Hogeshool Leiden
2010 m.
REFUGESS IN LITHUANIA DURING WWII
Erasmus students
Vytautas Arbatauskas
Sandra Klimčiauskaitė
Andrius Vasiliauskas
In the troubled 20th century humanity experienced two World Wars and many
small regional wars and conflicts. Many of them are characterized as very cruel. The
war refugees were an important subject all the time both for countries involved in war
and for the rest of the world opinion as well. It looks the same even today. Poorly
discussed, often lacking objective view (sometimes it looks as a rule), the facts therefore
are tendentiously delivered by one of the conflict sides. Sometimes it seems as usual as
daily news, very similar to hundreds of world news in present news media resources.
Everyone living in action zone becomes the victim of every single war as a
natural disaster. After September 1st1939, when World War II began, the fatality of war
touched the citizens of West Poland, and later, after September 17, we can talk about all
the citizens of Poland, who against their own will were involved into the nightmares of
war. During the first weeks while German – Polish front line was moving to the East,
thousands of people were moving towards unoccupied regions. The refugees might be
described as different, motley by all meanings huge mass, where Polish and Jewish refugees were in the absolute majority. It seems that for the most Polish it was a spontaneous action, as soon big part of them came back to their native regions.
The Essay on How did war world 1 impact women
There are all types of information including lesson plans, articles and news. BBC origin is a British Broadcasting Corporation. Established in 1922,London. The founders of BBC are John Reith and George Villers. BBC purpose is to “enrich peopleʼs lives with programs and services that inform, educate and entertain.” The values of the source are that it has benefits of hindsight; this is because they ...
In 1939, Lithuanian legalese language described foreigners who came to Lithuania because of war as war refugees . In 1951 Geneva convention of refugees status of refugee was adjusted to persons who were described as refugees according to agreements of May 12th 1926 and June 30th1928 as well as according to conventions of October 28th1933 and September 14th1939. The entry for refugee in Lithuanian encyclopedia says that the refugee is person who is persecuted and has to leave his home because of his race, nationality or political creed. As time already passed the term karo atbėgėlis has been changed to karo pabėgėlis. Since the work has been written and the term karo pabėgėlis is used in everyday language, we will use that term too. In archival sources such as correspondence between institutions and officials, legislation, 1939 – 1940 Lithuanian press and quotation the term karo atbėgėliai will not be changed and is left as in original. The term war refugees will be used for the whole entity of war refugees, who made their way to Lithuania. In this way, writing about specific groups as civil refugees and internees will allow us to notice their
differences. In essay we will discuss not only about civil refugees, but a big part
of it is assigned to Polish internee soldiers who were in internee camps in Lithuania
during 1939 – 1940. The civil refugees and internees came to Lithuania escaping from
war and there was no free will for such a decision, except a natural survival instinct.
The object of this research covers World War II refugee in Lithuania, their coming,
staying and leaving Lithuania in 1939 – 1940.
The aim of the present work is to reconstruct the circumstances of refugees life in
Lithuania. Their communication with Lithuanian officials, society and international
organizations.
The following goals have been set to develop in this work:
1. to present the coming of refugees to Lithuania according to international and
domestic law;
2. to represent the establishing of internee camps in Lithuania and their
functioning;
3. to review the activity of responsible institutions, such as Lithuanian Red
The Essay on Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The modern republics of Poland and Lithuania had been once been a single, strong nation known as the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. This commonwealth was established in 1569. Although there were other states in the commonwealth, none of them was as powerful as Poland. The nation was on the brink of success when the rest of Europe was ravaging in the famous thirty years war between 1618 and 1648. ...
Cross and Commissariat for refugee affairs;
4. to discuss the relations between war refugees and natives;
5. to present the activity of Polish underground organizations, their links with
foreign missions in Lithuania;
6. to characterize the aspects of citizenship and integration of war refugees;
7. to represent the process of leaving Lithuania in Summer of 1940 by Jewish
and Polish refugees;
8. to define the image of war refugee in Lithuanian press.
Chronological frames of the work are indicated in the title of essay. The first
chronological margin relates to the beginning of World War II, when the thousands of
refugees left their homes and fled to Lithuania. The chronological limits coincide with
the collapse of Lithuanian Republic in 1940, when the soviets occupied Lithuania. As in
1939 the former citizens of Poland in Western Byelorussia and Western Ukraine
received the citizenship of Soviet Union, same process happened in Lithuania. In August 1940 the last internee camps in Lithuania were closed and more then 4000 Polish internees were departed to Soviet Union. As Lithuania became a Soviet Republic all foreign embassies and consulates were closed and their functioning was stopped. The World War II refugees in Lithuania became an object of history.
Several years ago Gintautas Surgailis published the research paper “World War II refugees and
Polish internee soldiers in Lithuania”.
The most important researches about Polish internees and refugees in Lithuania in 1939 – 1940 were made by polish historians. An exceptional source of knowledge are works of Liongin Tomaszewski, Wanda Kristina Roman, Piotr Łossowski, Andzej Bogusławski.
It should be noticed that despite the fact that the most important researches were
made by Polish historians the main information was collected in Lithuania. The reason
is very simple. In spite of the fact, that the main acting persons of researches mostly
were from Poland, the whole period from 1939 until 1940 they lived and worked in
The Essay on War – History Of America
Wars have been fought throughout the history of America. Some have had great influences on the way America is today. Some wars have had advantages and some disadvantages, but none the less every war America has fought has influenced the way Americans live today. The Revolutionary War gave American colonists the opportunity to create its own country. With opportunities like this, people have the ...
Lithuania, and had relations with Lithuanian institutions. That’s why the material about
refugees and internees, and the main sources used in essay have been found in
LCSA (Lithuanian central state archive).
