Wikipedia

Lithuania Minor

Lithuania Minor(Lithuanian:Mažoji Lietuva;Polish:Litwa Mniejsza;Russian:Ма́лая Литва́;German:Kleinlitauen), orPrussian Lithuania(Lithuanian:Prūsų Lietuva;Polish:Litwa Pruska;German:Preußisch-Litauen), is a historicalethnographicregion ofPrussia,wherePrussian Lithuanians(or Lietuvininkai) lived, now located inLithuaniaand theKaliningrad OblastofRussia.Lithuania Minor encompassed the northeastern part of the region and got its name from the territory's substantialLithuanian-speakingpopulation. Prior to theinvasion of the Teutonic Knightsin the 13th century, the main part of the territory later known as Lithuania Minor was inhabited by the tribes ofSkalviansandNadruvians.The land depopulated during the incessant war betweenLithuaniaand theTeutonic Order.The war ended with theTreaty of Melnoand the land was repopulated by Lithuanian newcomers, returning refugees, and the remaining indigenous Baltic peoples; the term Lithuania Minor appeared for the first time between 1517 and 1526.

Lithuania Minor
Mažoji Lietuva
Ethnographic region of Lithuania
Port of Klaipėda
Queen Louise Bridge between Panemunė and Sovetsk
Ventė Cape lighthouse
Old manor in Šilute
Traditional fisherman houses in Nida
View of the Curonian Spit from Nida
Flag of Lithuania Minor
Flag
Location of part of Lithuania Minor within modern Lithuania
Location of part of Lithuania Minor within modern Lithuania
CountriesLithuania,Russia
CapitalTilžė(Tilsit)
Largest cityKlaipėda
Area
[1]
• Total2,848 km2(1,100 sq mi)
area on the right-bank of theNemanriver (Klaipėda Region), excludingKaliningrad Oblastside
Population
(1925)[1]
• Total141,650
• Density50/km2(130/sq mi)
population on the right-bank of theNemanriver (Klaipėda Region), excludingKaliningrad Oblastside
Time zoneUTC2(CET (GMT +2))
Lithuania Minor and the otherhistorical ethnographic regions of Lithuania

With the exception of theKlaipėda Region,which became a mandated territory of theLeague of Nationsin 1920 by theTreaty of Versaillesand wasunified with Lithuaniafrom 1923 to 1939, the area was part of Prussia until 1945, which at various times was under sovereignty of theKingdom of Poland,thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealthand Germany. Since 1945, a small portion of Lithuania Minor has been retained within the borders of modern-day Lithuania andPolandwhile most of the territory is part of theKaliningrad OblastofRussia,which was part of theSoviet Unionuntil December 1991.

Although hardly anything remains of the original culture due to theexpulsion of Germansafter World War II, Lithuania Minor has contributed significantly to Lithuanian culture overall. The standard written form of Prussian-Lithuanian provided the basis for modern Lithuanian,[2]evolved from people close toStanislovas Rapalionisand graduates from Lithuanian-language schools established in Vilnius, who were expelled from the Grand Duchy duringCounter-Reformationyears. Those include notable names likeAbraomas KulvietisandMartynas Mažvydas.During the years of the19th-century Lithuanian press ban,most of the Lithuanian books printed using the Latin alphabet were published in Lithuania Minor.

Terminology

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Territory where theLithuanian languagewas dominant in the 16th century

The term "Lithuania Minor" refers to the northernmost part of the former province of East Prussia (about 31,500 km2or 12,200 sq mi). It was first mentioned asKleinlittawinSimon Grunau's Prussian Chronicle of the early 16th century (between 1517 and 1526) and was later repeated by another Prussian chronicler,Lucas David.The term Lithuania Minor was first applied during the 19th century and used more widely during the 20th century, mostly among historians and ethnographers.

The northeastern limit of the area of Prussia inhabited by Lithuanians was the state border between Lithuania and Prussia, and the northern border was along theNemunas River,but the southwestern limit was not clear. Thus, the territory of Lithuania Minor has been understood differently by different parties; it could be:

  • either the area limited in the south byMax Toeppen–Adalbert Bezzenberger's line (about 11,400 km2or 4,400 sq mi) what is roughly the area of the former administrative Lithuania Province (about 10,000 km2or 4,000 sq mi), where the population was almost entirely Lithuanian until 1709–1711,
  • or the area of the former region with actual Lithuanian majority or of considerable percentage (about 17–18,000 km2or 6,500–7,000 sq mi).

The administrative terms "Lithuanian province" (Provinz Litthauen), "Lithuanian districts" (Littauische Ämter), "Lithuanian county" (Littauischer Kreis) or simply "Prussian Lithuania" (Preußisch Litauen), "Lithuania" (Litauen) were used to refer to the Lithuanian inhabited administrative units (NadruviaandScalovia) in the legal documentation of Prussian state since 1618. The Lithuanian Province was namedKlein Litau,Klein Litauen,Preussisch Litthauen,Little Lithuania,Litvaniain the maps of Prussia since 1738. The official use of the concepts Prussian Lithuania etc. decreased considerably from the administrative reform of 1815–1818.[3][page needed]

Geography

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Prieglius riveron the southern border of ethnically Lithuanian territory in the 19th century

The area of Lithuania Minor embraced the land between the lower reaches of the river Dangė to the north and the major headstreams of the riverPregolya(Lithuanian:Prieglius) to the south. The southwestern line ran from theCuronian Lagoonalong the Deimena River to its south, continued along the Prieglius River to theŁyna(Lithuanian:Alna) river, up to the town of Alna and hence southward along the Ašvinė river to Lake Ašvinis and from there eastward to the border of Lithuania Major. The region embraced about 11 400 km2.The broader understanding of Lithuania Minor includes the area west from the Łyna and south form the lower reaches of the Prieglius and theSambian Peninsula,making up 17–18 thousand km2in total.

