Lithuania’s search for its place in Central-Eastern Europe during the conflict with Poland in 1919–1920

Abstract

Lithuanian historiography leads one to believe that the country’s interwar conflict with neighbouring Poland was the darkest page in the history of the countries that once formed the Commonwealth of the Two Nations. Indeed, the wounds of mutual hostility healed during the bloody tragedies of World War II and the half-century-long occupation of Lithuania by the USSR and the imposition of its communist state model on Poland. After both countries succeeded in getting rid of the invasive communism that had hindered their national development, relations between them began to thaw, reaching the status of “strategic partners”. Russia’s war against Ukraine has become particularly important for the unity of Lithuania and Poland, as well as for other countries in Central-Eastern Europe, as Russia still harbours imperial and aggressive ambitions towards its western neighbours, significantly stepping up its aggression in 2022. This article examines the possibilities for cooperation between Lithuania and Poland at the height of the conflict between the two countries in 1919–1920, which even at the time reflected a common regional identity and could have been the basis for a joint anti-Bolshevik front. Despite the fact that this was not achieved during this period, and the conflict over the ownership of Vilnius complicated relations between the neighbouring countries for a long time, there was still a certain mental perception of belonging to the same space, which helps to explain why in 1939 Lithuania, despite calls from Germany to occupy Poland, did not take advantage of the tragedy of its neighbouring country and did not try to reclaim Vilnius by military force. Lithuania did not let itself be dragged into the war, and half a century after the countries regained independence and the USSR collapsed, the former countries of the Commonwealth of the Two Nations have again strengthened their partnership and are ardent supporters of Ukraine, which is fighting Russian aggression and thereby strengthening the security of CEE.