The funds of Ministry of Interior, Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, and Head quarters of Lithuanian Army, Intelligence Service and
Commissariat for refugee affairs were used. The special thanks goes to Sugihara
foundation “Diplomats for Life” for possibility to use Foundations’ collection and
1
Surgailis G. Žydai – Antrojo Pasaulinio karo pabėgėliai Lietuvoje (1939 09 – 1941 06)// Lietuvos
Istorijos metraštis. Vilnius,1991; Žepkaitė R. Vilniaus istorijos atkarpa. 1939 spalio 27 d. – 1940 birželio
15 d. Vilnius, 1990
2
Surgailis G. Antrojo pasaulinio karo pabėgėliai ir internuotieji Lenkijos kariai Lietuvoje (1939 09 –
1940), Vilnius, 2005
3
Tomaszewski L. Wilenszczyzna lat wojny i okupacji 1939 – 1945. Warszawa 2001; Roman W.K. W
obozach i w konspiracji. Działalność niepodległościowa źołnierzy polskich na Litwie i Wilenszczyźnie,
wrziesień 1939 r. – czierwiec 1941 r.,Toruń, 2004; Pięta J., Roman W.K., Szczurowski M. Polacy
internowani na Litwie 1939 – 1940. Warszawa, 1997; Roman W.K. Obozy dla internowanych źołnierzy
polskich na Litwie IX 1939 – VII 1940 (w świetle źródeł litewskich).// Łambinowicki Rozcnik Muzealny.
1996, t.19;Roman W.K. Internowanie Polaków na Litwie w biuletynach Departamentu Bezpieczeństwa
MSW Litwy (1939 – 1940) //Łambinowicki Rozcnik Muzealny. 1998, t.21; Roman W.K. Okoloczności
internowania źołnierzy polskich na Litwie we wrześniu 1939 roku.//Polski wrzesień 1939 r. – wojna na
dwa fronty: materiały z Międzynarodowej Konferencji Naukowej. Piotrków Trybunalski, 2000; Roman
W.K. Konspiracja polska na Litwie i Wileńszczyznie wrzesień 1939 – czerwiec 1941. Lista
aresztowanych. Toruń, 2002.; Źaroń P. Agresja Związku Radzieckiego na Polskę 17 września 1939 r. Los
jeńców polskich, Toruń, 2001; Łossowski P. Litwa a sprawy polskie 1939 – 1940. Warszawa, 1982;
Bogusławski A. W znak pogoni. Internowanie Polaków na Litwie wrzesień 1939 – lipiec 1940. Toruń,
The Essay on World War I Soldier
Second Battle of the Marne It was in the summer of 1918 that Germany would commence their battle against the Allied Forces in what would become known as the Second Battle of the Marne, which would be the last major German offensive of World War I (Michael Duffy, 2009). It was this battle that would mark Germany’s last attempt of turning the tables of the war in their favor, though it was destined ...
2004 Vadim Altskan, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum for possibility to use
archival material collected in Archive of foreign policy of Russian federation.
When preparing the dissertation not only archival material was used. Group of
resources – published documents were very useful. By that we mean the Lithuanian
periodicals and newspapers: „Lietuvos Aidas“, „XX amžius“, Lietuvos ūkininkas“,
„Kardas“, „Lietuvos žinios“. The information about war refugees in Lithuania was rare
and therefore to fill this gap, the main Lithuanian newspapers were used.
The useful resources for the research were encyclopedias of refugees’ history as
well.
4
The important group of resources was recently in Poland and Lithuania published
archival documents.
5
Novelty and the relevance of the subject. The study is one of the first
complexional analyses of World War II refugees in Lithuanian historiography, where a
new viewpoint and new available archival sources have been used. It provides a better
understanding of refugees and internee soldiers’ everyday cultural and social life and
possible integration into Lithuanian society. There is a hope that this work will expand
the knowledge about refugee life in Lithuania 1939 – 1940.
4
Encyclopedia of Genocide and crimes against humanity.vol. I-III. New York, 2005; Encyclopedia of
population. New York, 2003; Collection of international instruments and legal texts concerning refugees
and others of concern to UNHCR. Turin, 2007
5
Polskie podziemie na terenach Zachodniej Ukrainy i Zachodniej Białorusi w latach 1939 – 1941.
Warszawa – Moskwa, 2001; Katyń. Dokumenty zbrodny. T.1. Jeńcy nie wypowiedzianej wojny. Sierpień
1939 – marzec 1940. Warszawa, 1995; Deportacje obywateli polskich z Zachodniej Ukrainy i Zachodniej
Białorusi w 1940 roku. Warszawa – Moskwa, 2003; СССР и Литва в годы второй мировой войны.
Т.1. СССР и Литовская республика (март 1939 – август 1940).
Vilnius, 2006
BRIEF CONTENT OF THE DISSERTATION
I. The World War II refugees in Lithuania according to inner legislation
War refugees despite the circumstances they have to leave homeland and seek
The Essay on War Day Grenades Camp
Veteran interview My grandfather, Larry, served in WWII. He enlisted and stationed at Camp Polk. He went through places like New Guinea and the Philippines during the war. When I asked him if he experienced any combat he said; "yes, I experienced some combat. But most of the time I spent in combat was in a tank. Not too much action there." A typical day in my grandfathers' life at the time was to ...
for asylum in other countries might be cold foreigners. It means that foreign visitors as
tourists and war refugees have something common. And first of all – they have not
citizenship of country they came in. Such presumption is validated according to
Lithuanian legislation. In 1933 published “Decree of foreigners living”, everyone who
has not citizenship of Lithuania was named foreigner. In 1939, after six years, all the
refugees who crossed the Lithuanian border, according to “Law for regulation of war
refugees” were named foreigners as well. In autumn 1939, after Vilnius was returned to
Lithuania, the problem of citizenship was very serious. During the whole staying in
Lithuania war refugees were equated to status of foreigners. The similarity between
foreigners and war refugees had more common points. War refugees same as foreign
visitors have not a right to participate in political life. Both might be deported from
Lithuania. Without special permissions it was forbidden to work for foreign visitors and
war refugees. According to what was mentioned we may do a presumption or actually
to make a finding that legislation of war refugee was not made spontaneous as a factor
of circumstances. It was made as a complements on existed legislation basis.
