The Klaipėda Revolt took place in January 1923 in the Klaipėda Region. The region, located north of the Neman River, was detached from East Prussia, German Empire by the Treaty of Versailles and became a mandate of the League of Nations. It was placed under provisional French administration until a more permanent solution could be worked out. Lithuania wanted to unite with the region due to its large Lithuanian-speaking population of Prussian Lithuanians and major port of Klaipėda (Memel) – the only viable access to the Baltic Sea for Lithuania. As the Conference of Ambassadors favoured leaving the region as a free city, similar to the Free City of Danzig, the Lithuanians organized and staged a revolt.
Rambynas is a hill on the right bank of the Neman River in Rambynas Regional Park, Pagėgiai Municipality, western Lithuania. The current hill, about 46 metres (151 ft) above sea level and about 40 metres (130 ft) above the Neman, is a remnant of the larger hill that was destroyed by erosion. The hill was known as sacred among locals and played a role in the ceremonies of pagan Lithuanians. It is featured in many local legends and is protected by the state as a mythological object. A large stone at the top of the hill, known as the altar stone, was destroyed by a miller in 1811. Rambynas became popular with Prussian Lithuanians at the end of the 19th century who organized various events, most notably celebrations of the Saint Jonas' Festivals or Rasos, on the hill. They rebuilt the altar in 1928. The hill is popular with Lithuanian neo-pagans and hosts the annual celebrations of the summer solstice on 23 June.
Lietuvininkai we are born is a Lithuanian-language patriotic and sentimental poem written by the German linguist Georg Sauerwein in 1879. It is a passionate defense of Prussian Lithuanian (Lietuvininkai) language and culture, rallying people to resist Germanisation attempts. However, at the same time the poem proclaimed love and loyalty to the Kaiser signifying that the rally was cultural and not political. It was inspired by Enlightenment ideas that archaic languages and traditions of minorities should be cherished, studied, and preserved. The poem was first published in the Prussian Lithuanian newspaper Lietuwißka Ceitunga in 1879.
Hermann von Wartberge was a chronicler of the Livonian Order. Born in Westphalia, Wartberge was a Catholic priest and author of the valuable Latin chronicle Chronicon Livoniale covering the history of the Livonian Crusade from 1196 to 1378. Wartberge used previous chronicles, archival documents, and personal experiences. As the narrative became more detailed around 1358, it is believed that Wartberge joined the Order around the time and began describing the events as an eyewitness. For example, in 1366 he was sent on a diplomatic mission to Gdańsk (Danzig) and took part in numerous military campaigns against the pagan Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Wartberge provided extensive details on localities of the frequent raids and on construction of Livonian fortresses. The chronicle was preserved in the State Archives in Gdańsk and was first published in 1863 by Ernst Strehlke in Scriptores Rerum Prussicarum. Translations into Lithuanian and Latvian were published in 1991 and 2005.
The Klaipėda Convention was an international agreement between Lithuania and the countries of the Conference of Ambassadors signed in Paris on May 8, 1924. According to the convention, the Klaipėda Region became an autonomous region under unconditional sovereignty of Lithuania.
Erdmonas Simonaitis was a Prussian Lithuanian activist particularly active in the Klaipėda Region and advocating its union with Lithuania. During the staged Klaipėda Revolt of 1923, he headed the pro-Lithuanian government of the region. For his anti-German activities, he was persecuted by the Nazis during World War II. He survived the Mauthausen-Gusen and Dachau concentration camps. After the war he remained in Germany and rejoined various Lithuanian organizations. He was awarded the Order of Vytautas the Great and Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas.
The Parliament of the Klaipėda Region was the parliament of the Klaipėda Region, an autonomous region of Lithuania. The parliament was established by the Klaipėda Convention of 1924 and the first elections took place in October 1925.
The Lietuwißka Ceitunga was an influential Lithuanian-language newspaper published for Prussian Lithuanians, an ethnic minority of East Prussia, a province of the German Empire. It was established in 1877 by Martynas Šernius and Heinrich Holz in Klaipėda (Memel) and continued to be published until September 30, 1940.
