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 (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 Traka ...
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 urba ...
.
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 independe ...
, 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 ...
, 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 betwee ...
at the time, hoping to obtain recognition for Lithuania (he was also former Lithuanian
envoy
Envoy or Envoys may refer to:
Diplomacy
* Diplomacy, in general
* Envoy (title)
* Special envoy, a type of diplomatic rank
Brands
*Airspeed Envoy, a 1930s British light transport aircraft
*Envoy (automobile), an automobile brand used to sell Br ...
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, 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 al ...
. 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 constitu ...
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
Jonas Vainauskas); 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 ...
, 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 Activist Front. 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; ...
.
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
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 independe ...
(was prevented from assuming the position and placed under house arrest 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 constitu ...
)
*Education/Acting Prime Minister:
Juozas Ambrazevičius-Brazaitis
*Defense: Major
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, ...
(arrested by Russians on 2 June, executed in November), later 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 ...
*Foreign affairs:
Rapolas Skipitis (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 the ...
*Communication: (arrested by Soviets on 21 June, later exiled to Siberia)
*Controller of state:
Jonas Vainauskas (arrested by Soviets on 21 June)
See also
*
Lithuanian Activist Front
*
Lithuanian TDA Battalions
*
Lithuanian collaboration during World War II
*
Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic
The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (Lithuanian SSR; lt, Lietuvos Tarybų Socialistinė Respublika; russian: Литовская Советская Социалистическая Республика, Litovskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialistiche ...
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