II. The Polish internee soldiers in Lithuania 1939 – 1940
According to archival sources, the officials of Lithuania in those days had
grouped refugees into three categories: a) internee Polish soldiers; b) war refugees; c)
newcomers.
The internee soldiers were only those soldiers who retreated into the Republic of
Lithuania. The war refugees were the people who came mostly from former Poland
parts occupied by soviets seeking for asylum. And at last by newcomers the
administration and officials meant the inhabitants of Vilnius district which after October
1939 became a part of the Republic of Lithuania. The newcomers had not satisfied
requirements for Lithuanian citizenship.
. Internee polish soldiers in Lithuania were the soldiers who according military
actions retreated into Lithuania. They were in different category, than soldiers who
The Term Paper on Refugee Problem Source War Refugees
The Palestinian refugee problem first started in 1948 during the 1948 Civil War. This war was between the Jewish Zionists and the Arab League and was a dispute over the UN partition plan. This war ended in Jewish victory and the refugee problem started because this war saw the end of the state of Palestine and the creation of Israel and small areas of occupied territory. There were then further ...
escaped from territories occupied by Germany and Soviet Union, because those,
according convention of Hague were in war prisoner category. General J.Černius in
September 19, few days after soviets began military operations, issued an order to open
Lithuanian – Polish state borders for retreating Polish soldiers.
Polish soldiers retreated with full ammunition. According the reference of
general Gerulaitis, from September until January Lithuania took over ammunition
approximately for two milion Litas. Internee soldiers were a specific group, and all
affairs about internees were passed to the Ministry of Defensive. During the first weeks
internees were allocated through Petrasiunai allocation point. Later from the beginning
of October, when the organization of camps was finished, the border guards received
the instruction to provide Polish soldiers to the internee camps. In the beginning of
October the internees were allocated to following internee camps: 1st
Suvalkų Kalvarija
(1280 – internees), 2nd
Rokiškis (1940 – internees), 3rd
Raudonė (535 – internees), 4th
V
fort of the Kaunas fortress (500 – internees), 5th
Birštonas (1500 – internees), 6th
Alytus
(4000 – internees) and 7th
Gaižiūnai polygon (3100 – internees).
According to period
and different sources the number of internees reached as high as 12 – 14 thousand.
In November 1939 more than forty thousand Soviet troops crossed Lithuanian
borders according to the Treaty between Lithuania and Soviet Union. Some soviet
military units were allocated in same places where internee camps were. Therefore the
dislocation of camps was changed and in the beginning of December 1939 the internee
camps were as follows: 1st
Suvalku Kalvarija, 2nd
Rokiškis, 3rd
Palanga, 4th
Kulautuva,
5th
Birštonas, 6th
Ukmergė, 7th
Aukštoji Panemunė.
Until the January 1940, five million Litas were spent for internee affairs.
Approximately for one officer the number was 4,85 Lt and for soldier – 4 Lt. daily. In
comparison with them, a civil refuge was assigned 0,56 Lt. per day. According to
Lithuanian legislation and international conventions internees had right for
correspondence. The possibility for meetings with family members was provided as
well. In November 1939 a convalescent home for patients with venereal disease in
Kulautuva camp was equipped.
The first big problems that administration and officials in charge faced were staff
of camps. It was not possible to work properly because of lack of personnel who may
understand the office job. That’s why during the first months there were difficulties
with orders issue or document writing. Actually during the whole period of camps
existence the daily order was not ensured or such order was left in the paper. There were
cases that internees were coming to the restaurants in company with officials of the
camp. It was almost usual that internees and guardians of the camps were coming to the
restaurants, were internees were eating and drinking, and the guardians were waiting for
them. The officials of the camp as well as officers and civils were getting in friendly
relations with internees very quickly and began drinking, playing cards, and delivering
letters. Such strange circumstances might look as fail to keep situation under control.
But it would be wrong viewpoint and misunderstanding of situation. There is a very
logical explanation of disorder in internee camps. As usual it was money. Every single
month during internees staying, cost for Lithuania more then million litas. The solution
to cut expenses was to reduce number of internees. Some camps as in Palanga were
allocated at the Baltic see shore near Latvian border. Because of Germany occupation,
the way to France and England laid through Scandinavia. The disorder in camps, plenty
freedom that was provided for internees might be called as non official opportunity for
internees and solution to cut expenses. The escapings from the camps was not a simple
coinsidence, but a frequent ocurance shows the numbers. During the last week of
November 70 internees escaped from camps. From October 1939 until May 1940 more
then 3000 internees had escaped from camps.
III. Civil war refugees in Lithuania 1939 – 1940
In October 1939 after Vilnius district was returned to Lithuania according to the
Lithuanian legislation not everyone inhabitant of Vilnius might get Lithuanian
citizenship. Therefore more than 100 thousand former citizens of Poland have not get
citizenship and were named newcomers. Later all of them were equated to war refugees.
There was not a special institution to register more than 150 thousand refugees, equip
them with daily material and to administrate them. At the beginning of December 1939
Lithuanian Seimas approved the “Law for regulation of war refugees”. According to that the main institution responsible for war refugee administration became
Commissariat for war refugee affairs. The Commissariat itself was branch of Ministry
of Interior. Another institution which was in charge for daily dealings with refugees
was Lithuanian Red Cross. In December 1939 the Gentlemen’s agreement between
Lithuanian Red Cross and international organizations was approved. According to the
agreement International Red Cross, United States Hoover Committee and Joint
Committee committed to transfer 100 thousand US dollars to the special account every
month. Lithuania agreed to co finance as much as 33%. According that till May 1940
Lithuanian treasury made extra payments in 1 232 840 litas. In spring 1940 the
financial support for refugees according to political situation in Europe became smaller.
