Antanas Smetona and His Lithuania
Antanas Smetona and His Lithuania

Author: Alfonsas Eidintas

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2015-08-25

Total Pages: 506

ISBN-13: 9004302042

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This biographical overview of the life of Antanas Smetona (1874-1944), his importance in the Lithuanian national movement, his central role in the emergence of modern Lithuania (1918-1920), and the development of the various groups of nationalists in Lithuania, offers a picture of the creation of a national state in XXth century Europe. Twice the president of Lithuania (1919-20 and 1926-40), the authoritarian ruler of the state from 1926-1940, Smetona established his role as a capable and needed politician in Lithuania’s political life, a middle person between the political left and right. The study characterizes Smetona’s closest and most important associates, who helped him to formulate legislation for his model of presidential regime, the nationalistic ideology, and the development of national economy. Despite its authoritarian tendencies Smetona’s rule surprisingly continued to be for many Lithuanians a symbol of Lithuanian independence and national freedom through the years of Soviet occupation.

Lithuania in the 1920s
Lithuania in the 1920s

Author: Robert W. Heingartner

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2009-01-01

Total Pages: 287

ISBN-13: 9042027614

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Robert W. Heingartner kept this diary during his two year service as American consul in Kaunas, the provisional capital of Lithuania, 1926-1928. First titling the work “Impressions of Kaunas,” he wanted to record all his impressions of this small city about which he actually knew very little. He started with negative impressions, but he soon came to like it. He watched its growth with considerable sympathy. The diary’s appeal lies in its picture of daily life in Kaunas as the “provisional capital” of a newly independent small state – the conditions of life in the city, the social life of the diplomats, and backstage episodes in the life of the foreign diplomats. The diary records some unusual details about the family of Antanas Smetona, the ruler of Lithuania from 1926 to 1940, and it abounds in interesting commentary on the attitudes of both Lithuanians and foreigners.

1939
1939

Author: Šarūnas Liekis

Publisher: Rodopi

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 403

ISBN-13: 9042027622

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"This gripping and well-documented account of the history of the town of Vilnius and its surrounding region from the Polish ultimatum of March 1938, which forced Lithuania to open diplomatic relations with Poland, to the incorporation of Lithuania into the Soviet Union in June 1940 is set against the evolution of Lithuania's relations with her neighbours during this crucial period. It is a major contribution to the outbreak of war in September 1939 and the subsequent evolution of Nazi Soviet relations. Prof. Liekis presents a remarkable history based on archival sources never before utilized in any English-language study. In revealing the geopolitical, ideological, economic, social and ethnic dimensions of an immense tragedy in the heart of Europe, the author provides a new perspective on the unraveling of a society and nation during the initial days of World War II as prelude to the most violent period in European history."--Publisher's description.

Lithuania, Independent Again
Lithuania, Independent Again

Author: Vytautas Landsbergis

Publisher:

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 430

ISBN-13:

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Landsbergis (former president of Lithuania) offers a first-person account of the movement for Lithuanian independence and the ensuing conflict with the Soviet Union. He discusses the influence of German and Soviet occupations, mass deportations, and censorship, as well as describing the tone of everyday life under Soviet rule. He also offers details of the difficulties faced by the Lithuanian government after Parliament declared a new independence in 1990. Annotation copyrighted by Book News Inc., Portland, OR

A Concise History of the Baltic States
A Concise History of the Baltic States

Author: Andrejs Plakans

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2011-02-24

Total Pages: 491

ISBN-13: 0521833728

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An integrated history of three Baltic peoples - Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians - from their origins as tribal societies to separate nations.

