Lithuanian minority in Poland

Lithuanian minority in Poland consists of 5,639 people living chiefly in the Podlaskie Voivodeship in the north-eastern part of Poland (according to the Polish census of 2002). The Lithuanian embassy in Poland notes that there are about 15,000 people in Poland of Lithuanian ancestry.

History

Lithuanians are an indigenous people of the territories of north-eastern Podlaskie Voivodeship in Poland, living there since the extinction of the Yotvingians around the 13th century. Poland firstFact|date=September 2007 acquired its Lithuanian minority after the Union of Lublin in 1569, which transferred the administration of the historical Podlaskie Voivodeship from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to the Polish Crown (both entities now forming a larger, federated state, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth). During the next two centuries, the Lithuanian minority, faced with the dominant Polish culture in the region, was subject to mostly voluntary Polonization. After the partitions of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the late 18th century, the Polish dominance in the region was replaced by that of the Russian Empire, until the end of the First World War resulted in the restoration of independent Polish and Lithuanian states.

During the interwar period of the 20th century (1920-1939) Lithuanian-Polish relations were characterised by mutual enmity. Starting with the conflict over the city of Vilnius, and the Polish-Lithuanian War shortly after the First World War, both governments - in the era nationalism was sweeping through Europe - treated their respective minorities harshly.Żołędowski, "Białorusini i Litwini...", p. 114] Makowski, "Litwini...", pp.244-303] Lithuanian nationalists resented demands by Poles for greater cultural autonomy (similar to that granted to the Jewish minority), holding that most of Lithuania's Poles were really polonized Lithuanians who merely needed to be re-Lithuanianized. Resentments were exacerbated when Lithuanian Poles expressed a desire to "re-unite" the country with Poland. As a result, the nationalizing Lithuanian state took measures to confiscate Polish owned land. It also restricted Polish religious services, schools, Polish publications, Polish voting rights. Poles were often referred to in the press in this period as the "lice of the nation". [cite web |url=http://www.stanford.edu/group/ethnic/Random%20Narratives/LithuaniaRN1.3.pdf |title=Lithuania|accessdate=2007-06-18 |last= Fearon |first=James D. |coauthors=Laitin, David D. |year= 2006 |format=pdf |publisher= Stanford University |pages=4 |language= English |quote= ] . When Poles annexed Sejny town and its surroundings back in 1919, repressions towards local Lithuanian population started, including Lithuanian language ban in public, Lithuanian organizations (with 1300 members), schools (with approx. 300 pupils) and press closure, confiscation of property and even burning of Lithuanian books.cite book | last = Lesčius | first = Vytautas | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Lietuvos kariuomenė nepriklausomybės kovose 1918-1920 | publisher = Vilnius University, Generolo Jono Žemaičio Lietuvos karo akademija | date = 2004 | location = Vilnius | pages = p.278 | isbn = 9955423234] Beginning 1920, after the staged mutiny of Lucjan Żeligowski Lithuanian cultural activities in Polish controlled territories were limited; closure of newspapers and arrest of editors occurred.cite book |last=Čepėnas |first=Pranas |authorlink=Pranas Čepėnas | title=Naujųjų laikų Lietuvos istorija |year=1986 |publisher=Dr. Griniaus fondas |location=Chicago |pages= p.655,656] One editor - Mykolas Biržiška - was accused of treason in 1922 and received the death penalty; only direct intervention by the League of Nations spared him this fate. [cite web
url=http://www.lituanus.org/1963/63_1_05.htm
title=Professor Mykolas Biržiška
publisher=Lituanus
accessdate=2007-09-10] He was one of 32 Lithuanian and Belarussian cultural activists formally expelled from Vilnius on September 20, 1922 and given to Lithuanian army.Next wave of Polonisation of Lithuanian minority took place in 1927,when 48 Lithuanian schools were closed and 11 Lithuanian activist were deported. In 1931 there were about 80,000 Lithuanians in Poland, majority of them (66,300) in Wilno Voivodeship.pl icon cite journal | title=Drugi Powszechny Spis Ludności z dnia 9 XII 1931 r. | journal=Statystyka Polski | volume=D | issue=34 | year=1939 ] Following Piłsudski's death in 1935, Lithuanian minority in Poland again became an object of Polonisation policies, more intensive this time.Fact|date=September 2007 266 Lithuanian schools were closed since 1936 and almost all organizations were banned.Fact|date=September 2007 Further Polonisation was ensued as the government encouraged settlement of Polish army veterans in disputed regions. [cite web |url=http://www.stanford.edu/group/ethnic/Random%20Narratives/LithuaniaRN1.3.pdf |title=Lithuania|accessdate=2007-06-18 |last= Fearon |first=James D. | coauthors=Laitin, David D. |year= 2006 |format=pdf |publisher= Stanford University |pages=4 |language= English |quote= From 1936 till 1939, 266 Lithuanian schools were closed in the whole territory of the former Vilnius Territory. Activities of almost all Lithuanian cultural organizations were banned there. In the areas controlled by Poland, resentments grew as a new settlement of Polish army veterans with economic ties to Poland brought greater Polonization.] About 400 Lithuanian reading rooms and libraries were closed in Poland in 1936-1938.