The co financing to international transfers reached 50%. From May 1 1940 Lithuanian
Red Cross stopped extra payments.
In September and first weeks of October 1939 refugees were organized according
to their nationality and occupations. There were in Vilnius committee of railway men,
the sections of Polish and Jewish journalists, the sections of Polish and Jewish writers.
The biggest nongovernmental organization dealing with war refugees was “The
Committee for refugee support. Among population it was better known as Committee of
Zagurskis. The committee began its activity from mid of September, when Vilnius was
under commandment of soviets. At the end of October 1939 Lithuanian administration
had settled in Vilnius. Some changes in administration of war refugees were made.
Nevertheless the committee worked until spring 1940. In spring 1940, according to
numbers of refugees in Vilnius, the Lithuanian officials decided to spread them. The
refugees (Jewish and Polish) moved to Ukmergė, Panevėžys, Biržai, Šiauliai and
Rokiškis districts. The refugees who reject to move out may face arrest. The exception
was made for refugees who were going to Palestine, schoolchildren and their parents.
Some native inhabitants of Vilnius and war refugees during several weeks of
soviet occupation organized into underground movement. Since October 1939 the
Polish underground groups became more active. The Polish underground organizations
were not united during first months of activity. There were two different wings –
radical, extreme and moderate. The moderate organizations tried to find a compromise
with Lithuanian administration. Meanwhile radical organizations had planed extreme and even terror acts. The Polish underground was active in Vilnius district but in soviet
occupied territory as Lyda, Molodecno, Asmena, Breslaw, and Grodno as well.
One of the most important factors for underground movement was finances. The
archival sources that were used provide information that some of Polish underground
organizations had very close connections with foreign countries embassies and
consulates. Especially active were allies of Poland France and England. The
connections with foreign mission assured the regular financing and orders from Polish
Government in France. The network of Polish underground covered Vilnius, Warsaw,
Berlin, Stockholm, Paris, and London. To deliver to Lithuania the instructions from
Polish resistance headquarters diplomatic mail was used. A big part in that played
Japanese consul in Lithuania Ch. Sugihara.
The general picture of Jewish refugees who came to Lithuania could be depicted
as a huge group of Jewish intellectual people who gathered in the consequence of
natural calamity. The soviet “freedom demarche” which started on September 17th
1939
to the Western Ukraine and Byelorussia intercepted the retreat of Jewish refugees to the
Eastern part of Poland for some time. According to the outcome of Ribbentrop-Molotov
pact 1.8 million Jews out of 3 million who lived in pre-war Poland stayed in the part
occupied by Reich. 1.2 million of them could “expect” to become soviet citizens. The
Jewish refugees who arrived to Lithuania differed from the usual war refugees by their
social status. Most of 10.000 refugees who got registered in Vilnius until March 1940
were male (7.500); 2000 females and only 500 children. So it seems families came to
very slight percentage of Jewish refugees. Such quite unusual unisexuality could be
easily explained – a big part of them were yeshiva students. Poland between World War
I and World War II was famed for its Jewish religious schools – yeshivas in a world
scale. Many young Jewish people from all over the world were coming to Mir, Radin,
Lomrza, Kamenec, Grodno, Pinsk yeshivas before the war to study religious science. It
is absolutely clear that students and their lecturers could expect nothing good from
soviets. When rumors got about Vilnius that it would be annexed to independent and
neutral Lithuania their future linked to Lithuanian Jerusalem. The yeshiva students from
Kleck were the first to come to Vilnius. It happened on
October 14th
1939. On 16th
yeshiva students from Mir arrived. On October 28th
1939 Vilnius district was returned
to Lithuania. After defining the new Lithuanian – Soviet Union border on the first half of November it was getting more and more difficult to cross it. In November a
registration to become a Soviet citizen in the occupied territories was proclaimed. It is
to be supposed that this fact even more heated migratory moods of Jews who were
going to leave “Soviet paradise”. The great number of Jewish refugees who arrived to
Lithuania were Zionists. The attitude of Soviet structures towards Zionism was mono
semantically negative. Therefore it becomes clear why they were interested in leaving
occupied by the Soviets territories and retreating to Lithuania. It was quite clear that if
they became soviet citizens any aspirations to leave for Palestine or Western countries
would be treated as treason of their new homeland (Soviet Union) and any efforts to go
on such journey would be broken off on the other side of the Ural Mountains or in any
place of gloomy taiga in Siberia. Even after stricter control of the border stream of
refugees did not cease right until June 1940. Meanwhile nobody forced the Jewish
refugees who came to Lithuania to become Lithuanian citizens and they were able to
organize future journeys without bigger difficulties. The refugees and native Lithuanian
Jews confronted with considerably more serious problems. Those were permissions to
enter Palestine: at that time Palestine was controlled by the British who strictly limited
the number of persons who could enter Palestine. In 1940 there was set a semiannual
quota for the Jews, from all over the world – 9.000 persons with permission to enter the
country. The above mentioned number without allocating it to countries at first was
distributed according to a form set by the Jews themselves. This means: 3.000
permissions were received by wives and children, the other 3.000 permissions were
received by students, 1.800 – by businessmen and the rest 1.200 permissions were
distributed among parents of earlier emigrated persons, workmen, Rabbis and engaged
girls. It is hard to say what the exact number of permissions was received by Lithuanian
Jews after this kind of distribution but it was obvious that it was significantly small.
