Jo Didenybės prieglobstyje: Didžiosios Britanijos lietuviai Pirmojo pasaulinio karo metais

LTVilniaus universiteto profesorius Remigijus Misiūnas apibendrina ir analizuoja archyvinę medžiagą, spaudos publikacijas, susijusias su lietuvių bendruomenės formavimusi Didžiojoje Britanijoje XIX a. pabaigoje – XX a. pradžioje, religinių ir pasaulietinių organizacijų atsiradimu, kasdienio išeivių gyvenimo realijomis. Svarbi knygos dalis skiriama Didžiosios Britanijos lietuvių informacinės erdvės susiformavimui, periodikos bei knygų leidybai, informacijos sklaidos kanalams ir jų panaudojimui įvairių bendruomenės grupių priešpriešose. Ypatingas dėmesys knygoje “Jo Didenybės prieglobstyje: Didžiosios Britanijos lietuviai Pirmojo pasaulinio karo metais” skirtas Pirmojo pasaulinio karo nulemtiems pokyčiams, paveikusiems visas lietuvių bendruomenės gyvavimo sritis, 1917 metų įvykiams, lėmusiems išeivių tarnybą britų armijoje ar priverstinį išvykimą į Rusiją be galimybės sugrįžti. Knygos “Jo Didenybės prieglobstyje: Didžiosios Britanijos lietuviai Pirmojo pasaulinio karo metais” prieduose skelbiami Pirmojo pasaulinio karo metais rašyti civilių ir kariavusiųjų britų armijos gretose lietuvių laiškai, Martyno Yčo įspūdžiai apsilankius Didžiojoje Britanijoje 1916 m., bei sąrašas žinomų lietuvių, Pirmojo pasaulinio karo metais tarnavusių britų kariuomenėje. [humanitas.lt]Reikšminiai žodžiai: Lietuvos istorija; Lietuviai; Emigracija; Didžioji Britanija (Great Britain); Karas; Bendruomenės; Biografijos; Istoriniai šaltiniai; The Lithuanian history; Lithuanians; The Exile; The Great Britain; War; Societies; Biografies; Historical sources.

ENThe first large Lithuanian community in Great Britain was formed in the late 19t h to early 20t h century, at a time when there was large-scale emigration from Eastern Europe and Russia, which ruled most of the territory of Lithuania. It is estimated that before World War I there were about 12,000 Lithuanians living in Great Britain. The history of the Lithuanian community in Great Britain can be divided into two parts: until 1918 and after 1918. In turn, two stages are distinguishable in the first part: the period from late 19l h century to 1914, and the period during World War I. The first stage is one of mass settlement of Lithuanians in the British Isles, and the growth of their communities in England and Scotland, where these former peasants became day-labourers in a country undergoing an industrial revolution. They had nothing to offer except their cheap labour, which set the local workforce against them and led them to experience a life of marginalisation. Many tried to wash away the bitterness of their immigrant life with alcohol, which is inevitable for a group living in an impoverished ghetto at the bottom of the social scale in a foreign land. This was also a time when the Lithuanians of Great Britain began experiencing the growth stages typical of an immigrant group: attempts to unify for the purpose of fostering their religion, and establishing welfare and other organisations, and also experiencing both growth and schisms in national and ideological movements. In Great Britain, as in other Lithuanian colonies, especially USA, there was an emergence of a Catholic or right-wing movement on the one hand, and on the other hand a left-wing movement of liberals and freethinkers. However, the latter became in effect socialists; whereas the liberal current in Great Britain was weak, compared to USA. Simultaneously, the Lithuanians of Great Britain were creating their own information space.For the first three years of World War I, life went along more or less normally for the Lithuanians of Great Britain, since Lithuanians, as was the case with other immigrant non-citizens, were not subject to conscription in the British armed forces. Unfortunately, in 1917 Great Britain signed a military pact with Russia, whereby former citizens of Russia who were residing in the realms of His Royal Highness George V, notwithstanding whether they were political emigres or not, had to make a decision: remain in Britain and serve in its Army, or return to Russia and fight for Russia in its army. As a result, more than 1,000 Lithuanians ended up in Russia, from which very few returned. This was a hard blow to the Lithuanian community, from which it was very difficult to recover. Unfortunately, this period of Lithuanian emigre life in Great Britain is still under-researched. Attempts to research it are made difficult by the lack of archival material. The Lithuanian press of the time remains the principal source of information for such research, and this was the main resource used in the preparation of this book. The main focus was the Lithuanian community of Great Britain from the end of the 19th century to 1918, the information space that surrounded them, and the one they created for themselves, and what communication took place in it. This book attempts to study two aspects of information space: how it reflected the life of Lithuanians in Great Britain and how it affected and was affected by processes taking place in the Lithuanian community.Most of the Lithuanian community in Great Britain consisted of economic immigrants, even though some of them had come for political reasons, mostly to avoid conscription into the Russian army. The early Lithuanian immigrants in Great Britain experienced the principle that subsequent immigrants tend to follow the path established by the pioneers, but they make it wider. Usually the pioneers were from a certain county or region, and they sent letters home to Lithuania, or visited there and personally told their circle about the fabulous United Kingdom, and sometimes they were asked to pay fares to UK for some of their fellow landsmen, who started to arrive in large numbers. At first, they settled in the large cities, but afterwards they began to disperse around the country, seeking better work opportunities, which, when they found them, became a magnet to attract other immigrants. A lot of people were convinced that Great Britain was just as attractive a destination as USA; and furthermore, from here it was easier to make visits home than it was from USA. The Lithuanian community kept changing, especially in England, because quite a few treated Great Britain as a half-way house on the way to USA. However, the coal mines and factories of Scotland were classic economic anchors, which bind and do not let go of their workers, former peasants. (Incidentally, a few who reached USA tried farming, but there does not appear to be any evidence of Lithuanian immigrants trying farming in Great Britain). [From the publication]