The former ethnic region of Lithuania Minor belongs to different states today. The part ofKaliningrad Oblast(excluding the city ofKaliningradand its surroundings), a few territories in Poland'sWarmian-Masurian Voivodeship,as well as the following territories in modern-dayLithuania:theKlaipėda district municipality,theŠilutė district municipality,Klaipėdacity,Pagėgiai municipality,andNeringa municipalityhad once ethnically, linguistically and culturally been the latter Lithuanian region. Although now divided among countries, Lithuania Minor had been intact formerly, all these areas were once part ofPrussiaand thus politically separated fromLithuania Major.

From 1773 to 1918, all of Lithuania Minor was part of theKingdom of Prussia's province of East Prussia, the core of medievalPrussia.It was a region outside of the formerLithuanian state,inhabited by a large number of Prussian Lithuanians. Ethnic Prussian Lithuanians were mostlyProtestants,in contrast to the inhabitants of Lithuania Major, who predominantly wereRoman Catholics.

Giving the Prussian Lithuanian name first and followed by the German name, major cities in former Lithuania Minor wereKlaipėda (Memel)andTilžė (Tilsit).Other towns includeRagainė (Ragnit),Šilokarčema (Heydekrug), renamed to Šilutė,Gumbinė (Gumbinnen),Įsrutis (Insterburg),Stalupėnai (Stallupönen).

History

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Pre-Lithuania Minor

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The territory, which was given the denomination Lithuania Minor in the 16th century, was not alien to Lithuanians ethnically as well as politically in earlier times. It had once been partly subject toMindaugas' Lithuaniain the 13th century.[4]Later, captured (1275–76) and ruled by theTeutonic Knights,the land was reckoned, what is recorded in the historical sources, to be their patrimony byAlgirdas(officially said) andVytautas(recorded to be said unofficially).[5]

German-Lithuanian rivalry

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Main article:Northern crusades

The territory of western Lithuaniabegan to be threatenedby theLivonian orderfrom the north andTeutonic Knightsfrom the south in the 13th century. The Orders were seizing the lands ofBaltictribes, one of which – Lithuanians – had itsstateand was also expanding its power among neighbouring Baltic andRuthenianpeople. The Order was granted the right over the pagan lands by popes and emperors of theHoly Roman Empire.It was conqueror's right – awarded them as much lands as they would conquer. After theBattle of SauletheLivonian orderwas crushed and incorporated to the Teutonic Order as part of it.Mindaugas,in critical political circumstances for his rule, undertook to grantSamogitiato the Order in exchange for baptism and the crown from the pope. After Mindaugas became a king, a direct subject of the Pope, in 1253, the acts of grants of the lands for Livonian Order were written:

  • 1253 July, the act grantingNadruviaandKaršuvato the Order, written in Lithuanian curia by Mindaugas.
  • 1259 the act grantingDainavaandScaloviato the Order, written by Mindaugas. In the historiography this act is considered to be falsified by the Order.
Medieval castle ruins inNeman

All Baltic tribes rose against the Order after theBattle of Durbe(1260). Mindaugas officially canceled his relations with the Livonian Order in 1261 and the acts of grants became invalid. Mindaugas's royal dynasty discontinued when he and two sons were assassinated in 1263. Lithuanian dukes did not join thePrussiansin their uprising due to inside instability of the Lithuanian throne. Nadruvia and Scalovia (which comprised much of later Lithuania Minor) had been taken by the Teutonic Knights in 1275–1276 after thePrussian uprisingand they reachedNemanfrom the south in 1282. Lithuania also did not manage to retainSemigalliancastles lying north from Lithuania and theSemigalliansfell under the Order finally duringGediminas's rule.Samogitians,whose land lay between theLivonian Orderand the Teutonic Order, had been many times granted to the Order juridically by Lithuanian dukes, popes, emperors of Holy Roman Empire, but either the Order did not managed to take it, or the Lithuanian dukes departed from their treaty and grant. Klaipėda was passed to Teutonic Order from its Livonian branch in 1328.

The patrimony for Nadruvia and Scalovia was remembered by post-Mindaugas grand dukes of Lithuania:Algirdas,during the negotiation on Lithuania's Christianization, postulated (1358) for the emperor of Holy Roman Empire,Charles IV,that he would accept Christianity when the Order was transferred to Russia's border to fightTatarsand Lithuania would be given back the lands toŁyna,Pregolya rivers and Baltic sea. Lithuanian grand dukes probably considered the Order to be illegitimate state, propagandizing the mission of Christianization as the fundamental aim and factually seeking political authority at one time. Additionally, after the Order had become Protestant state, the conquered Baltic lands were not acknowledged as its possession by the popes.

After theBattle of Grunwaldthe dispute between Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Order onSamogitiastarted.[6]Vytautas wanted the border to be theNeman River,while the Order wanted to haveVeliuonaand Klaipėda in the right side of the river.[6]Both sides agreed to accept the prospective solution ofEmperor Sigismund's representativeBenedict Makrai.He decided that the right side of Nemunas (Veliuona,Klaipėda) had to be left for Lithuania (1413). Makrai is known to have stated:[7]

We find that the Memel castle is built in the land ofSamogitians.NeitherMaster,nor the Order was able to prove anything opposing.

Map of the Lithuania Minor in 1753

The Order did not accept the solution. Later Vytautas agreed the solution to be made byEmperor Sigismund.He acknowledged Samogitians for the Order (1420). Vytautas did not accept the solution. Polish and Lithuanian military, not capturing the castles, devastated Prussia then and theTreaty of Melnowas made. Klaipėda was left for the Order. Since the Melno treaty the land later become Lithuania Minor had been officially separated from Lithuania. It became part of thestate of the Teutonic Order.In 1454, KingCasimir IV Jagiellonincorporated the region to theKingdom of Polandupon the request of the anti-TeutonicPrussian Confederation.[8]After the subsequentThirteen Years' War (1454–1466),the longest of all Polish-Teutonic wars, the region was a part of Poland (and thus thePolish–Lithuanian union) as afiefheld by the Teutonic Knights.[9]

Emergence

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Lithuania Minor within East Prussia