Even if the permission to go to Palestine was received the hard trials were waiting for
lucky persons. The Soviet Union didn’t let emigrating Jews to go through its territory in
the meanwhile the way through Nazi Germany was naturally locked up. Therefore until
the spring 1940 traditionally there was taken up the northern way for traveling. This
means that at first travelers had to go to Sweden from there to transfer to France and
only then they could start their journey to Palestine After the registration Jewish refugees were took by Jewish organizations such as
– Joint, Hicem, Oze. Ezro. The committee for assistance for Jewish refugees had
sections in Balbieriškis, Kalvarija, Kazlų Rūda, Kybartai, Kudirkos Naumiestis,
Marijampolė, Pilviškiai, Seirijai, Simnas, Šakiai, Vilkaviškis, Virbalis, Vištytis.
Refugees were accommodated by family members in Lithuania or rich Jews. The
committee for assistance for Jewish refugees had sections of nutrition, accommodation,
law and emigration, clothing, family allowance, children care, control and statistic.
There were 27 canteens, 52 sewing sections, 36 hostels under control of committee.
The main financial support for committee was from international Jewish organizations.
At least 10 Jewish organizations from United States initiated support campaigns for
Jewish refugees in Lithuania. At the end of 1939 the daily support for Jewish refugees
was 2.50 litas; Polish refugees get 1,50 litas and at last Lithuanians get 0.85 litas.
Meanwhile after June 15th
1940, the situation changed cardinally. When the
Jewish refugees fell under the Soviets influence for the second time they had an interest
to leave Lithuania which was being annexed. The Jewish refugees started to seek for
alternative ways of leaving Lithuania which was loosing its independence. Two foreign
diplomats in Lithuania: Dutch consul J.Zwartendijk and Japanese consul Ch. Sugihara
were the rescuers who helped Jewish refugees leave Lithuania. The first J.Zwartendijk –
Ch.Sugihara visas were given in the middle of July and became especially popular.
During the short period – visas were being given more than a month – there were given
more than 2.000 transit visas for the refugees.
In autumn 1939 the Lithuanian press was full of information about war.
According to pre – war relations between Lithuania and Poland most of news were
tendentious. Sometimes it was not difficult to feel a spiteful mood of the press. The
news about refugees were short and most of them reflected numbers of Polish internees.
It was not difficult to feel some satisfaction reading this news.
To prevent a negative opinion on government, and explain the situation why
thousands of refugees were accepted by Lithuania it was annotated in that way that
everything was made according to international legislation. In any case the Lithuanian
officials tried not to publicize question of refugees. According to will of authorities the
society should keep itself away from the internees and refugees. The officials tried to explain to society, why just last year so hated Polish are seeking for asylum in Lithuania
and what is more important why Lithuania had to help them.
Talking about information in press about war refugees, we could point out a
couple of different positions. One of them shows us clearly a negative point of view
about Poland and the refugees who were coming. The question of Vilnius district was
the most important factor for such an evaluation. Another kind of information was full
of Lithuanian generosity, hospitality and many similar virtues. It should be noticed that
the information about Jewish refugees in Lithuanian press was rare. In spring 1940 the
information about refugees in press disappeared. Possibly this could be explained by the
normalized work of institutions which were responsible for refugees. And it was
decided not to escalate that problem in public.
CONCLUSIONS
1. The acceptance of World War II refugees by Lithuania in Autumn 1939 was
made according to international treaties and conventions that were ratified by
Lithuania.
2. Lithuanian administration had divided World War II refugees into war refugees
(karo atbėgėliai), Polish internee soldiers and newcomers. The number of the
latter was highest, because after incorporation of Vilnius there were plenty of
former citizens of Poland who had no right to Lithuanian citizenship.
Approximately the number of newcomers was 100 000. Depending on period
there were 25 – 28 thousands of war refugees and 12 – 14 thousands of Polish
internee soldiers.
3. The internee camps were established and administrated according to “July 27th
1929, Geneva Convention of regulation of prisoners of war” and similar
legislation in Lithuania. The headquarters for Internee camps was established.
4. Because of the unexpected huge number of internees, the camps for internee
were established in rush and hurry. Sometimes schools, resort and country-
houses were used for camps. The number of camps depending of period was
different but never reached as high as 7 camps.
5. During the existence of internee camps from Autumn of 1939 till Summer of 1940 the inner camp order and discipline was not enforced. The escaping and
withdrawal were usual things. It was difficult to enforce discipline, because of
the camps set out.
6. Establishing and administration of camps cost big expenses for Lithuania.
Lithuanian officials tried to reduce number of internees. That is why the
discipline in camps was not ensured and several thousand of internees were
released from camps as ill. It was not incapability of Lithuanian administration
but deliberate actions.
7. The personnel of camps was unprepared and not qualified. Personnel of natives
had close relations with internees. It may be called friendship with mutual
advantage.
8. The soviets after Lithuanian occupation in June 1940 took over the Polish
internees and sent them to Soviet Union. More then 4000 Polish internees were
sent to Soviet Union. The officers were stransfered to camp of Juchnovsk,
officials and policemen to camp of Juzsk.
9. The number of civil refuges depending of period was 27 – 35 thousands. The
administration of civil war refugees was under responsibility of Commissariat
for refugee affairs. The Commissariat itself was in the Ministry of Interior of
Lithuania.
10. The handout of civil refugees was under responsibility of Lithuanian Red Cross
and international organizations. According to “Gentleman’s agreement”
Lithuania agreed to co finance as much as 30% – 50 % of resources which were
raised by international organizations.
11. The administration and financing of war refugees were made according to
refugee’s nationality. Because of activity of Jewish international organizations,
the Jewish refugees were best provided.
12. Former Polish citizens inhabitants of Vilnius district who did not satisfied the
regulations for Lithuanian citizenship were named newcomers. The were more
then 100 thousand of newcomers. In 1940 according to Lithuanian legislation
newcomers were quieted to war refugees.
