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This webpage reproduces part of The Story of Lithuania By Thomas G. Chase printed by Stratford House, Inc. New York, 1946 The text is in the public domain. This page has been carefully proofread and I believe it to be free of errors. If you find a mistake though, please let me know! next: Chapter 1

 p. vii  Preface

Since at the present time Lithuania is apparently passing through the most serious crisis she has ever faced during her entire existence, it seems only fitting to present a review of the kaleidoscopic changes that have marked her long history.

Generally men are inclined to regard Lithuania as a kind of synthetic creation produced by World War I. But the Lithuanian nation was formed neither within the short space of a few decades nor in the course of a single century. Her national traditions extend much farther. A definite and unbroken continuity characterizes her history from the very first days of her appearance as an organized political entity some eight hundred years ago. That continuity was not obliterated nor overshadowed by her Union with Poland in 1569. It was not destroyed by the Partitions she suffered together with Poland in 1795. It was repeated and energetically manifested during her suppression under the Tsarist regime of the nineteenth century. It has not ceased today, even while Communist Moscow insists upon her incorporation with the Soviet Union.

This little volume has been written in order to give the English-speaking public, so devoted to the preservation of the ideals of liberty and freedom and human dignity, an opportunity to become better acquainted with the story of Lithuania; to understand better the contributions which a people, residing on the northeastern Baltic shores of Europe from time immemorial, in spite of various and tremendous obstacles entirely beyond their control, have attempted to make and have made towards the advancement of civilization and the increase of happier relations among the members of that family of nations with which the Creator has blessed this world.

The author hereby most sincerely acknowledges his indebtedness to Rev. John K. Balkunas of Maspeth, N. Y., Col.  p. viii Kazys V. Grinius, G. S. C. of the former Lithuanian Army, Antanas Vaiciulaitis of Marianapolis College, Thompson, Conn., William Henry Chamberlin of Cambridge, Mass., Rev. Joseph A. Karalius of Shenandoah, Pa., and Rev. Casimir E. Paulonis of Brooklyn, N. Y., for their generous encouragement and advice; to Kazys Pakstas, former professor at the University of Vytautas the Great, Kaunas, Lithuania, for the preparation of the maps; to Miss Anne Miscavage of Great Neck, N. Y. and Rev. Vincent J. Termine of Brooklyn, N. Y., for their invaluable assistance in the preparation of the manuscript; and to those many other kind individuals who willingly and frequently offered their helpful suggestions.

T. G. C.

 p. xiii  Foreword

The history of Lithuania, as of Eastern Europe in general, is little known in this country; Father Chase's work fills a gap in historical literature and deserves a wide reading. He carries the story of the Lithuanian people from early, almost prehistoric times to the present day and shows how they retained a sturdy sense of national consciousness through all the vicissitudes of their history.

Lithuania was united with Poland for centuries and its gentry became Polonized to a considerable degree. But in this little Baltic country, as in many other lands, the peasantry retained the native language and the vital spark of national consciousness. The Lithuanians were never reconciled to the harsh rule of Tsarist Russia and responded eagerly to Woodrow Wilson's ideal of self-determination for all peoples, small as well as large.

An independent Lithuanian state existed with its share of political and economic difficulties but with a proud consciousness of realizing a very old ambition during the period between the two wars. There was noteworthy progress in education and economic development.

This genuinely peace-loving state has suffered unprovoked invasion, aggression and oppression during the Second World War. It was violently annexed to the Soviet Union against the will of the vast majority of the population in 1940. A spontaneous uprising against Soviet tyranny and deportations broke out in June, 1941; but the German invasion merely replaced one form of alien domination by another. Father Chase presents much interesting and little known material about the resistance of the Lithuanian people to German and Soviet oppression. As a reference work on Lithuanian history it is highly valuable.

William Henry Chamberlin

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