Paskutiniai vokiečių okupacijos mėnesiai Lietuvoje: gyventojų bėgimas į reichą ir politiniai lūkesčiai 1944 metais

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Collection:
Mokslo publikacijos / Scientific publications
Document Type:
Straipsnis / Article
Language:
Lietuvių kalba / Lithuanian
Title:
Paskutiniai vokiečių okupacijos mėnesiai Lietuvoje: gyventojų bėgimas į reichą ir politiniai lūkesčiai 1944 metais
Alternative Title:
Last months of the German occupation in Lithuania: escape of the civilian population to the reich and political expectations in 1944
In the Journal:
Lietuvos istorijos metraštis [Yearbook of Lithuanian History]. 2020, 2020/2, p. 125-145
Summary / Abstract:

LTStraipsnyje analizuojama situacija Lietuvoje paskutiniais vokiečių okupacijos mėnesiais, keliami klausimai, kaip 1944 m. pavasarį ir vasarą rengtasi gyventojų evakuacijai ir kaip ji vyko, kokią įtaką karo pabėgėlių traukimosi į Vokietiją mastui, žmonių politiniams lūkesčiams turėjo okupacinės valdžios propaganda ir lietuvių pogrindžio organizacijų svarstymai apie politinę bei karinę padėtį ir karo pabaigą. [Iš leidinio]Reikšminiai žodžiai: Antrasis pasaulinis karas, 1939-1945 (World War II); Gyventojai; Evakuacija; Karo pabėgeliai; Okupacija; Propaganda; Vokietija (Germany); 20 amžius; Population; Evacuation; War refugees; Ocupation; Propaganda; 20th century.

ENThe article analyses the situation in Lithuania in the last months of the German occupation, focusing on what preparations were made for the evacuation of the population in the spring and summer of 1944 and how it proceeded, and the impact of the actions and propaganda of the German authorities and the deliberations of Lithuanian underground organisations regarding the political and military situation and the end of the war on the numbers of war refugees (around 80,000 people left in July–October, with the exception of the Klaipėda region, which was deserted after the Germans retreated) and citizens’ political expectations. The research is based on historiography, official and underground publications, diaries and memoirs. During the war, there was no political centre in Lithuania that processed reliable political information and provided it to the public. Although, starting from 1943, there were institutions and organisations to take care of war refugees flooding in from the USSR, when the Red Army crossed the Lithuanian border in early July 1944, local government was no longer coordinating population movements. The German occupying authorities and the Lithuanian government, consisting of general advisers, had prepared plans for the evacuation of the population and property; however, until the very last minute, no one risked taking the initiative to implement them. People in Lithuania were still quite optimistic in the summer and autumn of 1944. Quite a few believed that the front would stabilise at the German border, and that the Soviet Union ‘will run out of steam’ and suspend hostilities. Optimism was encouraged by official German propaganda, and the fact that in August–October, military action ‘stuck’ in Lithuania for two and a half months, as the Red Army stopped in order to replenish its supplies.Moreover, influential Lithuanian underground organisations did not believe that the country was on the brink of a long Soviet occupation, and did not discuss the situation of the civilian population. Lithuanian underground organisations, from Social Democrats to Nationalists, which were unequivocally optimistic about the international situation, believing the promises of US and British politicians to restore prewar borders, used the press and proclamations to shape expectations in society that the Soviet occupation would be temporary. Politicians leaving Lithuania expected to return soon, thus leaving the people with the hope of rapid political change. [From the publication]

DOI:
10.33918/25386549-202002006
ISSN:
0202-3342; 2538-6549
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https://www.lituanistika.lt/content/95506
Updated:
2022-06-16 19:15:55
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