Lithuania · History · Chapter 5

Independence, Occupation, and Restoration

The 20th century was the most violent and transformative in Lithuanian history. Within 75 years, Lithuania declared independence, was occupied by Soviets, invaded by Nazis, occupied again, and then, against all odds, freed itself peacefully and walked into the European Union. It is an extraordinary story.

History › Chapter 5: Independence

16 February 1918: Independence Day

The First World War destroyed the three empires that had dominated Eastern Europe: the Russian, German, and Austro-Hungarian. In that chaos, small nations around the Baltic Sea had a window of opportunity that might never come again. Lithuania did not waste it.

On 16 February 1918, in Vilnius, the Council of Lithuania led by Jonas Basanavičius signed the Act of Independence. All 20 members of the Council signed it. The Act declared that Lithuania was restoring an independent state, severed from all previous ties to other powers. It was a brave statement, since Germany still effectively controlled Lithuanian territory at the time. But it was done, and it became a historical fact that would matter enormously in the years to come.

The 16th of February is the most important national holiday in Lithuania today. The country was not truly free on that day, but it was the day Lithuania decided what it was and what it intended to become.

16 Feb 1918

Act of Independence signed by all 20 Council members

1940

First Soviet occupation began

11 Mar 1990

Independence restored

1 May 2004

EU accession; NATO membership began on 29 March 2004

The Interwar Republic

The first Lithuanian republic lasted two decades, from 1918 to 1940, and they were genuinely productive years. Land reform broke up the large estates and redistributed land to peasant farmers. Modern state institutions were built: parliament, courts, and an army. Education became compulsory. The Lithuanian language, so long suppressed or dismissed as a peasant dialect, was finally treated as a proper subject for scholarly attention.

Kaunas served as the temporary capital, since Vilnius was controlled by Poland during this period, a deeply painful issue in Lithuanian-Polish relations. Kaunas from this period contains remarkable examples of interwar modernist architecture, still standing today, and recognised by UNESCO in 2023. For visitors, it is the easiest way to see the ambition of the interwar republic in streets, post offices, apartment houses and public buildings.

The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and the Catastrophe

The 23 August 1939 Nazi-Soviet pact and its secret protocols prepared the division of Eastern Europe. Lithuania initially lay in the German sphere of interest, but was later transferred mostly to the Soviet sphere by the 28 September 1939 German-Soviet agreement.

In June 1940 the Soviet Union issued an ultimatum demanding that Lithuania allow additional Red Army forces to enter and form a pro-Soviet government. Lithuania, surrounded by Germany and the Soviet Union, had no real choice. A supposedly "voluntary" vote in July declared the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic and requested its admission to the USSR. The Western democracies never recognised this annexation as legitimate under international law, a position they maintained throughout the entire occupation.

The Nazi Invasion and the Holocaust

In June 1941 Germany invaded the Soviet Union, and Lithuania quickly came under Nazi occupation. What followed was a catastrophe for Lithuanian Jews. During Nazi German occupation, around 90-95% of Lithuania's Jews - roughly 190,000 to 200,000+ people - were murdered. This is one of the highest proportional losses of any Jewish community in Nazi-occupied Europe.

Lithuania, like other countries, continues the difficult process of confronting questions about collaboration and resistance during this period. It is a painful conversation, but a necessary one. The tragedy must not be forgotten.

The Second Soviet Occupation and the Deportations

In 1944 the Red Army returned. Lithuania became a Soviet Socialist Republic again, this time until 1990. Soviet authorities deported tens of thousands of people to Siberia and other remote parts of the USSR. The first major deportation wave in June 1941 was particularly brutal, over 17,000 people removed from Lithuania in just two days. Armed resistance continued until the mid-1950s, with partisans known as the Forest Brothers fighting in the forests and countryside.

Sajudis and the Baltic Way

In 1988 Lithuania found its voice again. Sajudis, a reform movement whose name simply means "movement", brought hundreds of thousands of people together. It was organised, peaceful, and remarkably effective.

On 23 August 1989, exactly 50 years after the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, around two million people joined hands in a human chain from Vilnius through Riga to Tallinn. The Baltic Way stretched for about 600-675 kilometres. It was one of the largest peaceful demonstrations in European history, and it showed the world what a nation that had decided to be free looked like.

11 March 1990 and the Restoration

On 11 March 1990, the Lithuanian Supreme Council voted 124 to 0 to restore independence. Lithuania became the first Soviet republic to take this step. The Soviet response was an economic blockade, and eventually military force.

On the night of 13 January 1991, Soviet tanks and soldiers stormed the Vilnius television tower. Fourteen unarmed defenders were killed, and nearly 1,000 people were injured. Hundreds of thousands of people gathered to defend the parliament building and other sites with their bodies. The images circled the world, and international pressure on the Soviet Union grew intense.

On 17 September 1991 Lithuania was admitted to the United Nations. On 29 March 2004 it joined NATO; on 1 May 2004 it joined the European Union; and on 1 January 2015 it adopted the euro.

Worth seeing today

In Vilnius, the TV Tower and the area around Parliament are not just Soviet-era landmarks. They are places where unarmed people defended the restored Lithuanian state in January 1991.

Lithuania Today

Lithuania today is an independent democratic state, a member of the European Union and NATO, and a country where the memory of lost and restored statehood still matters in public life. The dates of 16 February and 11 March are not only official holidays. They connect modern Lithuania with the long history of independence, occupation and renewal.

The history told across these five chapters is still visible to visitors today: in amber traditions on the Baltic coast, in the baroque streets of Vilnius, in Kaunas modernist architecture, in memorial sites from the Soviet period, and in the Lithuanian language itself.

References

Main sources for the dates and facts mentioned in this article.