1941: Lithuania

Lithuania suffered the fate of the other Baltic countries during 1941. Russian rule became increasingly severe until it was abruptly stopped by the German invasion in June. A Lithuanian government ruled under German auspices for a month, but soon Germany had established a reign of terror, which drastically reduced the Lithuanian standard of living and accorded Lithuanians similar treatment to that of the harshly oppressed Poles.

Russian Domination.

The Soviet Union took numerous measures to make Lithuania lose its individuality within the U.S.S.R. and to keep out all foreign influence — especially German. An agreement with Germany was concluded on Jan. 10 to end German commercial relations with Lithuania and the other Baltic countries, and to provide for the emigration of the many German refugees who had been preparing to enter the Reich since the fall of 1939. These 45,000 people had complicated Lithuania's economic problems and had given rise to a good deal of anxiety about German racial theories. A further move to settle outstanding Russo-German problems with regard to Lithuania was made on Feb. 15, when a German commission arrived in Moscow to discuss redemarkation of the German-Lithuanian frontier.

The Lithuanian people stubbornly refrained from unnecessarily associating themselves with their conquerors. Lithuanians were accepted as citizens of the Soviet Union eligible for membership in the Communist Party, but the official Communist organ Pravda reported, shortly before the outbreak of war between Germany and Russia, that there were only about 200 Party members and applicants for membership in Vilna. On June 8, a Kaunas United Press dispatch stated that the Soviet Lithuanian Government had accused well-to-do farmers (kulaks) of sabotaging spring sowing, and had ordered their immediate indictment. It was announced that these offenders would be deprived of the use of land and common houses, and that their cattle would be subject to confiscation — measures reminiscent of the 'liquidation' of kulaks in the U.S.S.R. during the winter of 1929-30.

Economic conditions in Lithuania became steadily worse under Russian direction. Shortly before the outbreak of Nazi-Soviet hostilities it was reported that, although the rate of exchange between the ruble and the lit was fixed at 8 lits to 7 rubles, prices were many times higher in rubles than they had been in lits. The price of a pound of sausage, for instance, rose from 1.60 lits to 7.50 rubles, ordinary meat from .90 lits to 3 or 4 rubles, and black bread from .25 or .30 lits to .70 rubles. More than 60,000 Lithuanians were exiled to Siberia, according to estimates of Jonas Budrys, Consul General in New York City. On June 20 it was revealed that the Russians had created a belt of devastation sixty miles wide along the German-Lithuanian border by destroying bridges, railroads and entire villages.

German Invasion.

The first reaction of Lithuanians to the German invasion was the hope that they would be liberated from their Russian oppressors, or that Soviet attention would be diverted enough to enable patriots to expel the Russians and set up an independent state. On June 22, a Lithuanian flag was raised in the garden of the old Lithuanian Legation in Berlin, which had been closed since September 1940, and a guard of honor was established there by fifty Lithuanians. Reports from Berlin on June 23 stated that the Kaunas radio had announced the formation of a new Lithuanian Government under Kazys Skirpa, former Minister to Berlin. On June 24 German troops arrived in Kaunas. They drove out the Russians but did not show much respect for the independent Lithuanian régime which had been quickly set up in time to welcome them; and in November it was learned that Kazys Skirpa was living in the Tyrol.

On July 17, Hitler decreed the inclusion of Lithuania in 'Ostland Province' as part of Germany, to be ruled by Reichskommissar Heinrich Lohse, authority on the 'Hanseatic' background and economic problems of the Baltic states. Ernst Kube, a Gestapo member with experience in running a concentration camp, was made Herr Lohse's chief political assistant, and Dr. Adrian von Renteln was named General Commissioner for Lithuania. Other administrative posts were given to native Germans, rather than to would-be puppets or Baltic Germans, who had been transplanted to other parts of the Reich. A government-sponsored corporation called the 'Norddeutsche Gesellschaft' was formed to insure Nazi control over economic life in the Baltic countries. Ostland Province, as well as all other conquered Russian territory, was placed under the direct supervision of Baltic-born Reichsminister Alfred Rosenberg.

In general Lithuanian economic conditions were even worse under Germany than they had been under Russia. Food was scarce and strictly rationed. On Sept. 5, a news dispatch from Berlin reported that Reichskommissar Lohse had issued a decree empowering himself to draft any Lithuanian inhabitant to work away from home. See ESTONIA; LATVIA; U.S.S.R.