| Abstract [eng] |
The article concentrates on the participation of the German population in Kaunas city municipality from 1918 to 1934. During the period of the Lithuanian Independence, the municipality elections in Kaunas were held for 6 times. The Germans did not participate in the last elections in 1934. In total, 44 German citizens were candidates in the municipality elections. Some of them took part in the elections several times. Most of the candidates were clerks, although there were also representatives of other professions such as smith, teacher, engineer, merchant, mechanic, farmer and bank director. Rudolf Kinder, the leader of the German Party of Lithuania, was elected three times as a German representative in the City Council (from 1921 till 1934). In practice, fractions in the City Council were based on the nationalities, despite the fact that the electoral lists of candidates reflected their professions and included representatives of different nationalities. The Germans had their own list of candidates in the elections of 1918, 1920, 1921 and 1924. After the change in the law of municipality elections in 1931, the Germans formed a joint list with other minorities (Russians and Poles). According to the official statistics, there were about 3300 Germans in Kaunas city, which amounted to 3,5 % of Kaunas population. However, the Germans claimed that there were at least 5000 of German individuals living in Kaunas. About half of the German voters lived in the Šančiai suburb. Although the German society was small in number, it was very strong, disciplined and formed a very constant electorate. The Germans reached the height of power in the local government in 1918, when they got 6 places (8,5%) in the Kaunas City Council. This exceptionally large number can be explained by the presence of the German army in Kaunas. The Germans also got one of the four places in the presidium (1918-1919) and shared the chairman duties and responsibilities one week per month.[...]. |
