Klaipėdos universitetas

In the western borderlands of the former Russian Empire, which the German army had taken over at the beginning of the First World War (1915), the state institutions of the newly declared independent Lithuania began to emerge in 1918. One of them was the Lithuanian army, established at the very end of the year, which lacked everything at the time, but which was to engage the approaching Bolshevik Red Army as early as January 1919. In the first years, as the Lithuanian army was being built up, it interacted with German troops, some of whom were units retreating from the Eastern Front, and others were newly formed from volunteers who were recruited in Germany to fight against Bolshevism in the east. As the political order in Europe was changing in a way that was very unfavourable to Germany, all hopes that the Germans would be able to maintain their control in the east collapsed. The article examines how under these circumstances the German military leadership’s attitude towards the evolving Lithuanian army changed during the period of the Lithuanian Wars of Independence. Drawing on material in the Political Archives of the German Foreign Ministry and the German Military Archives, the article shows the different impact that two factors, the assessment of the capabilities of the Lithuanian army and the political attitudes of the Germans, had on the image of the Lithuanian armed forces.

Historians believe that between 2,000 and 4,000 Jewish soldiers took part in the struggle for Lithuanian independence in 1919–1923, of whom at least 500 joined the Lithuanian army as volunteers. Although recent research casts doubt on these figures, it is clear that only a small number of Lithuanian Jews joined the fledgling Lithuanian army. One explanation for this could be the deliberate intentions of the leadership of the Lithuanian armed forces to avoid active Jewish involvement, since Jews were not trusted. Despite the atmosphere of mistrust, some Lithuanian Jews chose to join the Lithuanian army. The article tries to establish what motives led to their decision. The discussion may help find answers to the often-raised and still relevant questions about Jewish-Lithuanian political relations during the period of the creation of the modern Lithuanian state.

During the Great War, the period 1914 to 1915 was one of the most intense stages of interaction by Lithuanian society with daily life of the war, and at the same time the most active stage in military action in the future Lithuania. While many men were called up into the ranks of the Imperial Russian army, most of the remaining population ended up under the military authorities, experienced the requisition of their personal property, and observed (at first in the rear) intense military movements to and fro. This article looks at how the change in the front line, and the successes and failures of the armies of the Romanov Empire, contributed to the change in the image of the Russian army in the Lithuanian discourse. Features of the change are revealed in the article by analysing both the line taken by the official press during the initial period of the Great War, and the assessments of the Russian army that appeared in individual reflections (diaries and memoirs). It asks how the image of the Russian army changed during this period, and why.