Lithuanian Activist Front

Lithuanian Activist Front (Lithuanian: "Lietuvos Aktyvistų Frontas"), commonly abbreviated as LAF, was a short-lived organisation established in 1940, when Lithuania was occupied by the Soviets. The goal of the organization was to liberate Lithuania and re-establish its independence.

Under the USSR

The organization was established in 17 November 1940.Tadeusz Piotrowski, "Poland's Holocaust", McFarland & Company, 1997, ISBN 0786403713, [http://books.google.com/books?id=A4FlatJCro4C&pg=PA163&vq=LAF&dq=AK+"Lithuanian+collaborators"&source=gbs_search_s&sig=ACfU3U2tRh2HYmZaGO8HdfCPMLJPQlsecg Google Print, p.163] ] Kazys Škirpa, former Lithuanian military attaché to Germany, is often credited as the founder. LAF was meant to unite people of various political beliefs, who wanted to see Lithuania as an independent country, rather than as part of the Soviet Union or Nazi Germany. The Berlin unit, formed by Kazys Škirpa, united mainly former Lithuanian expatriates and diplomats in Germany. It gathered representatives of most major pre-war Lithuanian factions and parties, and within LAF, the most influential were the National Unionists and the Christian Democrats.

As time passed, local LAF units were formed in various Lithuanian cities. The local LAF units were organizing espionage networks, and were to welcome and support the expected Nazi invasion.

The local LAF units in Lithuanian cities maintained more liberal political views than the Berlin headquarters. Lack of correspondence between the Berlin unit and Lithuanian units prevented discussions of ideology. In Germany LAF had contact with Wilhelm Franz Canaris and Abwehr, but not Nazi party.Fact|date=August 2008

On 22 April, 1941, in Kaunas representatives of Vilnius and Kaunas branches of LAF formed Lithuanian provisional government, i.e. established list of its members. [ [http://www.is.lt/voruta/article.php?article=604 Sigitas Jegelevičius. "1941 m. Lietuvos laikinosios vyriausybės atsiradimo aplinkybės" (Circumstances of establishing provisional government of Lithuania in 1941), Voruta, No. 11 (557), June 11, 2004] ] LAF formed the Lithuanian underground government planning to take over the country when the Soviet army would be pushed out by the German army. The underground government was mainly formed out of Vilnius and Kaunas sections of LAF. However, two of its members, including the prime minister Kazys Škirpa, were arrested by German authorities. Over time many people from this government, as well as other LAF members, were arrested, executed, or exiled by Soviet authorities.

June Uprising

Leadership of LAF thought that a good time to liberate Lithuania would be when Germany attacked the Soviet Union. They hoped that both powers would be busy fighting each other, and therefore would not take much interest in small Lithuania. Germany declared war on the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, and the same day LAF started the June uprising. LAF partisans aided the Germans. The next day, June 23, independence of Lithuania was declared. Short-handed LAF underground government took power on June 24. On June 21 four members of the government were arrested by the Soviet authorities, supposed prime minister Kazys Škirpa was put under house arrest in Berlin, and another minister was also unable to come. Juozas Ambrazevičius became the prime minister.

However, the negotiations with Germany over the recognition of Lithuania failed, as Nazi government had no interest in an independent Lithuania. The LAF government had strong support from Lithuanian people and the German authorities did not use brutal force against its members. Rather, they established their own structures and slowly ripped the government of its powers.

The government lost all of its power in a few weeks, and seeing no more reason to continue work, dissolved itself in August 1941. LAF as an organisation remained. In September it sent a memorandum to Germany protesting against the occupation of Lithuania. In the German response on September 26, the Lithuanian Activist Front was banned; many of its leaders were arrested and sent to concentration camps.

Controversy

LAF is a controversial organization because of its anti-Semitic [ [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0300108532&id=ZNI79jJnsOoC&pg=PA2&lpg=PA2&ots=O_XhY4xkXL&dq=Lithuanian+Activist+Front&sig=L9UIo3Q5dgzMzluvsQ3y5BsYlEY] ] and anti-Polish views and overall collaboration with the Nazi Germany. When the June uprising begun, in Polish-dominated Vilnius Region LAF committed many attrocities (rapes, murders, pillage); even the Germans referred to their "allies" as "organized robbers". Also, a number of LAF government acts discriminated against Jews, one notable example being "Žydų padėties nuostatus" (English: "Regulation on Status of Jews"). LAF however did not support and unsuccessfully attempted to stop Algirdas Klimaitis pogrom in Vilijampolė. [cite book |title=The Lithuanian National Revolt |last=Budreckis |first=Algirdas Martin |authorlink= |coauthors= |year=1968 |publisher=Lithuanian Encyclopedia Press |location=Boston |isbn= |pages=62,63|quote=Nonetheless, the activities of Klimaitis detachment were a disgrace to the Lithuanians. Upon hearing that Klimaitis was to start a pogrom in Vilijampole suburb on June 25, the LAF staff in Kaunas unsuccessfully attempted to stop him. Later, the Lithuanian Provisional Government detailed Generals Reklaitis and Pundzevičius of the LAF Defense Committee to confer with him.Wearing a Lithuanian flag draped across his chest, Klimaitis met the two former Lithuanians generals and unsuccessfully attemped to justify his actions. The generals succeeded in convincing this upstart that his actions were darkening the Lithuanian name and that he was doing the Nazis' dirty work for them.]

The Lithuanian provisional government signed the transfer of Soviet NKVD political prison and concentration camp in Kaunas Ninth Fort. The Nazi's used it to hold and kill Jews and POWS. The provisional government adopted a unaninmous resolution greeting Adolf Hitler as liberator of Lithuania and Europe. They passed laws returning property nationalized by the Soviets to former owners, except in the case of Jews. They tried reorganize the TDA (Tautos darbo apsauga or National Labor Protection) organization, remains of which which after the dismissal of Provisional government was transferred under Nazi command. The provisional government after German request "to protect Jews form pogroms" also helped to establish a ghetto for Jews.

See also

* Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists

External links

* [http://www.vilnaghetto.com Chronicles of the Vilna Ghetto: wartime photographs & documents - vilnaghetto.com]

References

* [http://www.is.lt/voruta/article.php?article=604 1941 m. Lietuvos laikinosios vyriausybės atsiradimo aplinkybės] , Doc. dr. Sigitas Jegelevičius, "Voruta", No. 11 (557), June 11, 2004
* [http://www.genocid.lt/GRTD/Konferencijos/lietuvi.htm Lietuvių aktyvistų frontas, Laikinoji Vyriausybė ir žydų klausimas] , Dr. Valentinas Brandišauskas, a presentation delivered during a seminar-discussion, March 23, 1999