„Imti į savo rankas tremtinių Lietuvon grąžinimą“: Lietuvos Tarybos ir Minsko lietuvių organizacijų veikla 1918 metais

Abstract

The article sets out to analyse the joint activities of the Presidium of the Council of Lithuania, the Commission for the Return of Deportees and Prisoners of the Council of Lithuania and Minsk Lithuanian organisations in February–December 1918, the organisation and coordination of the repatriation of deportees and refugees to Lithuania from Russia, the territory of the Belarusian People’s Republic and Ukraine, the provision of relief and accommodation for them and the issue of the required documents (certificates, passports). The research covers the period from 21 February 1918 to 13 December 1918, i.e. from the gathering of the Minsk Lithuanian Council which brought forward the necessity to take care of the return of deportees and refugees to the homeland to the date of signature of the deed of transfer of the property of the Minsk Commission to the Department for the Return of Deportees under the Lithuanian Ministry of the Interior. The study reveals the activities undertaken by the Presidium of the Council of Lithuania and the Commission for the Return of Deportees and Prisoners of the Council of Lithuania in organising the return and bringing Lithuanian deportees and refugees from the territories occupied by the German army in February–March 1918 eastwards of Ober Ost, the appointment and activities of the authorised representatives of the Council of Lithuania (in Minsk and other cities inhabited by Belarusians), the composition and activities of the Minsk Lithuanian Council in February–April 1918, contacts with the Council of Lithuania, the composition and activities of the Minsk Commission for the Return of Deportees to Lithuania (also referred to as the Minsk Commission) and the reporting on its activities upon return to Lithuania.