13. Since September 1939 in Lithuania there was a network of Polish underground
organizations. After Vilnius district incorporation the activity of underground organizations intensified. In different periods the underground organizations had
1000 – 1500 active members. Foreign embassies and consulates in Lithuania had
big influence to polish underground network.
14. There were approximately ten thousand of Jewish refugees in Lithuania. A big
part of them were students of Jewish religious schools. Since June 1940, when
Lithuania fell under the Soviet influence they had an interest to leave Lithuania
which was being annexed. Two foreign diplomats in Lithuania, Dutch consul
J.Zwartendijk and Japanese consul Ch. Sugihara, were the rescuers who helped
Jewish refugees leave Lithuania.
15. The opinion on refugees in Lithuanian press was formed by Vilnius district
problem and prewar relations between Lithuania and Poland. The information
about Jewish refugees in Lithuanian press was rare.
Antrojo pasaulinio karo pabėgėliai Lietuvoje 1939 – 1940 metais
Santrauka
Karas sujaukia ir supainioja žmonių nusistovėjusią buitį ir kasdienybę, tačiau
žmogiška prigimtis su visomis iš to išplaukiančiomis ydomis ir silpnybėmis retai kada
pasiduoda didesnėms permainoms. Kiekvienas karas, kurį lydi kariniai veiksmai,
neatsiejamai susijęs su tokiais palydovais kaip diplomatiniai santykiai, mūšiai, aukos,
belaisviai, kariniai daliniai ir jų vadovybė. Tačiau bet kuris karas, tarsi atskiras žmonijos
egzistencijos pasaulis turi žymiai daugiau formų ir išraiškų, kurios paliečia žmogų jau
vien todėl, kad jam buvo lemta gimti ir gyventi netinkamoje vietoje ir netinkamu laiku.
Bet kurio karo, tarsi kokios stichinės nelaimės, aukomis tampa visi gyvenantieji
veiksmų zonoje. Todėl 1939 m. rugsėjo 1 d. prasidėjus kariniams veiksmams tarp
Lenkijos ir Vokietijos Vakarų Lenkijos, o po rugsėjo 17 d. ir visos Lenkijos gyventojus
užklupo visi su karu tiesiogiai susiję sunkumai. Frontui sparčiai judant į rytus, į dar
neužimtas Lenkijos sritis, plūstelėjo pabėgėlių srautas. Karinių veiksmų vietose ir
arčiausiai esančiose teritorijose didžiulį pagreitį įgavo migraciniai procesai. Karo
pabėgėliai sudarė skirtingą ir itin margą daugiasluoksnę masę, kurios absoliuti dauguma
buvo lenkų ir žydų tautybių atstovai. Kitas naujai atvykstančių žmonių kontingentas
patekęs į Lietuvą buvo internuotieji Lenkijos kariai.
Disertacijos tyrimo objektas: Antrojo pasaulinio karo pabėgėliai Lietuvoje, jų
patekimo, buvimo ir išvykimo iš Lietuvos Respublikos 1939–1940 m. raida.
Šio darbo tikslas: Susipažinus su istoriografija ir šaltiniais atskleisti karo
pabėgėlių gyvenimo Lietuvos Respublikoje aplinkybes. Pateikti jų santykių su Lietuvos
gyventojais, administracijos atstovais bei tarptautinėmis organizacijomis eigą.
Daktaro disertacijos chronologiniai rėmai, apibrėžti darbo pavadinime, yra
1939 rugsėjo mėnuo – 1940 m. rugpjūčio mėnuo. Pirmoji pasirinkta data yra tiesiogiai
susijusi su Antrojo pasaulinio karo pradžia ir dėl to prasidėjusiu karo pabėgėlių
atvykimu bei Lenkijos karių internavimo Lietuvos Respublikoje pradžia. Galutinė
tiriamojo laikotarpio riba sietina su 1940 m. vasaros įvykiais Lietuvoje, kurie turėjo
tiesioginės įtakos karo pabėgėlių ir internuotųjų Lenkijos karių buvimui Lietuvoje bei šių žmonių likimams. 1940 m. rugpjūtį buvo uždarytos paskutinės internuotųjų
stovyklos ir daugiau kaip 4000 internuotųjų Lenkijos karių išvežta į Sovietų Sąjungos
gilumą. Lietuvai tapus sąjungine respublika rugpjūčio mėnesio pabaigoje visos
Lietuvoje rezidavusių užsienio valstybių atstovybės buvo uždarytos ir jų veikla
nutraukta.
Rašant darbą, sisteminant ir analizuojant publikuotuose ir neskelbtuose
šaltiniuose rastus dokumentus bei istoriografijoje esančius duomenis buvo naudojamas
aprašomasis, lyginamasis, statistinis ir teksto analizės metodai.
Antrojo pasaulinio karo pabėgėlių patekimo ir buvimo Lietuvoje istorija dar nėra
sulaukusi išsamių ir detalių tyrimų. Šiandien tyrinėtojams prieinama istoriografija tik
epizodiškai aprašo Antrojo pasaulinio karo pabėgėlių buvimo Lietuvoje raidą, jų
santykius Lietuvos administracija, vietos gyventojais. Daugiausiai istorikų dėmesio yra
sulaukę Lenkijos karių internavimo, buvimo internuotųjų stovyklose tyrimai. Vis dėl to
daugelis Antrojo pasaulinio karo pabėgėlių Lietuvoje būvimo ir veiklos epizodų dar
nėra sulaukę istoriko plunksnos. Egzistuojanti plati šaltinių bazė leidžia atskleisti
istoriografijoje dar neprašytus karo pabėgėlių istorijos aspektus. Rengiant daktaro
disertaciją, naudotasi archyviniais šaltiniais, taip pat publikuotais šaltiniais, Lietuvoje
1939 – 1940 metais leista periodine spauda.
