Editing History of Lithuania (section)

==Independence (1918–1940)==
{{Main|Lithuanian Wars of Independence|Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (1918–1919)|Lithuanian–Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic|Diplomatic history of World War I#Three Baltic states|}}

===Declaration of independence===
[[File:Vilnius Conference 1917.jpg|thumb|235px|Presidium and secretariat of the [[Vilnius Conference]]]]
The German occupation government permitted a [[Vilnius Conference]] to convene between 18 and 22 September 1917, with the demand that Lithuanians declare loyalty to Germany and agree to an annexation. The intent of the conferees was to begin the process of establishing a Lithuanian state based on ethnic identity and language that would be independent of the Russian Empire, Poland, and the German Empire. The mechanism for this process was to be decided by a constituent assembly, but the German government would not permit elections. Furthermore, the publication of the conference's resolution calling for the creation of a Lithuanian state and elections for a constituent assembly was not allowed.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | editor = Simas Sužiedėlis | encyclopedia = [[Encyclopedia Lituanica]] | title = Council of Lithuania | year = 1970–1978 | publisher = Juozas Kapočius | volume = I | location = Boston, Massachusetts | pages = 581–585| lccn = 74-114275 }}</ref> The Conference nonetheless elected a 20-member [[Council of Lithuania]] (''Taryba'') and empowered it to act as the executive authority of the Lithuanian people.<ref name=eidintas/> The Council, led by Jonas Basanavičius, declared Lithuanian independence as a German [[protectorate]] on 11 December 1917, and then adopted the outright [[Act of Independence of Lithuania]] on 16 February 1918.<ref name="Bumblauskas 22"/> It proclaimed Lithuania as an independent republic, organized according to democratic principles.<ref name="Snyder 61">Snyder (2003), p. 61</ref> The Germans, weakened by the losses on the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]], but still present in the country,<ref name="True Lithuania"/> did not support such a declaration and hindered attempts to establish actual independence. To prevent being incorporated into the [[German Empire]], Lithuanians elected [[Monaco]]-born King [[Mindaugas II of Lithuania|Mindaugas II]] as the titular monarch of the [[Kingdom of Lithuania (1918)|Kingdom of Lithuania]] in July 1918. Mindaugas II never assumed the throne, however.

[[File:Signatarai.Signatories of Lithuania.jpg|thumb|left|235px|The original twenty members of the [[Council of Lithuania]]]]
In the meantime, an attempt to revive the Grand Duchy of Lithuania as a socialist multi-national federal republic was also taking place under the German occupation. In March 1918, [[Anton Luckievich]] and his [[Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic|Belarusian National Council]] proclaimed a [[Belarusian People's Republic]] that was to include Vilnius. Luckievich and the Council fled the [[Red Army]] approaching from Russia and left [[Minsk]] before it was taken over by the [[Bolshevik]]s in December 1918. Upon their arrival in Vilnius, they proposed a Belarusian-Lithuanian federation, which however generated no interest on the part of the Lithuanian leaders, who were in advanced stages of promoting national plans of their own. The Lithuanians were mostly interested only in a state "within ethnographic frontiers," as they perceived it.<ref name="Snyder 60-61">Snyder (2003), pp. 60–61</ref>

