Session of the Provisional Government of Lithuania

The Provisional Government of Lithuania ( lt, Laikinoji Vyriausybė) was a temporary government aiming for independent Lithuania during

the last days ''The Last Days'' is a 1998 documentary film directed by James Moll and produced by June Beallor and Kenneth Lipper; Steven Spielberg, in his role as founder of the Shoah Foundation, was one of the film's executive producers. The film tells th ...

of the first Soviet occupation and the first months of German Nazi occupation in 1941. It was secretly formed on 22 April 1941, announced on 23 June 1941, and dissolved on 5 August 1941. It was formed from the members of the

Lithuanian Activist Front The Lithuanian Activist Front or LAF () was a short-lived, far-right underground resistance organization established in 1940 after Lithuania was incorporated by the Soviet Union. The goal of the organization was to liberate Lithuania and re-estab ...

(LAF) in

Kaunas Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...

and

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

History

The provisional government was confirmed on 22 June, 1941 at the start of the June uprising. However, the leader of the LAF,

Kazys Škirpa Kazys Škirpa (18 February 1895 – 18 August 1979) was a Lithuanian military officer and diplomat. He is best known as the founder of the Lithuanian Activist Front (LAF) and his involvement in the attempt to establish Lithuanian independen ...

, who was supposed to become the

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

, was in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

at the time, hoping to obtain recognition for Lithuania (he was also former Lithuanian

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to Germany and therefore continued to reside there). Since the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

regime saw Lithuania as a future part of

Greater Germany Pan-Germanism (german: Pangermanismus or '), also occasionally known as Pan-Germanicism, is a pan-nationalist political idea. Pan-Germanists originally sought to unify all the German-speaking people – and possibly also Germanic-speaking ...

, it was not much interested in Lithuanian independence, but allowed the Provisional Government to operate while it was useful. Kazys Škirpa was not allowed to leave Germany and return to Lithuania to join the government; instead, he was put under

house arrest In justice and law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if all ...

. Rapolas Skipitis, another minister to be who also had been in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

at the time was prevented from leaving as well.

Vytautas Bulvičius Vytautas Bulvičius (5 May 1908 – 17 December 1941) was a Lithuanian military officer, major of the General Staff, and leader of the anti-Soviet Lithuanian Activist Front (LAF). Educated at War School of Kaunas and Higher Officers' Courses, ...

, who was Minister of Defence, was arrested by the Soviet forces on 2 June. His place was therefore taken by General

Stasys Raštikis Stasys Raštikis (September 13, 1896 – May 3, 1985) was a Lithuanian military officer, ultimately obtaining the rank of divisional general. He was the commander of the Lithuanian Army from September 21, 1934, to April 23, 1940. During World War ...

. On 21 June 1941 (just one day before Germany declared war on the Soviet Union), four members of the planned government were arrested by the Soviets: ( Vladas Nasevičius, Vytautas Statkus, , and

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); they were imprisoned in Gorky prison in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. The tribunal started on 26 November 1941 (after the uprising had ended, and while Lithuania was still occupied by Germany). Sentences were pronounced on 28 November: Bulvičius was executed, while Masiliūnas, Nasevičius, and Statkus were exiled to

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

, along with other people arrested at the same time. Literary historian Juozas Ambrazevičius-Brazaitis became acting prime minister instead of Škirpa. The Provisional Government did little to stop the anti-Jewish violence encouraged by the Nazis and the anti-Semitic leadership of the

. Lithuanian police battalions formed by the Provisional Government helped the Nazis carry out the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

. The Provisional Government dissolved itself in August 1941 after failing to achieve its goal of an autonomous if not independent Lithuania under German patronage.

The cabinet

The people who were meant to be in the government: *Prime Minister: Colonel

(was prevented from assuming the position and placed under house arrest in

) *Education/Acting Prime Minister: Juozas Ambrazevičius-Brazaitis *Defense: Major

(arrested by Russians on 2 June, executed in November), later General

*Foreign affairs:

Rapolas Skipitis Rapolas Skipitis (31 January 1887 – 23 February 1976) was a Lithuanian attorney and politician. In 1920–1922, he was Minister of the Interior and was later elected to the Second and Third Seimas. After the 1926 coup d'état, he chaired the ...

(was not able to leave Berlin) *Internal affairs: Vladas Nasevičius (arrested by Soviets on 21 June, later exiled to Siberia) *Finance: *Health Ksaveras Vencius *Trade: Vytautas Statkus (arrested by Soviets on 21 June, later exiled to Siberia) *Industry: Doctor engineer *Agriculture: Professor *Social security: Doctor *Infrastructure: Engineer

Vytautas Landsbergis-Žemkalnis Vytautas Landsbergis-Žemkalnis (10 March 1893 – 21 May 1993) was a Lithuanian architect most active in interwar Lithuania (1926–1939). He was the father of Vytautas Landsbergis, the first Lithuanian head of state after independence from th ...

*Communication: (arrested by Soviets on 21 June, later exiled to Siberia) *Controller of state:

(arrested by Soviets on 21 June)

References

{{reflist Eastern European World War II resistance movements Lithuania in World War II Legal history of Lithuania Lithuania, Provisional Government of 1941 in Lithuania Collaboration with the Axis Powers Former republics

History

The cabinet

See also

References