Juozas Skirius (Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania, Vytautas Magnus University)
A short historical overview. For the Lithuanian Americans, Vilnius was the capital of Lithuania. The echoes of the Suwałki Treaty and the Lucjan Żeligowski march in the USA. The dissemination of the ideas of Vilnius liberation, the moral and material support of Lithuanian-Americans to Lithuania. The merits of the activities of Fr. Antanas Milukas. The establishment of the first Lithuanian-American organizations in support of Vilnius liberation in Chicago and New York (Mykolas Vaidyla, Leonardas Šimutis and Stasys Kodis). October 9, a day of mourning and mass rallies, became a day of mobilization and united action of Lithuanian Americans.
The emigration was important for the policy of Lithuanian government (openly and secretly). The efforts by Lithuanian missions in the USA to trigger the diaspora’s anti-Polish activities on the issue of occupied Vilnius in order to mobilize the diaspora and raise the profile of the Vilnius issue in Lithuanian-US relations.
The Lithuanian American experience in the efforts to liberate Vilnius was transferred to Lithuania (thanks to Fr. Prof. Fabijonas Kemėšis). In 1925, the organization, Vilniui vaduoti sąjunga (The Union for the Liberation of Vilnius), was founded in Kaunas. It maintained a close contact with Lithuanian Americans in order to mobilize them and to establish their own chapters in the colonies of emigrants. Several centers were founded to support the Vilnius liberation issue: the Consulate General of Lithuania in New York took care of the Vilnius Action Committees, American Lithuanian Roman Catholic Federation took care of the Union’s sections, and the Lithuanian-American nationalists—of the Union’s chapters. Lithuanian-American requests and the efforts of the Union’s leadership to try to organize all Lithuanian-American groups into the Union and to develop mutual relations. The visits of Union’s representatives to the USA: Prof. Mykolas Biržiška in 1931; Prof. F. Kemėšis, Assoc. Prof. Bolius Vitkus and the journalist Petras Babickas—in 1934; Vincas Uždavinys, the editor of the magazine Mūsų Vilnius (Our Vilnius), in 1936 and 1938-1939. Their activities included: establishing new Union’s chapters, distributing Union’s literature and press and Vilnius passports, organizing lectures, and making efforts to unite Lithuanian-American activities on the Vilnius issue into a single center. Vilnius Iron Fund Committees were being established in the emigration with the mission to collect donations for the Vilnius issue. Results achieved (and not achieved).
With the closure of the Union for the Liberation of Vilnius in Lithuania on November 25, 1938, Lithuanian Americans played a key role in the issue of returning Vilnius to Lithuania. The efforts were made to support the Vilnius issue directly from the USA and try to create a united center for the Union. Lithuanian government’s position. The war, Lithuanian-Soviet relations and the “handover” of Vilnius to Lithuania disturbed the mood and actions of the diaspora. Its attention was now turned to preserving and supporting Lithuanian independence. The significance of Vilnius liberation in the diaspora for Lithuania and its international policy in the pre-war period.