[[File:Grodno Military Command, decorated with three flags of Lithuania, Belarus, and with Vytis (Pogonia), 1919.jpg|thumb|[[Grodno]] Military Command, loyal to Lithuania, decorated with three flags of Lithuania, Belarus, and with the Coat of arms of Lithuania, January 1919]]
Nevertheless, a Belarusian unit named [[1st Belarusian Regiment]] (''{{lang|lt|Pirmasis baltgudžių pėstininkų pulkas}}''), commanded by Alaksandar Ružancoŭ, was formed mainly from [[Grodno]]'s inhabitants in 1919 within the [[Lithuanian Armed Forces]], which later also participated in supporting the Independence of Lithuania during the Lithuanian Wars of Independence, therefore many members of this unit were awarded with the highest state award of Lithuania – [[Order of the Cross of Vytis]].<ref name="Surgailis1374">{{cite book |last1=Surgailis |first1=Gintautas |title=Lietuvos kariuomenės gudų kariniai daliniai 1918–1923 m. |date=2020 |publisher=[[General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania]] |location=Vilnius |isbn=978-609-8277-00-5 |pages=13–74 |url=https://kam.lt/download/70372/gudai_sp2.pdf |access-date=15 May 2021 |language=lt }}{{Dead link|date=December 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name="Lukosevicius">{{cite web |last1=Lukoševičius |first1=Ernestas |title=Baltarusių karžygiai – Lietuvos laisvės ir nepriklausomybės kariai |url=https://alkas.lt/2016/03/25/e-lukosevicius-baltarusiu-karzygiai-lietuvos-laisves-ir-nepriklausomybes-kariai-nuotraukos/ |website=Alkas.lt |access-date=15 May 2021 |language=lt |date=25 March 2016 |archive-date=16 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516122527/https://alkas.lt/2016/03/25/e-lukosevicius-baltarusiu-karzygiai-lietuvos-laisves-ir-nepriklausomybes-kariai-nuotraukos/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Moreover, a [[Lithuanian Ministry for Belarusian Affairs]] ({{lang|lt|Gudų reikalų ministerija}}) was established within the Government of Lithuania, which functioned in 1918–1924, and was led by the ethnic Belarusian [[Minister (government)|ministers]] such as [[Jazep Varonka]], [[Dominik Semashko]].<ref name="Surgailis1374"/> The ethnic Belarusians were also included into the Council of Lithuania,<ref name="Skirius">{{cite book |last=Skirius |first=Juozas |title=Gimtoji istorija. Nuo 7 iki 12 klasės |url=http://mkp.emokykla.lt/gimtoji/ |access-date=2007-01-28 |year=2002 |publisher=Elektroninės leidybos namai |location=Vilnius |isbn=9986-9216-9-4 |chapter=Vokietija ir Lietuvos nepriklausomybė |chapter-url=http://mkp.emokykla.lt/gimtoji/?id=1015 |language=lt |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070717110757/http://mkp.emokykla.lt/gimtoji/ |archive-date=17 July 2007 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> and the Belarusian political leaders initially requested for a political [[autonomy]] of the Belarusian lands with the [[Belarusian language]] as the official language in them within the restored Lithuania before losing all control over the [[Regions of Belarus|Belarusian territories]] to the Poles and Soviets.<ref name="Blaszczak121">{{cite journal |last1=Błaszczak |first1=Tomasz |title=Baltarusiai Lietuvos valstybės taryboje 1918–1920 metais |journal=Parliamentary Studies |date=2013 |issue=15 |publisher=[[Vytautas Magnus University]] Czesław Miłosz Centre |location=[[Kaunas]] |pages=98–118–98–118 |doi=10.51740/ps.vi15.236 |url=https://journals.lnb.lt/parliamentary-studies/article/view/236/199 |access-date=15 May 2021 |language=lt |doi-access=free |archive-date=16 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516145205/https://journals.lnb.lt/parliamentary-studies/article/view/236/199 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In spite of its success in knocking Russia out of World War I by the terms of the [[Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (Russia–Central Powers)|Treaty of Brest-Litovsk]] early in 1918, Germany lost the war and signed the [[Armistice with Germany (Compiègne)|Armistice of Compiègne]] on 11 November 1918. Lithuanians quickly formed their first government, adopted a provisional constitution, and started organizing basic administrative structures. The prime minister of the new government was [[Augustinas Voldemaras]]. As the German army was withdrawing from the [[Eastern Front (World War I)|Eastern Front]] of World War I, it was followed by [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|Soviet forces]] whose intention was to spread the global [[proletarian revolution]].<ref name="Snyder 61"/> They created a number of [[puppet state]]s, including the [[Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (1918–1919)|Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic]] on 16 December 1918. By the end of December, the Red Army reached Lithuanian borders and started the [[Lithuanian–Soviet War]].