In 1525, per theTreaty of Kraków,the state of the Teutonic Order was secularized and transformed intoDucal Prussia,a vassal duchy of Poland within the Polish–Lithuanian union[10](soon elevated into thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth), and the term of Lithuania Minor has appeared around that time (1517–26). Lithuania Minor was part of the duchy until 1701, theKingdom of Prussiauntil 1871, Germany until 1920, and afterwards it was divided. The political border set by theTreaty of Melnohad been the same since the treaty to 1923, when theKlaipėda regionwas incorporated into Lithuania.Polish secret resistancewas active and smuggled weapons through the region to theRussian-controlledAugustów GovernorateandSamogitiaduring theJanuary Uprisingof 1863–1864.[11]Several local resistance members and smugglers were arrested by the Prussians.[12]TheGeographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Polandfrom 1892 namedTilsitas the capital of Lithuania Minor.[13]

Post-World War I

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Act of Tilsit

Lithuania declared its independence from Russia in 1918 during World War I. SomePrussian Lithuanianactivists signed theAct of Tilsit,demanding unification of Lithuania Minor and Lithuania Major into a single Lithuanian state, thus detaching the areas of East Prussia from Germany which were inhabited by Prussian Lithuanians. This claim was supported by the Lithuanian government. The part north of the Neman River up toMemelwas separated from Germany by the Treaty of Versailles in 1920, and was called theMemel Territory.It was made aprotectorateof theEntenteStates, in order to guarantee port rights to Lithuania and Poland. In January 1923, theKlaipėda Revolttook place andKlaipėda regionwas annexed to Lithuania in 1923 under violation[14]of the Treaty of Versailles. The subsequent incorporation of the territory brought economic prosperity to Lithuania, with the region accounting for 30 percent of the country's economy. However, the region's economic significance declined after economic sanctions were imposed byNazi Germanyin 1933. Nazi Germany persecuted the Lithuanian population of the region. In 1938 a massivecampaign of renaming of placenameswas carried out in the German-held part of Lithuania Minor in attempt to erase traces of Lithuanian origin. In 1940, the last Lithuanian newspaper published in Tilsit was closed by the Nazis.[10]

German Foreign MinisterJoachim von Ribbentropdelivered an ultimatumto the Lithuanian Foreign Minister on 20 March 1939, demanding the surrender of the Klaipėda region to German control. Ribbentrop vowed that if Klaipėda was not ceded to Germany peacefully, it "will be taken by other means if necessary".[15]Lithuania submitted to the ultimatum and, in exchange for the right to use the new harbour facilities as a Free Port, ceded the disputed region to Germany in the late evening of 22 March 1939. Reunion of the Memel Territory with Germany was met with joy by a majority of Prussian Lithuanians.[16]It was Nazi Germany's last territorial gain prior to World War II. The remainder of Lithuania came underoccupation by the Soviet Union,then briefly becameindependent again in 1941before beingoccupied entirely by Nazi Germany.

During World War II, the Germans operated theHohenbruch concentration camp[de]at present-dayGromovo(Lithuanian:Lauknos), as well as severalprisoner-of-war campsforAlliedPOWs of various nationalities, incl. theStalag 331 C/I-Cand Stalag I-D camps for regular soldiers,[17]the Stalag Luft VI camp andDulag Lufttransit camp for air force personnel,Oflags52, 53, 60 for officers, and forced labour subcamps ofStalag I-A.[18]Groups of PolesexpelledfromGerman-occupied Polandwere deported by the Germans toforced labourin the region (in the vicinity ofKlaipėdaandTilsit).[19]

Post-World War II

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At the end of the war, the local German and Lithuanian population of the former East Prussia eitherfled or was expelledto the western parts of Germany. The Soviet Union recaptured Lithuania in 1944 and the Memel region was incorporated into the newly formedLithuanian SSRin 1945 while the remainder of Lithuania Minor was divided between Poland (small parts now forming theWarmian-Masurian Voivodeship) and the Soviet Union (eastern part of theKaliningrad Oblast).

History Museum of Lithuania Minor inKlaipėda

After the death ofJoseph Stalin,Nikita Khrushchevoffered the Kaliningrad Oblast to the Lithuanian SSR. SecretaryAntanas Sniečkusrefused this offer.[20]In 2010, a secret document was found which indicated that in 1990, the Soviet leadership was prepared to negotiate the return of Kaliningrad to Germany against payment. The proposal was declined by German diplomats.[20]After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Kaliningrad Oblast has become an exclave of Russia. Lithuania, Germany, and Poland lay no official claims to the region at this time.

Gołdap(Lithuanian:Geldapė, Galdapė, Geldupė), the seat ofGołdap County,a transitional county between Lithuania Minor andMasuria,is the largest municipality of the region within Poland, making it thede factocapital of Polish Lithuania Minor, however, it is also considered part of Masuria and is not inhabited by anautochthonous Lithuanian population.

Ethnic history

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Descent of Lietuvininkai

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Historiography

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Originally it was thought that Prussian Lithuanians were autochthones to Prussia. The base for it was A. Bezzenberger's line of Prussian-Lithuanian language limit. The theory proposed that Nadruvians and Scalovians were western Lithuanians and the ancestors of Lietuvininks. It was prevalent until 1919.

The second theory proposed that the first Lithuanian inhabitants of the territory which later became Lithuania Minor appeared only after the war had ended. The theory was started by G. Mortensen in 1919. She stated, thatScalovians,NadruviansandSudovianswere Prussians before the German invasion and Lithuanians were colonists of the 15–16th centuries from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania –SamogitiaandSuvalkija.G. Mortensen created a conception of thewilderness,according to which the vicinities of both sides of the Neman up toKaunashad become desolate in the 13–14th centuries. According to G. Mortensen's husband H. Mortensen Lithuanian resettlement began in the last quarter of the 15th century.[21]Lithuanian historian K. Jablonskis etc., archaeologist P. Kulikauskas etc. denied the idea of desolate land, uninhabited forests (Old Germanwildnis, wiltnis) and mass Lithuanian migration. The idea of Lithuanian immigration was accepted by Antanas Salys, Zenonas Ivinskis. J. Jurginis had studied the descriptions of the war roads into Lithuania and found where the wordwildniswas used in the political sense. He deduced that wildnis was that part of Lithuania which belonged to the Order juridically, by the grants of the popes and emperors of Holy Roman Empire, but was not subordinate to it due to the resistance of the residents. The theory of desolate land was also criticized byZ. Zinkevičius,who has thought that old Baltic toponymy could be only preserved by the remaining local people.

