Birutė Society
Established in 1885 in Tilsit, East Prussia (present-day Sovetsk), the society was intermittently active until the outbreak of World War I.
While it discussed linguistic and cultural subjects, the society never raised issues of social inequality or protested against the political regime of Kaiser Wilhelm II.
[1] The society prompted the division of Prussian Lithuanians into two main groups: religious conservative versus secular liberals.
[4] Instead, on 15 February 1885, four Prussian Lithuanians (Martynas Jankus, Jurgis Mikšas, Kristupas Voska, Ernestas Vejeris) established purely cultural society Birutė.
[4] The society was named after Grand Duchess Birutė (died in 1382) possibly as a result of a poem published in Aušra.
[5] The society held monthly meeting to discuss new books, share folklore, deliver presentations, debate on ways to stop Germanization.
[3] The meetings took place not only in Tilsit, but also in Memel (Klaipėda), Coadjuthen (Katyčiai), Kaukehmen (Jasnoje), Ragnit (Neman), Lasdehnen (Krasnoznamensk), Schmalleningken (Smalininkai).
[5] In one of the early meetings, Vilius Bruožis, future chairman of the society, spoke for three hours trying to prove that the Lithuanian language was spoken in the Garden of Eden.
It organized a festival, attended by some 800 people, which included amateur theater performance of a play by Aleksandras Fromas-Gužutis about the Siege of Kaunas in 1362.
[10] Other songs included polka and mazurka by Vincas Kudirka, compositions by teacher Eduard Gisevius [lt], works by German and Italian composers.
[3] Songs sung at Birutė's event were patriotic and often originated from Lithuania Major attracting criticism for being too radical.
Due to inappropriate behavior by Birutė members, the Lithuanian Choir refused further collaborations and the society's activities diminished.
[3] In 1908–1909, the society resumed the tradition of organizing concerts and theater performances at various rural locations of Lithuania Minor.
The celebration was inspired not only by the 25th anniversary of the society, but also by the German commemoration of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest a year earlier.
In articles published in Lietuwißka Ceitunga and Tilžės Keleiwis, opponents argued for maintaining good relations with all neighbors and not following the example of Poles who irresponsibly provoked conflicts.
The donors included linguists Jan Baudouin de Courtenay and Adalbert Bezzenberger, publishers of Aušra and Varpas, and others.
The society did not have separate premises and stored the books at home of its librarians, who included Dovas Zaunius and Jonas Smalakys.