[[File:Augustinas Voldemaras.jpg|thumb|175px|[[Augustinas Voldemaras]], Lithuania's first prime minister]]
On 1 January 1919, the German occupying army withdrew from Vilnius and turned the city over to local Polish self-defense forces. The Lithuanian government evacuated Vilnius and moved west to [[Kaunas]], which became the [[temporary capital of Lithuania]]. Vilnius was captured by the Soviet Red Army on 5 January 1919. As the Lithuanian army was in its infant stages, the Soviet forces moved largely unopposed and by mid-January 1919 controlled about two-thirds of Lithuanian territory. Vilnius was now the capital of the Lithuanian Soviet Republic, and soon of the combined [[Lithuanian–Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic]].<ref name="Snyder 61-62">Snyder (2003), pp. 61–62</ref>

From April 1919, the Lithuanian–Soviet War dragged on parallel with the [[Polish–Soviet War]]. Polish troops captured Vilnius from the Soviets on 21 April 1919.<ref name="Snyder 62">Snyder (2003), p. 62</ref> Poland had territorial claims over Lithuania, especially the [[Vilnius Region]], and these tensions spilled over into the [[Polish–Lithuanian War]]. [[Józef Piłsudski]] of Poland,{{efn|Piłsudski's family roots in the [[Polonization|Polonized]] gentry of the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]] and the resulting point of view (seeing himself and people like him as legitimate Lithuanians) put him in conflict with the [[Lithuanian National Revival|modern Lithuanian]] nationalists (who in Piłsudski's lifetime redefined the scope of the "Lithuanian" connotation), by extension with other nationalists, and also with the [[National Democracy (Poland)|Polish modern nationalist movement]].<ref name="Snyder 40-41, 64-65, 68-69">Snyder (2003), pp. 40–41, 64–65, 68–69</ref>}} seeking a Polish-Lithuanian federation, but unable to find common ground with Lithuanian politicians, in August 1919 made an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the Lithuanian government in Kaunas.<ref name="Snyder 62-65">Snyder (2003), pp. 62–65</ref> According to a 1924 publication of Lithuanian President [[Antanas Smetona]], following a successful recapture of the Lithuanian capital Vilnius from Poland, the Lithuanians planned to expand further into the Belarusian territories (the former lands of the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]]) and considered granting an autonomy to the Belarusian territories, as requested by the Belarusian side, therefore had kept the Lithuanian Ministry for Belarusian Affairs in force, moreover, Smetona noted that there were a lot of pro-Lithuanian sympathies among the Belarusians.<ref name="Blaszczak11">{{cite journal |last1=Błaszczak |first1=Tomasz |title=Baltarusiai Lietuvos valstybės taryboje 1918–1920 metais |journal=Parliamentary Studies |date=2013 |issue=15 |publisher=[[Vytautas Magnus University]] Czesław Miłosz Centre |location=[[Kaunas]] |pages=98–118–98–118 |doi=10.51740/ps.vi15.236 |url=https://journals.lnb.lt/parliamentary-studies/article/view/236/199 |access-date=15 May 2021 |language=lt |doi-access=free |archive-date=16 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516145205/https://journals.lnb.lt/parliamentary-studies/article/view/236/199 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Smetona |first1=Antanas |author-link=Antanas Smetona |title=Vairas (Be rytojaus) |date=1924 |location=[[Kaunas]] |pages=1–3 |volume=6th |url=https://www.epaveldas.lt/object/recordDescription/LNB/LNB00AD1C8E |access-date=15 May 2021 |language=lt |archive-date=14 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514173307/https://www.epaveldas.lt/object/recordDescription/LNB/LNB00AD1C8E |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Belarusian unit of the [[Lithuanian Armed Forces]] in Grodno was disbanded by the Poles following the annexation of it by the [[Polish Armed Forces]] in April 1919, while the soldiers of this unit were disarmed, looted, and publicly humiliated by the Polish soldiers, who even ripped off the Belarusian [[Officer (armed forces)|officers]] insignias from their uniforms and trampled these symbols with their feet in public, as documented in the historical documents sent by the Belarusians to the temporary Lithuanian capital Kaunas because this unit refused to carry out the Polish orders and stayed loyal to Lithuania.<ref name="Surgailis657071">{{cite book |last1=Surgailis |first1=Gintautas |title=Lietuvos kariuomenės gudų kariniai daliniai 1918–1923 m. |date=2020 |publisher=[[General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania]] |location=Vilnius |isbn=978-609-8277-00-5 |pages=65, 70–71 |url=https://kam.lt/download/70372/gudai_sp2.pdf |access-date=15 May 2021 |language=lt }}{{Dead link|date=December 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Pirmojo baltgudžių pėstininkų pulko karininkų raštas krašto apsaugos ministrui (f. 384, ap. 2, b. 4) |date=5 July 1919 |publisher=Central State Archive of Lithuania |page=520}}</ref> Following the annexation of Grodno, the [[Flag of Lithuania|Lithuanian yellow–green–red]], [[Flag of Belarus#Historical flags|Belarusian white–red–white]] flags, and signs with the [[Coat of arms of Lithuania]] were torn off and the Polish [[Gendarmerie|gendarmes]] dragged them on the dusty streets for ridicule; instead of them, the Polish signs and [[Flag of Poland|flags]] were raised in their place everywhere in the city.<ref name="Surgailis657071"/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Uspenskis |first1=Aleksandras |title=l-as gudų pulkas Gardine ir kaip jis tapo lenkų nuginkluotas (1918. XI. I–1919. VIII. 17), 1 tomas |date=1919 |publisher=Karo archyvas [ Military Archive of Lithuania ] |pages=171–172 |language=lt}}</ref> Soldiers and [[Roman Catholic (term)|Catholic]] officers of the Belarusian regiment in Grodno were offered to join the Polish Army, while those who refused were offered to leave or were arrested, put into the concentration camps or deported from the native land by the Poles, part of the Belarusian soldiers and officers of this regiment evacuated to Kaunas and continued serving for Lithuania.<ref name="Surgailis657071"/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Мельников |first1=И. |title=Под знаком "Витиса" |url=http://www.istpravda.ru/bel/research/1287/ |access-date=14 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130112073104/http://www.istpravda.ru/bel/research/1287/ |archive-date=2013-01-12 |language=be}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Калугіна |first1=Л. |title=Л. Калугіна з плену. Часопісь (№ 1, c. 12; № 3–4, c. 14) |date=1919 |publisher=Прыезд афіц |language=be}}</ref>

