Acta Historica Universitatis Klaipedensis

The article analyses the relation to the past of Lithuanian identity orientation in the interwar Klaipėda with reference to cultural memory theory. It defines the semantics used in Lithuanian identity ideology, highlights the differences in the concepts of “Lithuanianicity” between local (Prussian) Lithuanians and the state of Lithuania, analyses the possibilities of introduction of Lithuanian identity orientation into public communication, as well as plots and motifs of the past, which were used for such introduction. It also researches formation and structure of the Prussian Lithuanian’s self-image of the past, and the methods used in interwar Klaipėda of consolidating this self-image into public culture of commemoration.