Istorizmas Ir Lietuvių Tautinio Savitumo Problema
Historicism and Problem of Lithuanian National Distinction

Summary/Abstract: The article deals with the problem of Lithuanian national identity in Lithuanian professional historiography during first half of twentieth century. Historians of the first Republic of Lithuania (1918–1940) considered nationalism as negative thing, and historical science should keep a distance from political actualities. But the practical functions of such scholarship basically coincided with the tasks of modern Lithuanian nationalism. The history of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was the primarily focus. It was necessity to give an answer to the “alien” Polish historiography. Although romanticism in contemporary Lithuanian historiography was criticized by historians of various creeds, there were two opinions about Lithuanian cultural distinction. The first suggested that pagan Lithuanian culture (folk arts, folklore and language) was the original expression of culture. The second suggested that during pre-Christian epoque no significant cultural artifacts had been created. Sometimes both of these opinions were supported by the same historians (A. Šapoka, Z. Ivinskis).

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