The Lithuanian Army, commanded by General [[Silvestras Žukauskas]], withstood Red Army advance near [[Kėdainiai]] and in the spring of 1919 the Lithuanians recaptured [[Šiauliai]], [[Radviliškis]], [[Panevėžys]], [[Ukmergė]].<ref name="LK18-40">{{cite web |title=Valstybės atkūrimas. Nepriklausomybės kovos. Sovietų okupacija (1918 m.–1940 m.) |url=https://www.kariuomene.lt/kas-mes-esame/istorija/nepriklausomybes-kovos-ir-kariuomene/23524 |website=Kariuomene.lt |publisher=[[Lithuanian Armed Forces]] |access-date=2 November 2021 |language=lt |archive-date=2 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211102045535/https://www.kariuomene.lt/kas-mes-esame/istorija/nepriklausomybes-kovos-ir-kariuomene/23524 }}</ref> By the end of August 1919, the Soviets were pushed out of Lithuanian territory and the Lithuanian units reached [[Daugava]].<ref name="LK18-40" /> The Lithuanian Army was then deployed against the paramilitary [[West Russian Volunteer Army]] (Bermontians), who invaded northern Lithuania.<ref name="LK18-40" /> There were around 50,000 of Bermontians and they were well armed by Germany and supported German and Russian soldiers who sought to retain German control over the former Ober Ost.<ref name="LK18-40" /> West Russian Volunteers were defeated and pushed out by the end of 1919.<ref name="LK18-40" /> Thus the first phase of the [[Lithuanian Wars of Independence]] was over and Lithuanians could direct attention to internal affairs.<ref name="LK18-40" />