H. Łowmiańskithought that Nadruvian and Scalovian tribes had changed ethnically due to Lithuanian colonization as early as times of tribal social order. Linguist Z. Zinkevičius has presumed that Nadruvians and Skalovians were transitive tribes between Lithuanians and Prussians since much earlier times than German invasion had occurred.

Background

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The German invasion and the war was the factor changing the former order of the Baltic area. While the German Order was expanding its territory, the holding of Lithuanian grand dukes was withdrawn in some places. The political situation during the war was influenced by the following factors:

  • The situation of the war technologies. The Teutonic Order built many stone fortresses in the Baltic lands thus gaining the control over the ethnically foreign lands. Nadruvia was full of German castles.
  • The geographical situation. The Neman became a kind of a front line between the Order and Lithuania during the several decades of the war after the German invasion. There were German castles up toKaunasby Neman in the 14th century. Germans built their castles by the Lithuanian and vice versa. The wide forest stretched in the land by the left side of the middle reaches of the Neman, what was Sudovia or Suvalkija. It could originate as a wide border between Lithuanian and Sudovian tribes before pre-nation times of Lithuanians and also could expand due to the war. The land was sparse of German castles. The conquered Baltic lands were all called Prussia by the Teutonic Order but not all the lands with the German castles managed to build in them became occupied. The presence of the Neman river, also possibly the forests in Sudovia, Karšuva afforded the most economical variant for the defensive fortifications.

The war probably changed the situation of populations of the area:

  • The demographic situation. The population of the territory which lain between the chief lands of Lithuanian state and Nadruvia – what was in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the northern half of Sudovia or Suvalkija – was sparse. Nadruvia possibly also became more depopulated than those Lithuanian lands which lay on the right side of the Neman during the war between the Teutonic Order, theOld Prussians,and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
  • The ethnical situation. The German invasion and the war between the latter state and Lithuanian one reduced, was expelling the local population to some extent and impelled some migrations of Baltic tribes. In the abstract, Nadruvia, Scalovia and Sudovia had to be inhabited by Nadruvians, Scalovians and Sudovians. All these three tribes are considered to have once been western Baltic, but the Lithuanian impact, close relations and immigration, is likely to be occurred before the German invasion.

Prussian Lithuanian population

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Wolfenbüttel Postilis the oldest knownpostil(manuscript) written in theLithuanian language,1573[22][23]

The two main lands later became Lithuania Minor, Nadruvia and Scalovia, hadPrussianethnic substratum. Lithuanian elements prevailed in the toponymy of the territory, though. It is possible that Nadruvia and Skalovia had changed ethnically in the process of Lithuanian penetration to and consolidation of theBalticlands in the pre-state times. The contacts between Nadruvian and Scalovian populations with those to the north and west, where the grand dukes of Lithuania were ruling from the 13th or the 12th century, were probably close. Nadruvia had bordered onSudoviaand Samogitia, Skalovia – on Samogitia and Nadruvia. The insideBalticmigration, trading and ethnic consolidation presumably had happened since the earlier times than the German military invasion occurred.

The land probably depopulated during the war and the source of the regeneration of the population was internal as well as presumably mainly external from neighbouring areas. The land was resettled by returning refugees and newcomers from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.[24]After the permanent war had ended finally with theTreaty of Melnoin 1422, the population continued to grow. The newcomers were Lithuanians fromTrakai,Vilnius voideshipsandSamogitia.Lithuanian farmers used to flee to the Sudovian forest, which lain in theTrakai Voivodeship,and live here without dues, what was possible until the agrarian reform of Lithuania, performed during the second half of the 16th century.

The tribal areas such as Nadruvia, Scalovia, Sudovia had to some extent later coincided with the political administrative and the ethnic areas. Nadruvia and Scalovia became Lithuanian Province in Prussia and theYotvingianpopulation persisted in their lands more commonly as western Lithuanians in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Prussia.

Distribution

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As a distinctive ethno-cultural region, Lithuania Minor emerged during the 15th or the 16th century. The substratum of the Prussian Lithuanian population comprised mostly ethnicBaltic tribes– either local (Old Prussians– Sambians, north Bartians, Natangians; either probably formerly Lithuanized or PrussianScaloviansandNadruvians;Sudovians,someCuronians) or from neighbouring areas (newcomers from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania:Lithuaniansfrom the right side of the middle reaches of the Neman or Suvalkija,Samogitians,Sudovians,Prussiansetc.). Colonists from the Holy Roman Empire also contributed to the Lithuanian population to some extent. Prussians and Yotvingians tended to be assimilated by Lithuanians in Lithuania Minor.

Lithuanian percentage decreased to about half of population in about half of the area eastwards fromŁynariver and northwards from the lower reaches of Pregolya during the 18th century. Lithuanian percentage of the area was continually decreasing during the ages since the plague of 1709–1711. In 1724, KingFrederick William I of PrussiaprohibitedPoles,SamogitiansandJewsfrom settling in Lithuania Minor, and initiated German colonization to change the region's ethnic composition.[25]Lithuanians constituted the majority only in about half of the Memelland area and by Tilžė and Ragainė from the last quarter of the 19th century upwards to 1914. Lithuanian percentage was marginal in the southern half of the region of Lithuania Minor at that time. There resided about 170 thousands of Lietuvininks in East Prussia till 1914.

Administration

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The territory known as the main part of Lithuania Minor had been distinguished in administrative terms first asNadruviaandScalovia,later the namesLithuanian counties,Lithuanian Province, Prussian Lithuania orLithuania(Litauische KreiseorLitt(h) auen) became predominant.[24]The administrative Lithuanian Province (part of the administrative province of Sambia) (about 10 000 km2) comprised four districts of that time: Klaipėda (Memel), Tilžė (Tilsit, Sovetsk), Ragainė (Raganita, Ragnit, Neman) and Įsrutis (Insterburg, Cerniachovsk).

