of Lithuania arrived at the place of appointment and resided in it on 9 September 1939, i. e. after the outbreak of the war.Neither primary nor secondary sources provide information which would allow us to determine a precise date of the first issued visas or transit visas. The source analysis accomplished limits with an assumption that the consulate could commence its active operation not earlier than 11 September and it could issue visas and transit visas to the Polish citizens of non-Lithuanian origin (civil war refugees) until 19 September only, and only upon prior coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Administration Department of the Ministry of the Interior in Kaunas. According to the correspondence available at the Administration Department of the Ministry of the Interior, it can be assumed that the consulate could issue some 1,000 transit visas to Polish civil war refugees of non-Lithuanian origin. From 20 September to 25 October the communication between the consul and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kaunas was held through intermediaries, i. e. the Lithuanians of Vilnius Region, who used to hand over the consul’s information to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and carried instructions and authorisations from it. After Vilnius was occupied by the Soviets, the key activity of the consul was the protection of public and municipal property, as well as the personal property of the residents of Vilnius, by means of the “Lithuanian militia” led by Pranas Žižmaras. [From the publication]