===Democratic period===
[[File:Border-Lithuania-Poland-1919-1939.svg|thumb|left|250px|Demarcation lines between Poland and Lithuania 1919–1939]]
The [[Constituent Assembly of Lithuania]] was elected in April 1920 and first met the following May. In June it adopted the third provisional constitution and on 12 July 1920, signed the [[Soviet–Lithuanian Peace Treaty]]. In the treaty the Soviet Union recognized fully independent Lithuania and its claims to the disputed [[Vilnius Region]]; Lithuania secretly allowed the Soviet forces passage through its territory as they moved against Poland.<ref name="Snyder 63">Snyder (2003), p. 63</ref> On 14 July 1920, the advancing Soviet army captured Vilnius for a second time from Polish forces. The city was handed back to Lithuanians on 26 August 1920, following the defeat of the Soviet offensive. The victorious Polish army returned and the Soviet–Lithuanian Treaty increased hostilities between Poland and Lithuania. To prevent further fighting, the [[Suwałki Agreement]] was signed with Poland on 7 October 1920; it left Vilnius on the Lithuanian side of the armistice line.<ref name="Snyder 63-65">Snyder (2003), pp. 63–65</ref> It never went into effect, however, because Polish General [[Lucjan Żeligowski]], acting on [[Józef Piłsudski]]'s orders, staged the [[Żeligowski's Mutiny]], a military action presented as a mutiny.<ref name="Snyder 63-65"/> He invaded Lithuania on 8 October 1920, captured Vilnius the following day, and established a short-lived [[Republic of Central Lithuania]] in eastern Lithuania on 12 October 1920. The republic was a part of Piłsudski's federalist scheme, which never materialized due to opposition from both Polish and Lithuanian nationalists.<ref name="Snyder 63-65"/>

[[File:Rzeczpospolita Lithuania claims.png|thumb|275px|Lithuanian–Polish territorial disputes in the early 1920s, including the [[Republic of Central Lithuania]].]]
For 19 years, Kaunas was the [[temporary capital of Lithuania]] while the Vilnius region remained under Polish administration. The [[League of Nations]] attempted to mediate the dispute, and [[Paul Hymans]] proposed plans for a Polish–Lithuanian union, but negotiations broke down as neither side could agree to a compromise. Central Lithuania held a [[1922 Republic of Central Lithuania general election|general election in 1922]] that was boycotted by the Jews, Lithuanians and Belarusians, then was annexed into Poland on 24 March 1922.<ref name="Snyder 68-69">Snyder (2003), pp. 68–69</ref> The [[Conference of Ambassadors]] awarded Vilnius to Poland in March 1923.<ref>Alfred Erich Senn. ''The Great Powers: Lithuania and the Vilna Question, 1920-1928''. Brill. 1967. pp. 104, 112–113.</ref> Lithuania did not accept this decision and broke all relations with Poland. The two countries were officially at war over Vilnius, the historical capital of Lithuania, inhabited at that time largely by Polish-speaking and Jewish populations between 1920 and 1938.<ref name="Snyder 15">Snyder (2003), p. 15</ref><ref name="Snyder 78-79">Snyder (2003), pp. 78–79</ref> The dispute continued to dominate Lithuanian domestic politics and foreign policy and doomed the relations with Poland for the entire interwar period.<ref name="Snyder 78-79"/>

[[File:LithuaniaCounties1918-1940.png|thumb|upright=1.5|Counties of Lithuania 1920–1939]]
For administrative purposes, the de facto territory of the country was divided into 23 counties (lt:apskritis). A further 11 counties (including Vilnius) were allocated for the territory occupied by Poland (see also [[Administrative divisions of Lithuania]]).