Reckoning

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The factual Prussian Lithuanian living area was broader than the administrative Lithuanian Province. Several Lithuanian-linked areas were determined on different criteria in the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century by mostly German researchers (Lithuanians,without doing difference between the residents ofRussian Empireand of Prussia, were considered by Germans in the 19th century to be the little nation facing its end. Therefore, the various researches on Lithuanian culture were made):

  • Lithuanian inhabited area indicated by toponymic data. The language line between Old Prussian and Lithuanian languages was determined by A. Bezzenberger (linguistic, archaeological and geographical data) and M. Toeppen (historical data). A. Bezzenberger found that toponyms in the right side of Łyna and north from Pregolya after the Łyna fall were mostly Lithuanian (with-upē (upē– a river),-kiemiai, -kiemis, -kēmiai (kiemas– a village)) and in the left side – mostly Prussian (with-apē(apē– a river), -kaimis(kaimis– a village). Thus, the area (11 430 km²) was considered to be Lithuanian lived and its southern limit was roughly the same as the southern limit of Nadruvia administrative unit. Lithuania Minor is commonly understand to be this area.
  • The area of traditional Lithuanian architecture: the original layout of the country seats, the architectural style. The territory between Königsberg, the lower reaches of Pregolya and Łyna river was architecturally mixed – of German-Lithuanian pattern. The latter area was inhabited by mostly Prussians and Lithuanians, later – Germans and Lithuanians. The Lithuanian Province together with the latter area and Sambia peninsula presents the broader perception of Lithuania Minor (about 18 000 km²).
  • The area of the everyday vocabulary of Lithuanian country
  • The area of churches where Lithuanian sermons were used in 1719. F. Tetzner on the ground of the list of villages where Lithuanian sermons were used in 1719 defined the southern limit of Lithuanian parishes. F. Tetzner wrote in the beginning of the 20th century[dubious–discuss]:200 years ago the Lithuanian language area embraced, not mentioning the ten present districts of Prussia, also these: Koenigsberg, Žuvininkai, Vėluva, Girdava, Darkiemis and Gumbinė districts. Lithuanian sermons were finished in the last century in Muldžiai, Girdava district, also coastal villages around Žuvininkai and in the Koenigsberg district.

The limits of the latter Lithuanian areas were more southwest. Various other fragmentary demographic sources (the first general census was made in 1816) and the lists of colonists of the 18th century showed the area of Lithuanian majority and the areas of considerable percentage of Lithuanians to the first half of the 18th century. It was more southwest from the once existed administrative Lithuanian Province.

The southern limit of Lithuania Minor went by[dubious–discuss]Šventapilis (Mamonovo), Prūsų Ylava (Preußisch Eylau,Bagrationovsk), Bartenstein (Bartoszyce), Barčiai (Dubrovka), Lapgarbis (Cholmogorovka), Mėrūniškai (Meruniszki), Dubeninkai (Dubeninki). The southern limit of the most compact Lithuanian area went by[dubious–discuss]Žuvininkai,Königsberg,Frydland,Engelschtein (Węgielsztyn), Nordenburg (Krylovo),Węgorzewo,Gołdap,Gurniai, Dubeninkai.

Ethnic composition

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Former printing press ofMartynas Jankus,presently a museum, inBitėnai

The economic and especially demographic statistics had been fragmentary previous to the first general census of 1816. The accounting after the native tongue had begun since the census of 1825–1836.

Thus, the situation of ethnic composition previous to the century is known from the various separate sources: various records and inventories, descriptions and memoirs of contemporaries, language of the sermons used in the churches, registers of births and deaths; various state published documents: statutes, acts, decrees, prescriptions, declarations etc. The lists of peasants‘ pays for plots and grinding of flour was also demographic source. Lithuanian and German proportion of Piliakalnis (Dobrovolsk) in the middle of the 18th century was determined by O. Natau on the ground of these lists. The toponymy of Prussia and its changes is also a source for situation of Lithuanians.[3]

The nationality of the residents of the country of Lithuania Minor is best shown by the sources from the fourth decade of the 18th century. In the process of the colonization of Lithuania Minor the order to check the circumstance of the state peasants was issued. The data showed the distribution by nationalities and the number of state peasants in the Lithuanian Province.[3]The data was used by M. Beheim-Svarbach, who published the tabulations of the territorial distribution of Lithuanian and German villeins (having their farm) in all the villages and districts of Lithuanian Province. The data from the lists of colonists, which shown their descent, was published by G. Geking, G. Schmoler, A. Skalveit in their researches.

Lietuvininkai

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Main article:Prussian Lithuanians
First issue of theLietuvininkų prietelisnewspaper, issued inKlaipėdain 1849

The ethnic Lithuanian inhabitants of Lithuania Minor called themselvesLietuvininkai(other form Lietuvninkai). L. Baczko wrote around the end of the 18th century:

all this nation, which, mixed with many German colonists, is living fromMemeltoLabiau,fromSchirwindt[26]to Nordenburg,[27]call themselves Lietuvninkai and their land – Lithuania

The historical sources indicate that Lietuvininkai is one of two historical ways to call all Lithuanians. Lietuvninkai (Литовники) are mentioned in the recording (1341) of the second chronicle ofPskov.In what had been the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the wordlietuvisbecame more popular, while in Lithuania Minorlietuvininkaswas preferred. Prussian Lithuanians also called their northern neighbors inSamogitia"Russian Lithuanians" and their south-eastern neighbors of theSuwałki region"Polish Lithuanians". Some sources used the term Lietuvininkai to refer to any inhabitant of Lithuania Minor irrelevant of their ethnic adherence.[citation needed]

Lithuanian population presumably grew after the wars ended with theTreaty of Melnoin 1422. The Samogitian newcomers were more common in the northern part of it and Aukštaitian in the western one.

