Vilnius Region under Lithuanian administration (1939–1940)

The transfer of Vilnius which was completed on 27 October 1939 was celebrated as an act of historical justice, even though it meant a de facto loss of sovereignty.

Despite these measures, the Polish population regarded Lithuanian rule as more favourable than the terror perpetrated by the Germans and Soviets in their respective occupation zones.

[6] Soviet troops remained in Lithuanian-ruled Vilnius region, deploying in Naujoji Vilnia, Gaižiūnai, Prienai and Alytus.

[10] Michał Römer (Mykolas Römeris), a Lithuanian specialist in international law and rector of University of Kaunas, argued that Lithuania had not violated Poland's sovereignty because it had taken over its capital peacefully, from the state under whose administration it was temporarily located.

[11] Left-leaning journalist Justas Paleckis gave a gratitude speech toward the Soviet Union, in which he demanded freedom for political prisoners and the resignation of President Smetona; for this he was sent to the Dimitravas forced labour camp.

In addition, about 3,000 Jewish residents of the city were allowed to leave for the depths of the USSR - mainly those previously involved in the formation of the foundations of Soviet power.

[16] There was also a prevailing sense of relief at the end of the Soviet occupation, during which 348 people were arrested and deported, among them political leaders and university professors.

[25] Two Lithuanian researchers, Leonas Sabaliūnas and Regina Žepkaitė [lt], have made their own estimates of the demography of the area ruled by Lithuania, which differ significantly.

[27] This was caused by the paralysis of industry related to the loss of markets, this was equally true for all of Lithuania, whose trade had collapsed due to the outbreak of war.

[31] Although the Lithuanian authorities treated Vilnius as their state's legitimate capital, for fear of unrest in the city, they decided not to immediately transfer all offices from Kaunas.

[33] At the outset, the idea of granting autonomous status to Vilnius was rejected, as this would not have been accepted by public opinion, as well as the German and Soviet governments.

The moderate party grouped around the magazine Naujoji Romuva advocated gradual Lithuanianization, the introduction of extensive land reform, and tolerance for the non-Lithuanian population.

[34] On the other wing was the nationalist party with its organ Vairas, which advocated immediate Lithuanianization and exclusion of the Polish population from public life.

[34][35] Even the moderate wing called for separating war refugees and newcomers who appeared in Vilnius after 1920 from the local Polish community, deeming those impossible to "relithuanianization".

President Antanas Smetona himself declared that the state's task was to make Vilnius "more Lithuanian," but he was under a lot of internal pressure from national circles.

[37] Moreover, the conviction of the final nature of the border changes and that even if Poland was to be restored after the war, it would not encompass the eastern territories encouraged them to take a hard line.

[41] Lithuanian propaganda tried to exploit the anti-Jewish incidents by portraying Poles as fierce anti-Semites and making concessions to the Jewish population, including the introduction of Yiddish broadcasts on Vilnius radio.

The law recognised as "aliens" (Lithuanian: Svetimšalis), which were deprived of the civil rights, all persons who were not able to prove that at the age of 18 they had lived in Lithuania within the 1939 borders on 12 July 1920 (the date of the signing of the Lithuanian-Soviet Peace Treaty)[43]) and on 27 October 1939.

[44] The problem with the law was that it concerned two specific dates, and because both fell within the period of warfare, many people were unable to provide proper evidence.

[44] The law provided facilities for acquiring citizenship for persons who did not meet these conditions, but claimed to be Lithuanian nationals or were "meritorious to Lithuania".

[46] "Aliens" had their freedom of movement restricted (they could only leave their place of residence for 7 days with the permission of the local police station),[24] they were deprived of the right to engage in wage labour, with the exception of agriculture, belonging to social organisations, practising medicine or law, running pharmacies, bookshops or publishing houses, working in public offices, owning property, and even talking in public places.

[24] The Lithuanian authorities also refused to pay pensions and allowances to foreigners, despite the seizure of huge assets accumulated by the Polish Universal Mutual Insurance Company.

[44] As part of this process, street names, signboards, advertisements and school curricula were replaced with Lithuanian ones, and Polish emblems were removed.

[52] The Lithuanian authorities had an aversive attitude towards Archbishop Romuald Jałbrzykowski, who was accused of Polish nationalism and the Polonisation of the Church in Lithuania.

[59] On the other hand, in February 1940, under the pretext of saving paper, the Kaunas weekly magazines Głos Młodych and Chata Rodzinna were closed down.

[21] Due to the war and the Soviet occupation, many schools were deprived of teachers, and the Lithuanian government also decided to immediately dismiss half of the Polish teaching staff.

[74] On the basis of the military units stationed in the Vilnius region, as well as those interned in Lithuania, underground Regimental Circles began to be formed.

[78] A smaller Sanacja associated organization was the Committee for Struggle for Liberation founded at the end of September 1939 by Major Władysław Kamiński "Śliwa".

[83] At the turn of November and December 1939, the Provincial Command of the Service for Poland's Victory (SZP) was established, to be headed by Colonel Janusz Gaładyk "Strzała", who had arrived from Warsaw, but was arrested by the Lithuanian police and imprisoned in Kaunas Fort VI.

[85] In early June, the USSR issued an ultimatum to Lithuania demanding the formation of a friendly government and the freedom of its troops to stay on Lithuanian territory.