Darbo tikslas, išsikelti uždaviniai bei chronologinis dėstymo būdas lėmė tokią
darbo struktūrą: darbas, be įvado (kuriame formuluojamas darbo tikslas ir išsikeliami
uždaviniai, aptariama nagrinėjamos temos istoriografija, klasifikuojami ir aptariami
šaltiniai), išvadų, šaltinių bei literatūros sąrašų, darbo priedų sudarytas iš 3 dalių.
Pirmoji jų skirta pristatyti svetimšalių ir karo pabėgėlių sąvokų panašumams ir
skirtumams remiantis Lietuvos teisiniais aktais aptarti. Antroji dalis skirta
internuotiesiems Lenkijos kariams. Joje aptariama Lenkijos karių internavimas,
internuotųjų stovyklų steigimas, stovyklų tinklo kaita bei jų likvidavimas. Atskiruose
skyriuose nagrinėta internuotų karių gyvenimo stovyklose kasdienybė, karių repatriacija
į Sovietų Sąjungos ir Vokietijos užimtas teritorijas bei internuotųjų karių perėmimas iš
sovietų pusės 1940 m. vasarą. Trečioji disertacijos dalis skirta civiliams karo
pabėgėliams. Pirmasis skyrius parodo pabėgėlių administravimo aspektus remiantis
Komisariato karo atbėgėlių reikalams tvarkyti ir Lietuvos Raudonojo Kryžiaus veikla.
Kadangi absoliučią pabėgėlių daugumą sudarė lenkų ir žydų tautybių pabėgėliai ši dalis yra padalinta į skyrius kiekvienai tautinei grupei atskirai aptarti bei Lietuvos pilietybės
suteikimo problematikai. Skyriuose, skirtuose lenkų pabėgėliams, stengtasi parodyti
lenkų pabėgėlių bei Vilniaus krašto gyventojų „ateivių“ teisinį statusą Lietuvos
Respublikoje. Bandyta atskleisti pogrindinių organizacijų veiklą bei jų santykius su
užsienio atstovybėmis. Teksto dalyje skirtoje žydų pabėgėlių situacijos analizei,
daugiausia buvo koncentruojamasi į socialinį pabėgėlių statusą, lietuvių administracijos
požiūrį į žydų pabėgėlius bei pastarųjų bandymus išvykti iš Lietuvos 1940 m. vasarą.
Atskiru skyriumi buvo aptartas lietuviškoje spaudoje vyravęs karo pabėgėlių įvaizdis.
Tyrimų rezultatų apibendrinimas.
Karo pabėgėlių atvykimas – priėmimas į Lietuvos Respublikos teritoriją 1939 m.
rudenį buvo atliktas laikantis to meto galiojančių tarptautinių sutarčių, kurias Lietuva
buvo ratifikavusi.
Lietuvos administracija karo pabėgėlius skirstė į karo atbėgėlius, internuotuosius
lenkų karius ir ateivius. Pastarųjų skaičius buvo didžiausias, kadangi po Vilniaus krašto
prijungimo neturėjusių teisės į Lietuvos pilietybę Vilniaus krašto gyventojų skaičius
siekė per 100 000. Karo atbėgėlių priklausomai nuo laikotarpio buvo priskaičiuojama
virš 30 tūkstančių. Daugiausiai tai buvo lenkų ir žydų tautybių karo pabėgėliai.
Internuotų lenkų karių buvo priskaičiuojama iki 14 tūkstančių.
Internuotųjų karių stovyklos buvo steigiamos ir administruojamos laikantis 1929
m. Ženevos konvencijos dėl elgimosi su karo belaisviais bei jos pagrindu Lietuvoje
leistais įstatymais. Internuotųjų stovykloms administruoti buvo suformuotas
Internuotųjų stovyklų štabas prie Krašto apsaugos ministerijos.
Dėl netikėto ir didelio internuotųjų skaičiaus stovyklos internuotiesiems
apgyvendinti buvo steigiamos nespėjus tinkamai pasiruošti. Neretai stovyklų reikmėms
būdavo panaudojami viešos paskirties pastatai – mokyklos, kurortinių miestų
vasarnamiai, sanatorijos, organizacijų namai. Bendras stovyklų skaičius svyravo, tačiau
nebuvo peržengta 7 internuotųjų stovyklų riba.
Per visą internuotųjų stovyklų Lietuvoje buvimo laiką nuo 1939 m. rudens iki
1940 m. vasaros stovyklų viduje ir už jų ribų tvarka pilnai nebuvo užtikrinta. Dėl
stovyklų atskirų korpusų išmėtymo vienos vietovės atžvilgiu tai buvo sunku padaryti.
Kiekvienoje stovykloje dažnai pasitaikydavo pabėgimo atvejų, savavališko pasišalinimo
iš stovyklos teritorijos, girtuokliavimo. Internuotųjų stovyklų įrengimas jų administravimas, internuotųjų karių išlaikymas
buvo didelė finansinė našta. Iš Lietuvos pusės buvo nuolat įvairiais būdais stengiamasi
sumažinti internuotųjų skaičių. Todėl į stovyklų apsaugos trūkumus, dažnus pabėgimus,
netinkamą išorės ir vidine prasmėmis stovyklų išdėstymą, fenomenalų internuotųjų
sergamumą reiktų žiūrėti nekaip į nesugebėjimą suvaldyti esamos situacijos, o kaip į
sąmoningus Lietuvos pusės veiksmus.
Dirbantis stovyklose personalas buvo tam neparuoštas ir menkai kvalifikuotas.
