Lithuanian nationalists in the Eastern United States 1941–1943: from the Lithuanian American National Association to the Lithuanian American National Center
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7220/2335-8769.81.2Keywords:
World War II, Lithuanian Americans, Lithuanian American National Association, Lithuanian American National Center, New York, Kazys Karpius, Vytautas AbraitisAbstract
This article examines the most serious problem of Lithuanian nationalists in the USA: the consolidation of fragmented groups. This fragmentation caused problems not only for the cooperation of all patriotic groups among Lithuanian Americans but also for the activities of the nationalists themselves. The focus is on the attempts of the nationalists of the Eastern States of the USA to unite their forces during the World War II to achieve unity of the entire Lithuanian nationalist movement in the USA. To this end, the Lithuanian American National Association, operating in New York-Brooklyn (1940–1943), was reorganized in 1943 into the Lithuanian American National Center, maintaining the hope that the Center would become a focal point for unification. By changing leadership, local nationalist forces managed to consolidate. However, there were still contradictions with the nationalists of the Western States of the USA, who, from 7-8 June 1941 onwards, concentrated in a new organization, the Union for the Liberation of Lithuania, in Cleveland, and showed greater activity. Both groups wanted to lead the Lithuanian nationalist movement in the USA which was one of the reasons for their disagreements. Although the organizations remained quite independent until 1949, the common actions for the liberation of Lithuania were coordinated in good faith. The issue at hand is one that has not yet been explored by historians, and the sources used are included for the first time in the study.