Lithuanians lived mostly in the rural areas. German towns were like islands in the Lithuanian Province. The area was overwhelmingly inhabited by Lithuanians until theplague of 1709–1711.Up to 300,000 people resided in the Lithuanian Province and the Labguva district prior to the plague, during which about 160,000 Lithuanians died in Lithuanian Province and Labguva district, which was 53 percent of the population of the latter area.

Ethnic situation during the 19th century
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As a result of the plague of 1709–1711,German colonizationandGermanisationpolicies, the ethnic composition of the region in the 19th centuries changed to the disadvantage of the Lithuanians and Poles and in favor of the Germans. According to Prussian data from 1837, ethnic Lithuanians still formed a sizeable portion of the population in the northern counties of the region, especially in rural areas, ranging from 33,9 percent in the Labiau/Labguva (Polessk) county to 74,4 percent in the Heydekrug (Šilutė) county.[28]Also ethnicPolish,[28]Curonian,LatvianandJewishminorities lived in the region.[29]The majority of Polish and Lithuanian inhabitants wereLutherans,notRoman Catholicslike their ethnic kinsmen across the border in theRussian Empire.

In 1817, East Prussia had 796,204Evangelical Christians,120,123Roman Catholics,864Mennonitesand 2,389Jews.[30]

Pre-1914 and present-day situation
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Early 20th-century view of the Lithuanian Church in Tilsit

There were Lithuanian speakers and the Lithuanian language was effective throughout Lithuania Minor at the beginning of the 20th century, though the concentration places of Lithuanians were near Neman – Klaipėda, Tilžė (Tilsit), Ragainė (Ragnit). At the end of the war, the German and Lithuanian population of the former East Prussia eitherfled or was expelledto the western parts of Germany. There resided about 170,000 Prussian Lithuanians in East Prussia previous to 1914. Lithuanian fellowships functioned in Gumbinė, Įsrutis, Koenigsberg, Lithuanian press was printed in Geldapė, Darkiemis, Girdava, Stalupėnai, Eitkūnai, Gumbinė, Pilkalnis, Jurbarkas, Vėluva, Tepliava, Labguva, Koenigsberg, Žuvininkai.

No Germanization was performed in Lithuania Minor prior to 1873. Prussian Lithuanians were affected voluntarily by German culture. In the 20th century, a good number of Lithuanian speakers considered themselves to be Memellandish and also Germans.[citation needed]In 1914, Lithuanian representatives made their first steps to claim Minor Lithuania by signing theAmber Declaration,which called for the unification of ethnic Lithuanian lands. In the interbellum, after the division of Lithuania Minor betweenGermanyand Lithuania, Lithuania started a campaign of Lithuanisation in its acquired region[citation needed],theKlaipėda Region.In the regional census[31]of 1925,[32]more than 26 percent declared themselves Lithuanian and more than 24 percent simply asMemellandish,compared with more than 41 percent German. The election results to theParliament of the Klaipėda Region(Lithuanian:Seimelis,German:Landtag) between 1923 and 1939 revealed approximately 85 percent votes for German political parties and about 15 percent for national Lithuanian parties.[33]

The former language ofLietuvninkai(which is very similar to standard Lithuanian) is currently spoken and known by only about several hundred people who were sometime residents of Lithuania Minor. Almost all former Prussian Lithuanians – including Lithuanian speakers – had already identified themselves with German speakers, or Prussians, by the end of the 19th century because of the influence of German culture and attitudes of the residents of East Prussia, which had been in quick progress during the 19th century. The majority of the Lietuvininkai population has migrated to Germany, together with Germans and now lives there.

Prussian Lithuanians spoke in western Aukštaitian dialect, those living by the Curonian lagoon spoke in the so-called "Curonianating" (Samogitian "donininkai" subdialect; there are three Samogitian dialects[34]where Lithuanian "duona" (a bread) is said dūna, dona and douna) subdialect, and small part of them spoke in Dzūkian dialect. Prussian Lithuanians never called themselves and their own language Samogitian.

Old Prussians

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Prussianswere the native and main inhabitants of the lands which later became the core lands of the Teutonic Order. After conquest and conversion to Christianity, the Prussian nobility became vassals of the Order and Germanized. The officers of the Order ceased to speak inPrussianwith local inhabitants in 1309. After the extinction of the Order and the spread of the Reformation of the church, the lot of Prussians became somewhat better. Three Reformed catechisms in the Prussian language were published between 1545 and 1561.

Prussian villagers tended to be assimilated as Lithuanians in the northern half of the Prussia region, and as Germans or Poles in the southern half. There were parts of Prussia where Lithuanians and ethnic Prussians made up the majority of inhabitants. Prussian Lithuanian and German populations were the minority until the 16th and the beginning of the 17th century in theSambiapeninsula. Later, Germans became the ethnic majority in the peninsula, while Lithuanians remained as a minority. The case ofJonas Bretkūnasillustrates the phenomenon of Prussian-Lithuanian bilingualism. The last Prussian speakers disappeared around the end of the 17th century.

Germans

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The percentage of Germans in Lithuania Minor was low prior to 1709–1711. Later, Germans became the dominant ethnic group within Prussia. By 1945, when World War II was drawing to a close, the Soviets, who had occupied almost all of Eastern Europe, had effectively committed genocide of the local population, whether they were Prussian, Lithuanian, or German. During the winter, those who were physically fit walked across the frozen bays, while anyone who remained at home was eliminated.[citation needed]

Poles

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Act of incorporation of the region into the Kingdom of Poland, 1454

The Darkehmen (Polish:Darkiejmy,nowOzyorsk) andGołdapcounties, as transitional counties between Lithuania Minor and theMasuriaregion to the south, were inhabited by notable numbers of both Poles and Lithuanians,[28]with Polish-founded villages includingKazachye(Piątki),Nekrasovo(Karpowo Wielkie) andMaltsevo(Karpówko).[35]There were instances of Polish noble families living in the region, e.g. the Kręckis inBrasnickenand Metalskis inMehlkehmen.[36]From 1724, new Polish settlement in Lithuania Minor was banned by Frederick William I of Prussia.[25]Despite this, according to Prussian data from 1825, Poles still lived in the more northern counties of the region, with the most numerous Polish populations located in the Tilsit (Polish:Tylża,nowSovetsk) and Stallupönen (Polish:Stołupiany,nowNesterov) counties.[28]Following the unsuccessfulNovember Uprising,Polish insurgents were interned in the region (notably in Tilsit and Insterburg (Polish:Wystruć,nowChernyakhovsk)) in 1832.[37]During the PolishJanuary Uprisingin theRussian Partitionof Poland, there was a secret Polish organization in Insterburg (Wystruć), which smuggled weapons for the insurgents.[38]It was discovered by Prussian authorities in November 1864.[39]A Polish consular post and consulate was based inKlaipėdain the interbellum,[40]and once again from 2004.[41]

