Dar kartą Vilniaus klausimu
Once More on Vilnius Issue

Summary/Abstract: For a long time in the Lithuanian historiography the question of Vilnius was highlighted as a local problem of Lithuanian - Polish relations. This was conditioned by a concrete political situation. In the historiography of the Second Republic of Lithuania this problem acquired a broader context. The events of 1919-1920 gave the problem of Vilnius an international status during the period between the world wars. When the League of Nations intervened, the problem became not only of European but also of worldwide scale. Traditionally, in the Lithuanian historiography the question of Vilnius included chronological frame between October 8, 1920, when the treaty of Suwalki was breached, and March 19, 1938, when the Polish ultimatum was accepted. For some time this period was treated by historians as monolithic. However, during that period, despite constant confrontation, one can also see some brighter moments. There were more of these moments at the beginning of the 1930's when it became clear that the question of Vilnius lost its importance in the international community. The period between June 12, 1934 when S. Lozoraitis became Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania and July 1936, when his second meeting with his Polish counterpart failed, can be called a period of warmer relationships (détente) between Kaunas and Warsaw. In an attempt to analyze the problem of Lithuanian - Polish relationships more objectively, it was necessary to look for a new point of reference. It was found in the document signed by A. Smetona and K. Bizauskas on August 22, 1937, which quite unexpectedly revealed some new aspects of Lithuania's nationalist foreign policy. In this document the President of Lithuania appoints the advisor of Lithuania's Mission in Poland Antanas Trimakas to the post of General Consul in Vilnius with the area of jurisdiction including the counties of Vilnius and Bialystok. It is possible to state with reference to the norms of international law that by this act A. Smetona recognized Vilnius and Vilnius region as part of Poland. Therefore we should expand the chronological frame of Vilnius question from the breach of Suwalki treaty on October 8, 1920 until August 22, 1939.

• Details
• Contents