War, Revolution, and Nation-Making in Lithuania, 1914-1923

Abstract

This book explores how war made the Lithuanian state and shaped society from the onset of the Great War in 1914 to the last waves of violence in 1923. As the very notion of an independent Lithuania was constructed during the war, violence became an essential part of the formation of Lithuanian state, nation, and identity. War was much more than simply the historical context in which the tectonic change from empire to nation state took place. It transformed people, policies, institutions, and modes of thought in ways that would continue to shape the nation for decades after the conflict subsided. By telling the story of the post-World War I conflict in Lithuania, the book focuses on the juncture between soldiers and civilians rather than the strategies and acts of politicians, generals, or diplomats. Its two main themes are the impact of military, social, and cultural mobilizations on the local population, and different types of violence that were so characteristic of the region throughout the period. The actors in this story are people displaced by war and mobilized for war: refugees, veterans, volunteers, peasant conscripts, prisoners of war, paramilitary fighters, and others who took to guns, not diplomacy, to assert their power. The book tells the story of how their lives were changed by war and how they shaped the society that emerged after war.

The Collective Memory and its Transformations: The Great War and the Battle for Independence in Lithuania (1914–1920)

“…The commemoration of the centenary of the Great War (2014-2018) was widely celebrated around the world. In Lithuania historians published several books some of which were in English (Safronovas 2018;Balkelis 2018), but fiction and memoirs on the subject were reviewed in only two articles (Jokūbauskas 2016;Žmuida 2017).…”

"Zeligowski's Mutiny" as a Polish Way to Solve the "Vilnius Problem"

“…The General himself left behind several works: The War in 1920: Memories and Reflections was published in 1930 (the second edition -in 1990) 2 , On the Slavic Idea was published in London in 1941 3 , etc. The most striking feature in the Żeligowski memoirs is his dedication to Marshal Piłsudski, with a generally positive attitude towards his military decisions.…”

States of War

“…21 In the Baltic states, the national governments were in conflict not only with the German Freikorps and the Red Army, but also with the troops of Baltic Soviet republics, short-lived countergovernments created and supported by Moscow. 22 The internal division is particularly striking in the Polish case. At the end of 1918, there were more than half a dozen different centers of power.…”