During World War II, Poles formed the majority of the prisoners of the Hohenbruch concentration camp, Polish prisoners of war were among the prisoners of theStalag I-Cand Stalag Luft VI POW camps,[42]and Polish civilians were also enslaved asforced labourin the region (in the vicinity of Klaipėda and Tilsit).[19]ThePolish resistancewas active and operated one of the region's main smuggling points forPolish underground pressnear Klaipėda,[43]and a branch of thePeasant Battalionsin Insterburg (Wystruć).[44]

Germanization

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The process of Germanization of other ethnic groups was complex. It included direct and indirect Germanization. Old Prussians were welcomed with the same civil rights as Germans after they were converted, while the Old Prussian nobility waited to receive their rights. There were about nine thousand farms left empty after the plague of 1709, remedied by the Great East Colonization. Its final stage was 1736–1756. Germans revived the farms vacated by the plagues. Thus, the percentage of Germans increased to 13.4 percent in Prussian villages as well as in neighboring Lithuania, also stricken by the plague. By 1800, most Prussian Lithuanians were literate and bilingual in Lithuanian and German. There was no forced Germanization before 1873. AfterGermany was unified in 1871,Prussian Lithuanians were influenced by German culture, leading to the teaching of German in schools—a practice common throughout northern and eastern Europe. TheGermanizationof Lithuania Minor accelerated in the second half of the 19th century, when German was made compulsory in the education system at all levels, although newspapers and books were freely published and church services were held in the Lithuanian language, even during the Nazi era. At the same time, Lithuanian periodicals were printed in areas not far from Russian-controlled Lithuania, such asAuszraorVarpas,and smuggled intoLithuania proper.Between the two world wars, in the regions lost by Russia following theTreaty of Brest-Litovsk,Russian and Jewish communists printed seditious literature in local languages until 1933.

Culture

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Main article:Prussian Lithuanians
Auszrawas printed in Tilsit

The first book in Lithuanian, prepared byMartynas Mažvydas,was printed in Königsberg in 1547, while the first Lithuanian grammar,Daniel Klein'sGrammatica Litvanica,was printed there in 1653.

Lithuania Minor was the home ofVydūnas,philosopher and writer, andKristijonas Donelaitis,pastor and poet and author ofThe Seasons,which mark the beginning ofLithuanian literature.The Seasonsgive a vivid depiction of the everyday life of Prussian Lithuanian country.

Lithuania Minor was an important center for Lithuanian culture, which was persecuted in Russian-controlled Lithuania proper. That territory had been slowlyPolonizedwhen being part of thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealthand was heavilyRussificiedwhile part of the Russian Empire, especially in thesecond halfof the 19th century. During the ban on Lithuanian printing in Russia from 1864 until 1904, Lithuanian books were printed in East Prussian towns such asTilsit,Ragnit,Memel,andKönigsberg,and smuggled to Russia byknygnešiai.The first Lithuanian language periodicals appeared during the period in Lithuania Minor, such asAuszra,edited byJonas Basanavičius,succeeded byVarpasbyVincas Kudirka.They had contributed greatly to the Lithuanian national revival of the 19th century.