[[File:Klaipeda Revolt 1923 - Lithuanian rebels.jpg|thumb|left|275px|Lithuanian rebels during the [[Klaipėda Revolt]]]]
The Constituent Assembly, which adjourned in October 1920 due to threats from Poland, gathered again and initiated many reforms needed in the new state. Lithuania obtained international recognition and membership in the [[League of Nations]],{{efn|The main western powers recognized Lithuania only in 1922, when, after the [[Peace of Riga|Treaty of Riga]], it had become clear that the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]] was not going to be reestablished.<ref name="True Lithuania"/>}} passed a law for land reform, introduced a national currency (the [[Lithuanian litas|litas]]), and adopted a final constitution in August 1922. Lithuania became a democratic state, with [[Seimas]] (parliament) elected by men and women for a three-year term. The Seimas elected the president. The [[First Seimas of Lithuania]] was elected in October 1922, but could not form a government as the votes split equally 38–38, and it was forced to dissolve. Its only lasting achievement was the [[Klaipėda Revolt]] from 10 January to 15 January 1923. The revolt involved Lithuania Minor, a region traditionally sought by Lithuanian nationalists<ref name="Bumblauskas 16"/> that remained under German rule after World War I, except for the [[Klaipėda Region]] with its large Lithuanian minority.<ref name=mes>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jLfX1q3kJzgC&q=lithuania+census+1923+language&pg=RA1-PA40|title=Ethnic groups and population changes in twentieth-century Central-Eastern Europe: history, data, and analysis|year=2003|publisher=[[M.E. Sharpe]]|page=40|author=Piotr Eberhardt, Jan Owsinski|isbn=978-0-7656-0665-5|access-date=1 November 2020|archive-date=10 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510022737/https://books.google.com/books?id=jLfX1q3kJzgC&q=lithuania+census+1923+language&pg=RA1-PA40|url-status=live}}</ref> (Various sources give the region's interwar ethnic composition as 41.9 percent German, 27.1 percent ''Memelländisch'', and 26.6 percent Lithuanian.)<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.gonschior.de/weimar/Memelgebiet/index.htm |title=Das Memelgebiet im Überblick |access-date=21 February 2015 |archive-date=3 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170103105500/http://www.gonschior.de/weimar/Memelgebiet/index.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Lithuania.htm#Memel%20Territory |title=Lithuania |access-date=21 February 2015 |archive-date=15 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161015181808/http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Lithuania.htm#Memel%20Territory |url-status=live }}</ref>

Lithuania took advantage of the [[Occupation of the Ruhr|Ruhr Crisis]] in western Europe and captured the Klaipėda Region, a territory detached from [[East Prussia]] by the terms of the [[Treaty of Versailles]] and placed under a French administration sponsored by the League of Nations. The region was incorporated as an autonomous district of Lithuania in May 1924. For Lithuania, it provided the country's only access to the [[Baltic Sea]], and it was an important industrial center, but the region's numerous German inhabitants resisted Lithuanian rule during the 1930s. The Klaipėda Revolt was the last armed conflict in Lithuania before World War II.<ref name="True Lithuania"/>

The [[Second Seimas of Lithuania]], elected in May 1923, was the only Seimas in independent Lithuania that served its full term. The Seimas continued the land reform, introduced social support systems, and started repaying foreign debt. The first [[Lithuanian census of 1923|Lithuanian national census]] took place in 1923.

===Authoritarian period===
[[File:Antanas Smetona 2.jpg|thumb|upright=.7|[[Antanas Smetona]], the first and last president of independent Lithuania during the [[interbellum]] years. The 1918–1939 period is often known as "Smetona's time".]]
The [[Third Seimas of Lithuania]] was elected in May 1926. For the first time, the bloc led by the [[Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party]] lost their majority and went into opposition. It was sharply criticized for signing the [[Soviet–Lithuanian Non-Aggression Pact]] (even though it affirmed Soviet recognition of Lithuanian claims to Poland-held Vilnius)<ref name="Snyder 78-79"/> and was accused of "Bolshevizing" Lithuania. As a result of growing tensions, the government was deposed during the [[1926 Lithuanian coup d'état]] in December. The coup, organized by the military, was supported by the [[Lithuanian Nationalists Union]] (''tautininkai'') and Lithuanian Christian Democrats. They installed [[Antanas Smetona]] as the president and [[Augustinas Voldemaras]] as the prime minister.<ref name=vardys>{{cite book |first=Vytas Stanley |last=Vardys |author2=Judith B. Sedaitis |title=Lithuania: The Rebel Nation |publisher=WestviewPress |year=1997 |series=Westview Series on the Post-Soviet Republics |isbn=0-8133-1839-4 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/lithuaniarebelna00vard/page/34 34–36] |url=https://archive.org/details/lithuaniarebelna00vard/page/34 }}</ref> Smetona suppressed the opposition and remained as an authoritarian leader until June 1940.

