Konferencijos Šveicarijoje 1915–1916 m. : Lietuvos atkūrimo projektų sandūros

LTŠiame straipsnyje nagrinėjama Šveicarijos lietuvių veikla nuo 1915 m. vasaros iki 1916 m. pavasario, kai Juozas Gabrys, Vladas Daumantas, Juozas Purickis ir Antanas Steponaitis organizavo pagalbą karo pabėgėliams bei siekė sukurti visus lietuvių emigracijos centrus vienijančią organizaciją – Aukščiausiąją Lietuvių Tautos Tarybą (toliau ‒ ALTT). Vykstant organizacijų kūrimo darbui, J. Gabrys ir jo kolegos Vokietijos imperijos atstovams Šveicarijoje teikė pasiūlymus ir projektus, kokia turėtų būti būsima moderni Lietuvos valstybė, kurią buvo tikimasi sukurti padedant Vokietijai, šiai laimėjus Pirmąjį pasaulinį karą. 1916 m. Lozanoje vykusios lietuvių konferencijos, pavadintos Berno ir Hagos, buvo skirtos apibrėžti Šveicarijos lietuvių valstybės viziją, besiskiriančią tiek nuo planų atkurti unijinę Lenkijos–Lietuvos valstybę, tiek nuo galimybės grįžti į Rusijos imperijos sudėtį. [Iš leidinio]Reikšminiai žodžiai: Juozas Gabrys; Pirmasis pasaulinis karas, 1914-1918 (Didysis karas; World War I); Emigrantai (Diaspora); Šveicarija; Valstybės idėja; Moderni Lietuva.

ENThis article dwells on the matters of political activities of Lithuanians in Switzerland in the period from 1915 to 1916. In the summer of 1915, Juozas Gabrys moved his Lithuanian Information Bureau from Paris to Lausanne and along with other Lithuanian emigrants founded an organization for the relief of war refugees as well as Lithuanian National Council (LNC). The main aim of the latter was to unify all Lithuanian political organizations abroad. Simultaneously, Juozas Gabrys and his colleagues were interacting and submitting projects regarding the modern Lithuanian state to the legislation of the German Empire in Switzerland. This communication was especially active in the autumn of 1915 when J. Gabrys was chosen the contact person for future communication between Lithuanian intellectuals and German representatives. Hence the German authorities allowed J. Gabrys to travel to the first Lithuanian conference in Stockholm in October of 1915, where he met Matynas Yčas and Stasys Šilingas representing the Refugee Relief Committee in Petrograd. In this conference the necessity to continue the pro–Lithuanian propaganda and expansion of information offices in various countries was declared. The Conference of Bern held in March of 1916 in Lausanne was the first important Lithuanian event in Switzerland that year. The main issue discussed in the course of the conference was the relationship between Polish and Lithuanian intellectuals and their attitude towards the heritage of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. J. Gabrys manifested a strict anti–Polish opinion and this reflected in the resolutions of the Conference of Bern. They declared that Lithuanian and Polish national movements should be developing separately and should create independent states with no links to the Commonwealth.In the late spring of 1916 the second Lithuanian conference was organised in Lausanne, but due to secret political intentions was called the Lithuanian Conference in Hague. The main goal of this meeting was to declare the total separation from the Russian Empire and to point out the injustices that the Lithuanian nation had suffered throughout the 19th century. Some of the resolutions of this conference were sent to the German authorities while others where published in the French speaking press. The differences in the texts suggest that Lithuanians had the intentions to exploit the belligerents for their own benefit. The declarations of both Lithuanian conferences proclaimed the aspiration for cultural, religious, and political independence and listed the steps to achieve it. Besides, it was declared that Lithuania would not be involved in any forms of federation with the Russian Empire or Poland and in order to achieve independence, Lithuania should seek the support of the German Empire. [From the publication]