| Abstract [eng] |
“Frontline area” (Pafrontė) was a popular term used in interwar Lithuania to describe Lithuania’s borderland with its main adversary Poland – a border region which was formed in 1920 and remained fixed until the changes brought in 1939 by the Second World War. The term provides an important starting point to uncover the position of the Lithuanian state and society regarding the region. The main object of this thesis – the challenges, problems, characteristic activities and objectives (aspirations) of the Lithuanian state and society in Lithuania’s borderland with Poland. In the first part of the thesis the borderland is defined, its administrative, geographic and demographic characteristics are thoroughly analysed, the aspects of border conflict are researched. The second part explores the worldview of Lithuanian nationalism regarding the borderland and its residents, the nationalizing and Lithuanizing activities of Lithuanian state institutions, officials, public organizations and activists are analysed. The third part investigates the specific issues of movement across the demarcation line, the challenges of its restrictions to society and the peculiarities of the Lithuanian state policy, showcasing struggles, opportunities and adaptation. Constant skirmishes between border guards of adversarial states, the special concern of the Lithuanian state and society regarding the national identity and loyalty of the borderland residents, the proximity of territories considered “occupied” and wished to be “liberated” on the other side of the demarcation line, highly restricted transborder interaction and its various effects formed a specific situation in the borderland. The thesis is based on vast research of primary sources and examines important previously unexplored processes. |