Political Exile in the Global Twentieth Century
Political Exile in the Global Twentieth Century

Author: Wolfram Kaiser

Publisher: Leuven University Press

Published: 2021-12-10

Total Pages: 322

ISBN-13: 9462703078

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This book focuses on the political exile of Catholic Christian Democrats during the global twentieth century, from the end of the First World War to the end of the Cold War. Transcending the common national approach, the present volume puts transnational perspectives at center stage and in doing so aspires to be a genuinely global and longitudinal study. Political Exile in the Global Twentieth Century includes chapters on continental European exile in the United Kingdom and North America through 1945; on Spanish exile following the Civil War (1936–39), throughout the Franco dictatorship; on East-Central European exile from the defeat of Nazi Germany and the establishment of Communist rule (1944–48) through the end of the Cold War; and Latin American exile following the 1973 Chilean coup. Encompassing Europe (both East and West), Latin America, and the United States, Political Exile in the Global Twentieth Century places the diasporas of twentieth-century Christian Democracy within broader, global debates on political exile and migration.

Lithuania 1940
Lithuania 1940

Author: Alfred Erich Senn

Publisher: Rodopi

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 298

ISBN-13: 9042022256

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In June 1940, as Nazi troops marched into Paris, the Soviet Red Army marched into Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia; seven weeks later, the USSR Supreme Soviet ratified the Soviet takeover of these states. For half a century, Soviet historians insisted that the three republics had voluntarily requested incorporation into the Soviet Union. Now it has become possible to examine the events of that tumultuous time more carefully. Alfred Erich Senn, the author of books on the formation of the Lithuanian state in 1918-1920 and on the reestablishment of that independence in 1988-1991, has produced a fascinating account of the Soviet takeover, juxtaposing a picture of the disintegration and collapse of the old regime with the Soviets' imposition of a new order. Discussing the historiography and the living memory of the events, he uses the image of a "shell game" that focused attention on the work of a supposedly "non-communist" government while in the hothouse conditions of military occupation Moscow undermined the state's independent institutions and introduced a revolution from above.

Nationalism in Modern Europe
Nationalism in Modern Europe

Author: Derek Hastings

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2018-02-08

Total Pages: 361

ISBN-13: 1474213413

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Nationalism has been, without question, one of the most potent political and cultural forces within Europe since the late-18th century. Placing particular emphasis on transnational and comparative links, Nationalism in Modern Europe provides a clear and accessible history of the development of nationalism in Europe from the French Revolution to the present. The book situates nationalist ideas and movements in Europe firmly within the context of other signifiers of identity and belonging – such as religion, race, and gender – while also providing comprehensive geographic coverage across Europe. It incorporates recent historiographical trends and debates as part of the discussion and includes 13 images, 9 maps and a range of primary source excerpts for classroom use. It is an essential volume for all students of the history of nationalism in modern Europe and a useful text for anyone seeking to know more about modern European history in general.

A History of Modern Political Thought in East Central Europe
A History of Modern Political Thought in East Central Europe

Author: Balázs Trencsényi

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2018-11-10

Total Pages: 481

ISBN-13: 0191056960

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A History of Modern Political Thought in East Central Europe is a synthetic work, authored by an international team of researchers, covering twenty national cultures and 250 years. It goes beyond the conventional nation-centered narratives and presents a novel vision especially sensitive to the cross-cultural entanglement of political ideas and discourses. Its principal aim is to make these cultures available for the global 'market of ideas' and revisit some of the basic assumptions about the history of modern political thought, and modernity as such. The present volume is a sequel to Volume I: Negotiating Modernity in the 'Long Nineteenth Century'. It begins with the end of the Great War, depicting the colorful intellectual landscape of the interwar period and the increasing political and ideological radicalization culminating in the Second World War. Taking the war experience both as a breaking point but in many ways also a transmitter of previous intellectual traditions, it maps the intellectual paradigms and debates of the immediate postwar years, marked by a negotiation between the democratic and communist agendas, as well as the subsequent processes of political and cultural Stalinization. Subsequently, the post-Stalinist period is analyzed with a special focus on the various attempts of de-Stalinization and the rise of revisionist Marxism and other critical projects culminating in the carnivalesque but also extremely dramatic year of 1968. This volume is followed by Volume II: Negotiating Modernity in the 'Short Twentieth Century' and Beyond, Part II: 1968-2018.