[[File:Mapa rozsiedlenia ludności polskiej na terenie Litwy w 1929.jpg|thumb|Map of the Polish population in Lithuania on the basis of elections to the parliament of Lithuania in 1923, censuses in 1921 and elections to the polish Sejm in 1922. {{legend|#b86523|over 75% Polish}} {{legend|#b97d37|50% – 75% Polish}} {{legend|#e3974c|30% – 50% Polish}} {{legend|#f59a51|20% – 30% Polish}} {{legend|#f9bb6a|10% – 20% Polish}} {{legend|#fcc36a|5% – 10% Polish}} {{legend|#fae4ba|1% – 5% Polish}}{{legend|#f6eee0|under 1% Polish}}]]
The Seimas thought that the coup was just a temporary measure and that new elections would be called to return Lithuania to democracy. Instead, the legislative body was dissolved in May 1927. Later that year members of the Social Democrats and other leftist parties tried to organize an uprising against Smetona, but were quickly subdued. Voldemaras grew increasingly independent of Smetona and was forced to resign in 1929. Three times in 1930 and once in 1934, he unsuccessfully attempted to return to power. In May 1928, Smetona announced the fifth provisional constitution without consulting the Seimas. The constitution continued to claim that Lithuania was a democratic state while the powers of the president were vastly increased. Smetona's party, the [[Lithuanian Nationalist Union]], steadily grew in size and importance. He adopted the title "tautos vadas" (leader of the nation) and slowly started building a [[cult of personality]]. Many prominent political figures married into Smetona's family (for example, [[Juozas Tūbelis]] and [[Stasys Raštikis]]).

When the [[Nazi Party]] came into power in Germany, German–Lithuanian relations worsened considerably as the Nazis did not want to accept the loss of the [[Klaipėda Region]] (German: [[Memelland]]). The Nazis sponsored anti-Lithuanian organizations in the region. In 1934, Lithuania [[Trial of Neumann and Sass|put the activists on trial]] and sentenced about 100 people, including their leaders Ernst Neumann and [[Theodor von Sass]], to prison terms. That prompted Germany, one of the main trade partners of Lithuania, to declare an [[embargo]] of Lithuanian products. In response, Lithuania shifted its exports to the [[United Kingdom]]. That measure did not go far enough to satisfy many groups, and [[1935 Suvalkija farmers' strike|peasants in Suvalkija organized strikes]], which were violently suppressed. Smetona's prestige was damaged, and in September 1936, he agreed to call the first elections for the Seimas since the coup of 1926. Before the elections, all political parties were eliminated except for the National Union. Thus 42 of the 49 members of the [[Fourth Seimas of Lithuania]] were from the National Union. This assembly functioned as an advisory board to the president, and in February 1938, it adopted a new constitution that granted the president even greater powers.

As tensions were rising in Europe following the annexation of the [[Federal State of Austria]] by [[Nazi Germany]] (the [[Anschluss]]), Poland presented the [[1938 Polish ultimatum to Lithuania]] in March of that year. Poland demanded the re-establishment of the normal diplomatic relations that were broken after the Żeligowski Mutiny in 1920 and threatened military actions in case of refusal. Lithuania, having a weaker military and unable to enlist international support for its cause, accepted the ultimatum.<ref name="Snyder 78-79"/> In the event of Polish military action, [[Adolf Hitler]] ordered a German military takeover of southwest Lithuania up to the [[Dubysa]] River, and his armed forces were being fully mobilized until the news of the Lithuanian acceptance. Relations between Poland and Lithuania became somewhat normalized after the acceptance of the ultimatum, and the parties concluded treaties regarding [[Rail transport in Lithuania|railway transport]], postal exchange, and other means of communication.<ref name="Zgórniak 391-393">[[Marian Zgórniak]], Józef Łaptos, Jacek Solarz, – ''Wielkie wojny XX wieku (1914-1945)'' [Great Wars of the 20th Century (1914-1945)], pp. 391-393; Fogra, Kraków 2006, {{ISBN|83-60657-00-9}}</ref>

