Legalios spaudos ir valdžios santykis Lietuvoje vokiečių okupacijos metais (1941–1944)

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Antrasis pasaulinis karas, Vokiečių okupacija; Cenzūra; Cenzūra: Antrasis pasaulinis karas; Periodinė spauda; Vokiečių okupacija; Censorship; German occupation; Lithuania; Periodical press; Periodicals; Second World War; WWII.

ENDuring the German occupation of Lithuania, the Nazis established a broad system of official press. The press was organized mostly by local journalists and political activists who supported the restoration of the former nationstate. In an effort to maintain full, direct control of the media in Lithuania, the Nazi regime implemented various restrictions. This paper examines the specific relationship between the official press and the occupation authorities in Lithuania in 1941–1944. The author discusses the political context of the press and identifies all circumstances that were essentially important for the media. It is assumed that the occupation authorities controlled the media in Lithuania by the same measures that were already being used in Germany. The key elements of the press control mechanism employed by the Third Reich are singled out in accordance with a study by David Welch. The paper examines the system of Lithuanian press during the occupation taking these factors into account. The study is based mainly on primary sources such as archival documents, memoirs and government decrees. The main findings of the analysis can be summarized in a few propositions. First of all, the occupation authorities controlled and censored the press in order to protect Germany’s political aspirations in Lithuania. The occupants tried to create the illusion of an independent press. In turn, at least a part of the local journalists were opposed to the new government, and sometimes even used the mistakes of censors to promote patriotic ideas in the press. The analysis also indicates that the Nazi regime did indeed use similar measures to restrict the media in Lithuania as it did in Germany. The press was controlled at several interrelated levels: through a centralized system of propaganda and censorship, the Deutsches Nachrichten Büro (DNB) news agency, and the take-over of the printing industry and the media by Nazi authorities. [From the publication]

• Komunikacija / Communication
• Istorija / History