See also

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References

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ab"Klaipėdos kraštas".
  2. ^(in German)[1]
  3. ^abcA. Matulevičius (1989).Mažoji Lietuva XVIII amžiuje (Lietuvių tautinė padėtis)[Lithuania Minor in the 18th century (the national situation of Lithuanians)]]. Vilnius.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. ^Baranauskas, Tomas(23 March 2003)."Mindaugo karūnavimo ir Lietuvos karalystės problemos".Voruta(in Lithuanian).6(504).ISSN1392-0677.Archived fromthe originalon 26 October 2005.Retrieved17 September2006.
  5. ^Lietuvos istorija [The history of Lithuania];redactor A.Šapoka; Kaunas 1936; p.140
  6. ^abBatūra, Romas (2010).Places of Fighting for Lithuania's Freedom: in the expanse of Nemunas, Vistula and Dauguva Rivers(PDF).Vilnius:General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania.p. 7.Retrieved23 August2021.
  7. ^August Seraphim[in German](1907)."Preußische Urkunden in Rußland".Altpreußische Monatsschrift(in German and Latin).44:80.
  8. ^Górski, Karol (1949).Związek Pruski i poddanie się Prus Polsce: zbiór tekstów źródłowych(in Polish). Poznań: Instytut Zachodni. p. 54.
  9. ^Górski, pp. 96–97, 214–215
  10. ^ab"Historic chronology of Lithuania Minor".Archived fromthe originalon 19 July 2006.Retrieved7 May2022.
  11. ^Groniewska, Barbara (1960). "Rola Prus Wschodnich w powstaniu styczniowym".Komunikaty Mazursko-Warmińskie(in Polish). No. 1. pp. 13, 22, 29, 39.
  12. ^Groniewska, p. 18, 40
  13. ^Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom XII(in Polish). Warszawa. 1892. p. 702.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  14. ^(in German)[2]Bericht der nach Memel entsandten Sonderkommission an die Botschafterkonferenz
  15. ^Mažoji Lietuva.Klaipėdos krašto istorijos vingiuoseArchived27 September 2007 at theWayback Machine.
  16. ^Vareikis, V. (2001)."Memellander/Klaipėdiškiai Identity and German-Lithuanian Relations in Lithuania Minor in the Nineteenth and Twentieth centuries".Sociologija. Mintis Ir Veiksmas.1–2:54–65.doi:10.15388/SocMintVei.2001.1-2.7233.ISSN1392-3358.
  17. ^"German Camps".Retrieved7 May2022.
  18. ^Megargee, Geoffrey P.; Overmans, Rüdiger; Vogt, Wolfgang (2022).The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos 1933–1945. Volume IV.Indiana University Press,United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.pp. 128, 212–213, 217, 389, 391, 509.ISBN978-0-253-06089-1.
  19. ^abWardzyńska, Maria (2017).Wysiedlenia ludności polskiej z okupowanych ziem polskich włączonych do III Rzeszy w latach 1939–1945(in Polish). Warszawa:IPN.pp. 395, 405, 409, 410, 416, 423.ISBN978-83-8098-174-4.
  20. ^abMilan Bufon (2014).The New European Frontiers: Social and Spatial (Re)Integration Issues in Multicultural and Border Regions.Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 98.ISBN9781443859363.
  21. ^(in German)An extract from theDie litauische WanderungbyVon Hans Mortensen;1928
  22. ^"Lituanistika Wolfenbüttelio Herzogo Augusto bibliotekoje".Mdl.projektas.vu.lt(in Lithuanian).Retrieved3 October2021.
  23. ^"Wolfenbuttelio postilė".Vle.lt(in Lithuanian).Retrieved4 October2021.
  24. ^ab(in Lithuanian)Lithuania MinorArchived15 March 2007 at theWayback Machine
  25. ^abKętrzyński, Wojciech(1882).O ludności polskiej w Prusiech niegdyś krzyżackich(in Polish). Lwów:Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich.pp. 615–616.
  26. ^now Kutosovo, Lithuanian: Širvinta, a village in the east of Kaliningrad Oblast
  27. ^nowKrylovo,Lithuanian: Ašvėnai, a village in the south of Kaliningrad Oblast
  28. ^abcdHaxthausen, August (1839).Die Ländliche Verfassung in den Einzelnen Provinzen der Preussischen Monarchie(in German). pp. 81–82.
  29. ^Hassel, Georg (1823).Statistischer Umriß der sämmtlichen europäischen und der vornehmsten außereuropäischen Staaten, in Hinsicht ihrer Entwickelung, Größe, Volksmenge, Finanz- und Militärverfassung, tabellarisch dargestellt; Erster Heft: Welcher die beiden großen Mächte Österreich und Preußen und den Deutschen Staatenbund darstellt(in German). Verlag des Geographischen Instituts Weimar. p. 41.
  30. ^Hoffmann, Johann Gottfried (1818).Übersicht der Bodenfläche und Bevölkerung des Preußischen Staates: aus den für das Jahr 1817 mtlich eingezogenen Nachrichten.Berlin: Decker. p. 51.
  31. ^Das Memelgebiet Überblick(in German)
  32. ^WorldStatesmen.org
  33. ^Žostautaitė, Petronėlė (1992).Klaipėdos kraštas: 1923-1939(in Lithuanian). Mokslas. pp. 70–71.ISBN978-5-420-00724-2.
  34. ^Pabrėža, Juozas (2019)."The Past and Present of the Samogitian Language".Baltu filoloģija.28(1): 141–152.doi:10.22364/bf.28.1.05.S2CID213078334.
  35. ^Maroszek, Józef (2007).Przewodnik historyczno-turystyczny po dziedzictwie kulturowym pogranicza Polska – Litwa – Kaliningrad(in Polish). Białystok. p. 388.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  36. ^Kętrzyński, p. 583
  37. ^Kasparek, Norbert (2014). "Żołnierze polscy w Prusach po upadku powstania listopadowego. Powroty do kraju i wyjazdy na emigrację". In Katafiasz, Tomasz (ed.).Na tułaczym szlaku... Powstańcy Listopadowi na Pomorzu(in Polish). Koszalin: Muzeum w Koszalinie, Archiwum Państwowe w Koszalinie. pp. 174, 176–177.
  38. ^"Wydarzenia roku 1863".Historia Polski(in Polish). Archived fromthe originalon 10 February 2019.Retrieved7 May2022.
  39. ^"Wydarzenia roku 1864".Historia Polski(in Polish). Archived fromthe originalon 10 February 2019.Retrieved7 May2022.
  40. ^Ceranka, Paweł; Szczepanik, Krzysztof (2020).Urzędy konsularne Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej 1918–1945. Informator archiwalny(in Polish). Warszawa: Naczelna Dyrekcja Archiwów Państwowych,Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych.p. 184.ISBN978-83-65681-93-5.
  41. ^"Utworzenie Konsulatu Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej w Kłajpedzie (Republika Litewska)"(in Polish).Retrieved22 April2023.
  42. ^Megargee, Geoffrey P.; Overmans, Rüdiger; Vogt, Wolfgang (2022).The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos 1933–1945. Volume IV.Indiana University Press, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. pp. 390, 509.ISBN978-0-253-06089-1.
  43. ^Chrzanowski, Bogdan (2022).Polskie Państwo Podziemne na Pomorzu w latach 1939–1945(in Polish). Gdańsk: IPN. p. 57.ISBN978-83-8229-411-8.
  44. ^Brenda, Waldemar (2007). "Pogranicze Prus Wschodnich i Polski w działaniach polskiej konspiracji w latach II wojny światowej".Komunikaty Mazursko-Warmińskie(in Polish) (4): 515.

Notations

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  • Simon Grunau,Preussische Chronik.Hrsg. von M. Perlbach etc., Leipzig, 1875.
  • Adalbert Bezzenberger,Die litauisch-preußische Grenze.- Altpreußische Monatsschrift, XIX–XX, 1882–1883.
  • K. Lohmeyer,Geschichte von Ost- und Westpreußen,Gotha, 1908
  • R. Trautmann,Die Altpreußischen Sprachdenkmaler,Göttingen, 1909
  • L. David.Preussische Chronik.Hrsg. von Hennig, Königsberg, 1812
  • M. Toeppen,Historische-comparative Geographie von Preußen,Gotha, 1958
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Maps

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