Second World War put an end to independent Polish and Lithuanian states. After the war both former states fell under the sphere of influence of Soviet Union. Poland was shifted westwards, thus giving up most of the disputed territories in the Second Polish Republic, those territories were mostly incorporated into Lithuanian SSR, itself one of the Soviet republic. At the same time many Poles from the Kresy were forced to chose repatriation west to Recovered Territories, [cite journal|title=Poles In Lithuania From The Second Half Of 1944 Until 1946: Choosing Between Staying Or Emigrating To Poland (English Summary)|journal=Lietuvos istorijos metraštis|date=2004|first=Vitalija|last=Stravinskienė|coauthors=|volume=2|issue=|pages=|id= |url=http://www.istorija.lt/lim/stravinskiene2004en2.html|format=|accessdate=2007-09-14 ] and Polish minority in Lithuania (or Lithuanian SSR) was also significantly downsized.Fact|date=September 2007 Under the eye of the Soviet Union, the various ethnic groups in the Eastern Bloc were to cooperate peacefully, and that policyDubious|date=March 2008Fact|date=September 2007, coupled with the population migrations limiting the size of both minorities in respective regions, resulted in lessening of tensions between Poles and Lithuanians. In Sejny and Suwalki districts prohibition to speak Lithuanian in the public lasted until 1950 (on phone in 1990) and it was in the 1950s that teaching of Lithuanian was introduced as a subject in schools. [Glanville Price. Encyclopedia of the Languages of Europe. 1998, p.305 ISBN 0631220399]

Modern times

Modern Lithuanian minority in Poland is composed of 5,639 people according to the Polish census of 2002, with most of them (5,097) living in the Podlaskie Voivodeship (Suwałki Region), particularly in the Puńsk Commune (gmina) where they form a majority (74.4% of population). According to Lithuanian embassy there are about 15,000 people of Lithuanian ancestry in Poland. pl icon [http://www.lietuva.pl/index.php?language=pl&page=178 Społeczność litewska w Polsce] (Lithuanian community in Poland) on the official site of Lithuanian embassy in Poland ]

There are Lithuanian publications (over 80 books have been published, and there are several magazines, of which the largest is "Aušra", [http://www.punskas.pl/pl/p1/ausra.htm] co-sponsored by Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs). Lithuanian organizations are involved in organizing cultural life of the minority (with libraries, choirs, theatres, etc.). There are also Lithuanian-language programmes on local Radio Białystok and Telewizja Białystok.

There are Lithuanian-exclusive schools in Puńsk, both on primary and secondary level, schools with Lithuanian-language as a teaching language in Sejny, and schools with Lithuanian as a foreign language in the wider region are common. There are 17 Lithuanian schools, attended by over 700 students. The most important of those schools is the liceum (Liceum 11.Marca w Puńsku); there are also three gymnasiums (Gimnazjum „Žiburys” w Sejnach, II Gimnazjum w Sejnach, I Gimnazjum w Sejnach).

There are several Lithuanian cultural organizations in Poland. [http://www.punskas.pl/pl/p1/l-lietuviai/organizacje.htm] The oldest one is the "Stowarzyszenie Litwinów w Polsce" (Association of Lithuanians in Poland), founded in 1992. Others include "Wspólnota Litwinów w Polsce" (Lithuanian Community in Poland, 1993), "Stowarzyszenie Młodzieży Litewskiej w Polsce" (Associations of Lithuanian Youth in Poland), "Towarzystwo Kultury Etnicznej Litwinów" (Association of Ethnic Culture of Lithuanians, 1997), "Towarzystwo Nauczycieli Litewskich" (Associations of Lithuanian Teachers). There are several buildings dedicated to Lithuanian minority, including the "Lithuanian House" and an ethnographic museum in Sejny. Various Lithuanian cultural activities include the Lithuanian Meeting ("Zlot") in Pszczelnik, and the Lithuanian Musical Festival "Sąskrydis". In 2006 the Lithuanian minority received 1.344.912 zlotys (~450,000$) from Polish government in 2006 (22 out of 27 requests were approved).pl icon [http://www.mswia.gov.pl/wai/pl/116/4101/ Protokół z IX posiedzenia Podzespołu ds. Edukacji Mniejszości Narodowych - Puńsk, 13 marca 2006 r.] ]