Die Littauischen Wegeberichte is a compilation of 100 routes into the western Grand Duchy of Lithuania prepared by the Teutonic Knights in 1384–1402. The Knights waged the Lithuanian Crusade to convert pagan Lithuanians into Christianity since the 1280s. The crusade was characterized with frequent raids into the enemy territory to loot and pillage. Since Lithuania lacked a developed road network, local Lithuanian and Prussian scouts would describe and document the best and most effective routes for the military raids into Lithuania.
Jonas Smalakys (1835–1901) was a Prussian Lithuanian landowner, soldier, and the first Prussian Lithuanian to be elected to the Reichstag.
The Lithuanian Conservative Election Societies were several loosely connected political societies of Prussian Lithuanians active from 1890 to the German Revolution of 1918–19. They sought to elect Prussian Lithuanians to the German Reichstag and Prussian Landtag and to defend the use of the Lithuanian language. The societies managed to get two representatives to the Reichstag and two to the Landtag. It is sometimes described as the first Lithuanian political party.
The Birutė Society was the first cultural non-religious society of Prussian Lithuanians. Established in 1885 in Tilsit, East Prussia, the society was intermittently active until the outbreak of World War I. The society sought to preserve Lithuanian language and culture and protect them form Germanization. While it discussed linguistic and cultural subjects, the society never raised issues of social inequality or protested against the political regime of Kaiser Wilhelm II. The society prompted the division of Prussian Lithuanians into two main groups: religious conservative versus secular liberals. Birutė is best remembered for organizing festivals and celebrations that featured Lithuanian-language performances of various folk and patriotic songs as well as amateur theater performances, including the first Lithuanian-language theater performance in 1895.
Dovas Zaunius (1845–1921) was a Prussian Lithuanian cultural and political activist.
Tėvynės sargas was a Lithuanian-language periodical first established in 1896 in Tilsit, East Prussia during the Lithuanian press ban and the Lithuanian National Revival. It was published by the clergy and later by the Christian Democrats, thus it reflected and advocated for Roman Catholic ideals and values. Its motto was "All for Lithuania, Lithuania for Christ". With interruptions, it was published until 2000.
Nusidavimai apie evangelijos prasiplatinimą tarp žydų ir pagonių was the second Lithuanian-language periodical. It was published from 1832 to August 1914 in Königsberg, East Prussia, by the Evangelical Missionary Society of Königsberg and mainly reported on Evangelical missions in Asia, Africa, South America. It was discontinued due to the outbreak of World War I.
Bitėnai is a small village in the Pagėgiai Municipality, in western Lithuania. According to the 2011 census, it had population of 76, a decline from 119 in 2001. It is situated along the Neman River near the Rambynas hill and is known as the location of the Martynas Jankus printing press. Jankus Museum and the visitors' center of the Rambynas Regional Park are located in the village.
Dovas Zaunius was a Lithuanian lawyer, politician and diplomat who served as Ambassador to Switzerland from 1925 until 1927 and Lithuanian Foreign Minister from 1929 to 1934.
Jonas Kriaučiūnas was a Lithuanian activist during the Lithuanian National Revival mostly noted for editing and publishing Lithuanian periodicals Varpas and Ūkininkas in 1891–1895 and Vilniaus žinios in 1905–1906.
Keleivis iš Karaliaučiaus broliams Lietuvininkams žinias parnešas was a Lithuanian-language weekly periodical published in Königsberg, East Prussia, from 1849 to 1880. It was one of the first Lithuanian periodicals. Edited and published by the linguist and Lutheran pastor Friedrich Kurschat, Keleivis was politically conservative and propagated religious values.
Sandora Society was a charitable, cultural, and educational society active in Lithuania Minor from 1904 to 1940. Its long-term chairman and leader was Lutheran priest Vilius Gaigalaitis. Based in Klaipėda (Memel), it supported Prussian Lithuanian activities as a counterweight to Germanization efforts. The society supported religious education for the youth, provided charitable aid to the elderly, organized church choirs, published monthly Pagalba as well as religious and educational books. It had a rich library which had about 7,000 books by 1937. Sandora and its institutions were closed after the German takeover of Klaipėda Region in 1939. The society was reestablished by Lutheran priests in 1989–1995.