Kokybiškam darbui atlikti trukdė dirbančio personalo išteklių trūkumas, kalbos barjeras,
raštvedybos įgūdžių trūkumas. Žemesnio rango internuotųjų stovyklų personalas kaip ir
vietiniai gyventojai palaikė su internuotaisiais kariais glaudžius santykius, kuriuos
apibūdinti būtų galima kaip draugiškumą paremtą abipuse nauda.
Daugiau kaip 4000 internuotųjų Lenkijos karių po 1940 m. birželio sovietinės
okupacijos, buvo perimti sovietinių struktūrų ir išvežti į Sovietų Sąjungos gilumą.
Karininkai buvo išsiusti į Juchnovsko stovyklą, o tarnautojai ir policininkai į Jūžsko
stovyklą.
Civilių karo pabėgėlių skaičius svyravo nuo 27 iki 35 tūkstančių. Jų
administravimas buvo pavestas Karo atbėgėliams tvarkyti komisariatui, kuris buvo
Vidaus reikalų ministerijos žinioje.
Karo pabėgėlių šalpa rūpinosi Lietuvos Raudonasis Kryžius bei tarptautinės
organizacijos karo atbėgėliams remti. Lietuva iš savo pusės buvo prisiėmusi
įsipareigojimus, remiantis „Gentleman’s agreement“, kofinansuoti iš Lietuvos biudžeto
nuo 30 % iki 50 % karo pabėgėliams skirtų lėšų surinktų tarptautinių organizacijų.
Karo pabėgėlių administravimas ir finansavimas buvo atliekami remiantis
pabėgėlių tautine priklausomybe. Dėl aktyvios tarptautinių žydų organizacijų veiklos ir
gero finansavimo, geriausiai buvo aprūpinti žydų tautybės pabėgėliai.
Lenkijos piliečiai Vilniaus krašto gyventojai, kurie neatitiko įstatyme numatytų
nuostatų Lietuvos pilietybei gauti buvo vadinami ateiviais. Jų buvo priskaičiuojama virš
100 tūkstančių. 1940 m. balandį ateiviai kaip svetimšaliai buvo prilyginti pabėgėlių
statusui. Jiems buvo neleidžiama dirbti, laisvai keisti gyvenamos vietos, taikomi kiti
apribojimai.
Lietuvos Respublikos teritorijoje nuo 1939 m. rugsėjo veikė pogrindinių lenkų
organizacijų tinklas. Po Vilniaus krašto prijungimo, organizacijų veikla suaktyvėjo. Įvairiais laikotarpiais preliminariai pogrindinėms organizacijoms priklausė apie 1000 –
1500 narių. Lenkų pogrindžio organizacijoms didelės įtakos veiksmų koordinavimo ir
finansavimo klausimais turėjo Lietuvoje veikusios užsienio valstybių atstovybės.
Pogrindžio veikloje aktyviai dalyvavo Anglijos, Prancūzijos, Japonijos diplomatinių
pasiuntinybių atstovai.
Nemažą dalį žydų pabėgėlių tarpe sudarė religinių žydų mokyklų – ješivų
studentai bei rabinai pasitraukę į Lietuvą po sovietų įvykdytos Rytų Lenkijos
okupacijos. Žydų tautybės karo pabėgėliai sovietams 1940 m. birželio mėnesį okupavus
Lietuvą suaktyvino pasitraukimo iš Lietuvos galimybių paieškas. Vienu iš tokių
variantų tapo Japonijos konsulo Č. Sugiharos ir Olandijos konsulo J.Zwartendijko
išduodamos tranzitinės vizos. Apytiksliai tokiomis vizomis pasinaudojo 4000 – 5000
pabėgėlių. Sunku tiksliai nustatyti koks buvo ne žydų tautybės pabėgėlių procentas tarp
pasinaudojusių šiomis tranzitinėmis vizomis, tačiau galima daryti prielaidą, kad
išvykstančiųjų tarpe buvo dalis pogrindinių organizacijų narių.
Karo pabėgėlių įvaizdžiui, kuris buvo formuojamas lietuviškoje spaudoje 1939 –
1940 didelės įtakos turėjo du dešimtmečius trukę nesutarimai tarp Lietuvos ir Lenkijos.
1939 m. rugsėjo – lapkričio mėnesiais neretai buvo galima pajusti piktdžiugišką gaidelę,
dėl greito lenkų pralaimėjimo. Ypač jautriai buvo reaguojama Vilniaus priklausomybės
Lietuvai kvestionavimą iš lenkų pusės. Dažniausia informacija liečianti karo pabėgėlius
buvo pateikiama itin glausta, daugiau faktografinė – statistinė. Informacijos liečiančios
žydų tautybės pabėgėlius Lietuvoje buvo labai mažai.
PUBLICATIONS ON THE DISSERTATION THEME
Articles in the reviewed scientiflc periodicals approved by the Department of
Science and Studies of Lithuania:
Strelcovas S. Pabėgėliai, gelbėtojai, vizos. Kaunas 1939-1940 m.// Darbai ir Dienos,
T.47, 2007, P. 61 – 74;
Articles in other Lithuanian reviewed scientiflc editions:
Strelcovas S. Chiune Sugihara ir Janas Zwartendijkas – Pasaulio tautų teisuoliai.
Istorinės peripetijos tarp sovietinių struktūrų, žydų pabėgėlių ir jų gelbėtojų //
Genocidas ir rezistencija 2 (14), 2003, P. 44 – 51;
Strelcovas S. Internuotųjų Lenkijos karių stovyklos Kaune ir jo apylinkėse (1939-1940).
// Kauno istorijos metraštis, T.8, 2007, P.37 – 47
About the author
Name Simonas Strelcovas
Education Bachelor studies at the Vytautas Magnus University, 1999
Master of Arts at the Vytautas Magnus University, 2001
Professional experience: Historian in Historical Presidential Palace of the Republic
of Lithuania in Kaunas
Phone +370 650 93391
E-mail: [email protected]