However local Lithuanian World Community representatives claim there are problems with Lithuanian culture preservation in Sejny region.lt icon cite news | first=Rūta | last=Lankininkaitė | coauthors= | title=Seinų lietuviai jaučiasi skriaudžiami | date=2007-03-11 | publisher= | url =http://www.delfi.lt/archive/article.php?id=12465897 | work = | pages = |quote = Lenkijos lietuvių bendruomenės vadovai sako, jog Seinų krašte viskas, kas susiję su lietuvių kultūros paveldo išsaugojimu, sunkiai skinasi kelią.| accessdate = 2007-09-09 | language = Lithuanian ] They argue that Lithuanian heritage is ignored, as currently in Sejny there is not even one street name that would signify presence of prominent Lithuanians. They also note that for more than two years there is no accommodation regarding cemetery where Lithuanian soldiers are buried. Another recent issue is the underfunding of the two Lithuanian gymnasiums in Sejny, which receives only 75% of promised funding. [lt icon cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title=Lietuviška mokykla Seinuose nesulaukia lėšų (Lithuanian school in Sejny do not receive funds) | date=2007-02-08 | publisher= | url =http://www.delfi.lt/archive/article.php?id=12085227 | work = | pages = | accessdate = 2007-09-16 | language = Lithuanian ] pl icon [http://www.mswia.gov.pl/download.php?s=1&id=3103 Zestawienie nieuwzględnionych uwag organizacji mniejszości narodowych i etnicznych oraz społeczności posługującej się językiem regionalnym] ]

In politics, Lithiuanians control the self-government in Gmina Puńsk, they also have elected several representatives to the Sejny County.pl icon [http://www.mswia.gov.pl/portal/pl/61/37/ Mniejszości narodowe i etniczne w Polsce] on the pages of Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration. Retrieved on 9 September 2007.] Lithuanian language is used in Gmina Puńsk as a second language since 2006.

Notes

Bibliography

*cite book|last=Ogonowski |first=Jerzy | title = Uprawnienia językowe mniejszości narodowych w Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej 1918-1939 | publisher = Wydawnictwo Sejmowe | language = Polish | location = Warszawa | year = 2000 | isbn = 8370594042
*cite book|last= Żołędowski |first= Cezary | title = Białorusini i Litwini w Polsce, Polacy na Białorusi i Litwie | publisher = ASPRA-JR | language = Polish | location = Warszawa | year = 2003 | isbn = 8388766767
*cite book| last=Skarbek| first=Jan| title = Białoruś, Czechosłowacja, Litwa, Polska, Ukraina. Mniejszości w świetle spisów statystycznych XIX-XX w. | publisher = Instytut Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej | language = Polish | location = Lublin | year = 1996 | isbn = 8385854169
*cite book| author = Various authors | coauthors = editors: Sławomir Łodziński and Lucjan Adamczuk | title = Mniejszości narodowe w Polsce w świetle Narodowego Spisu Powszechnego z 2002 roku | publisher = Scholar | language = Polish | location = Warszawa | year = 2006| isbn = 8373831436
*cite book| last = Makowski | first = Bronisław | title = Litwini w Polsce 1920-1939 | language = Polish | location = Warszawa | year = 1986 | publisher = PWN | isbn = 8301068051 .

ee also

*Kresy
*Polish minority in Lithuania

External links

* [http://www1.fa.knaw.nl/mercator/regionale_dossiers/regional_dossier_lithuanian_in_poland.htm Lithuanian - The Lithuanian Language in education in Poland]
*pl icon Łukasz Kaźmierczak, [http://www.opoka.org.pl/biblioteka/P/PS/trzy_procento.html?no_header=1&no=1 Trzy procent odmienności] (Three percent of different) - article describing results of Polish census 2002 and minorities in Poland, citing census data
*pl icon [http://punskas.pl/POL/Litwini/lit.htm Liczebność i rozmieszczenie społeczności litewskiej w Polsce]
*lt icon [http://www.ausra.pl/ "Aušra" informacinis, kultūrinis Lenkijos lietuvių leidinys. ]
*lt icon and pl icon [http://www.ltnamai.sejny.pl Lithuanian House] in Sejny