[[File:Parade of the Lithuanian Army in Vilnius (1939).jpg|thumb|Parade of the [[Lithuanian Army]] in Vilnius (1939)]]
Lithuania offered diplomatic support to Germany and the Soviet Union in opposition to powers such as [[French Third Republic|France]] and [[Republic of Estonia (1918-1940)|Estonia]] that backed Poland in the conflict over Vilnius, but both Germany and the Soviet Union saw fit to encroach on Lithuania's territory and independence anyway. Following the Nazi electoral success in Klaipėda in December 1938, Germany decided to take action to secure control of the entire region. On 20 March 1939, just a few days after the [[Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–1945)|German occupation of Czechoslovakia]] of 15 March, Lithuania received the [[1939 German ultimatum to Lithuania]] from foreign minister [[Joachim von Ribbentrop]]. It demanded the immediate cession of the Klaipėda Region to Germany. The Lithuanian government accepted the ultimatum to avoid an armed intervention. The Klaipėda Region was directly incorporated into the [[Gau East Prussia]] of the [[German Reich]].<ref name="Zgórniak 421-422">Marian Zgórniak, Józef Łaptos, Jacek Solarz, – ''Wielkie wojny XX wieku (1914-1945)'' [Great Wars of the 20th Century (1914-1945)], pp. 421–422</ref> This triggered a political crisis in Lithuania and forced Smetona to form a new government that included members of the opposition for the first time since 1926. The loss of Klaipėda was a major blow to the [[Economy of Lithuania|Lithuanian economy]] and the country shifted into the sphere of German influence. 

[[Adolf Hitler]] initially planned to transform Lithuania into a [[satellite state]] which would participate in its planned military conquests in exchange for territorial enlargements.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Weinberg |first=Gerhard L. |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/world-at-arms/122A2C377C4528D26382982044F8E9DC |title=A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II |date=2005-03-28 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-61826-7 |edition=2 |location=Cambridge |pages=60–61 |language=en |access-date=24 August 2022 |archive-date=21 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220821232510/https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/world-at-arms/122A2C377C4528D26382982044F8E9DC |url-status=live }}</ref> When Germany and the Soviet Union concluded the [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact]] in August 1939 and divided Eastern Europe into spheres of influence, Lithuania was assigned to Germany at first, but that changed after Smetona's refusal to participate in the German invasion of Poland.<ref name="True Lithuania" /><ref name="in JSTOR">Alfred Erich Senn, "Perestroika in Lithuanian Historiography: The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact," ''Russian Review'' (1990) 49#1 pp. 43–56 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/130082 in JSTOR] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429212451/https://www.jstor.org/stable/130082 |date=29 April 2021 }}</ref> [[Joseph Stalin]] agreed to cede [[Territories of Poland annexed by the Soviet Union|Polish areas initially annexed by the Soviet Union]] to the [[Greater Germanic Reich]] in exchange for Lithuania entering the Soviet sphere of influence.<ref name=":0" /> 
[[File:Lithuania territory 1939-1940.svg|thumb|left|275px|Lithuanian territorial issues 1939–1940]]

The interwar period of independence gave birth to the development of Lithuanian press, literature, music, arts, and theater as well as a comprehensive system of education with Lithuanian as the language of instruction. The network of primary and secondary schools was expanded and institutions of higher learning were established in Kaunas.<ref name="Department of State Lithuania"/> Lithuanian society remained heavily agricultural with only 20% of the people living in cities. The influence of the Catholic Church was strong and birth rates high: the population increased by 22% to over three million during 1923–1939, despite emigration to South America and elsewhere.<ref name="True Lithuania"/>
In almost all cities and towns, traditionally dominated by Jews, Poles, Russians and Germans, ethnic Lithuanians became the majority. Lithuanians, for example, constituted 59% of the residents of Kaunas in 1923, as opposed to 7% in 1897.<ref name="Zagłada Żydów, piekło Litwinów">Saulius Sužiedelis, ''Zagłada Żydów, piekło Litwinów'' [Extermination of the Jews, hell for the Lithuanians]. [http://wyborcza.pl/magazyn/1,134731,15042881,Zaglada_Zydow__pieklo_Litwinow.html Zagłada Żydów, piekło Litwinów] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729061123/http://wyborcza.pl/magazyn/1,124059,15042881,Zaglada_Zydow__pieklo_Litwinow.html |date=29 July 2017 }} [[Gazeta Wyborcza]] wyborcza.pl 28.11.2013</ref> The right-wing dictatorship of 1926–1940 had strangely stabilizing social effects, as it prevented the worst of antisemitic excesses as well as the rise of leftist and rightist political extremism.<ref name="Zagłada Żydów, piekło Litwinów"/>