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123-549: The territory of the Balts, including modern Lithuania, was once inhabited by several Baltic tribal entities ( Aukštaitians , Sudovians , Old Lithuanians, Curonians , Semigallians , Selonians , Samogitians , Skalvians , Old Prussians ( Nadruvians )), as attested by ancient sources and dating from prehistoric times. Over the centuries, and especially under the Grand Duchy of Lithuania , some of these tribes consolidated into

246-589: A Proto-Balto-Slavic stage, from which Baltic languages retain numerous exclusive and non-exclusive lexical, morphological, phonological and accentual isoglosses in common with the Slavic languages , which represent their closest living Indo-European relatives. Moreover, with Lithuanian being so archaic in phonology, Slavic words can often be deduced from Lithuanian by regular sound laws ; for example, Lith. vilkas and Polish wilk ← PBSl. *wilkás (cf. PSl. *vьlkъ ) ← PIE *wĺ̥kʷos , all meaning " wolf ". When

369-405: A gong ), sekminių ragelis ( bagpipe ) and the pūslinė , a musical bow made from a pig's bladder filled with dried peas. Auk%C5%A1taitians Aukštaitija ( Lithuanian pronunciation: [ɐukʃˈtɐǐːtʲɪjɐ] ; literally Highland or Upland ) is the name of one of five ethnographic regions of Lithuania . The name comes from the fact that the lands are in the upper basin of

492-747: A state entity before the modern era . During the Late Middle Ages , Lithuania was ravaged by the Lithuanian Crusade , which ended only by the Treaty of Melno in 1422. In fact, the crusade persisted after the definite Christianization of Lithuania in 1387, when Europe's last pagan people were baptised. Simultaneously, the Lithuanian state reached its apogee under the rule of Vytautas the Great ( r.   1392–1430), when it ruled

615-403: A Lithuanian population revealed that Lithuanians are close to both Indo-European and Uralic -speaking populations of Northern Europe. Y-chromosome SNP haplogroup analysis showed Lithuanians to be closest to Latvians , Estonians , Belarusians and southern Finns . This is the result of Iron Age Europe . Autosomal SNP analysis situates Lithuanians most proximal to Latvians , followed by

738-503: A decision about the land of Samogitia , which is our inheritance and our homeland from the legal succession of the ancestors and elders. We still own it, it is and has always been the same Lithuanian land, because there is one language and the same inhabitants. But since the land of Samogitia is located lower than the land of Lithuania , it is called as Samogitia, because in Lithuanian it is called lower land [ Žemaitija ]. And

861-435: A decision about the land of Samogitia, which is our inheritance and our homeland from the legal succession of the ancestors and elders. We still own it, it is and has always been the same Lithuanian land, because there is one language and the same inhabitants . But since the land of Samogitia is located lower than the land of Lithuania , it is called Samogitia, because in Lithuanian it is called lower land [ Žemaitija ]. And

984-579: A government and many new groups attempted to fill the void. During this same period, the population was facing food shortages and was, for the most part, demoralized by the losses incurred during the war. Various political parties, ranging from ardent nationalists, to social democrats, to communists attempted to set up governments in the names of the different nationalities. In other areas, existing nation states such as Romania engaged regions that they considered to be theirs. These moves created de facto governments that complicated life for diplomats, idealists, and

1107-575: A heavy Lithuanian presence. Lithuanians in the early 20th century were among the thinnest people in the developed countries of the world. In Lithuanian cuisine there is some emphasis on attractive presentation of freshly prepared foods. Lithuania has been brewing midus , a type of Lithuanian mead for thousands of years. Locally brewed beer ( alus ), vodka ( degtinė ), and kvass ( gira ) are popular drinks in Lithuania. Lithuanian traditional beer of Northern Lithuania, Biržai , Pasvalys regions

1230-912: A lasting independence, though it repeatedly had to fight the Soviet Union for its borders in the Winter War . Armenia , Georgia , and Azerbaijan were established as independent states in the Caucasus region . However, after the withdrawal of the Russian Army in 1917 and during 1920 Turkish invasion of Armenia , Turkey captured the Armenian territory around Artvin , Kars , and Iğdır , and these territorial losses became permanent. As consequence of invasions of Turkey and Russian Red Army all three Transcaucasian countries were proclaimed as Soviet Republics in 1920 and in 1922 were absorbed into

1353-642: A loan from the United States. Historian Sally Marks claims that while "Allied warships remained in place against a possible resumption of hostilities, the Allies offered food and medicine after the armistice, but Germany refused to allow its ships to carry supplies". Further, Marks states that despite the problems facing the Allies, from the German government, "Allied food shipments arrived in Allied ships before

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1476-576: A much greater loss in terms of its ratio to the country's prewar territory. However, the new Irish Free State remained a dominion within the British Empire . World War I also caused a major realignment in British parliamentary politics by leading to the rise of the democratic socialist Labour Party and to the break-up and decline of the social liberal Liberal Party . Liberal Prime Minister H. H. Asquith ran into disagreements with not only

1599-479: A normal treatable virus that did not produce a heavy impact on the world's health." After 123 years, Poland re-emerged as an independent country. The Kingdom of Serbia and its dynasty, as a "minor Entente nation" and the country with the most casualties per capita, became the backbone of a new multinational state, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes , later renamed Yugoslavia. Czechoslovakia , combining

1722-551: A political and ethnic entity also known as Lithuania proper . The local people mainly speak the Aukštaitian dialect of Lithuanian . Under the new classification of dialects, Lithuanian is divided into only two dialects, Aukštaitian and Samogitian , with all other varieties now classified as subdialects. The Sudovian and Dzūkian dialects are also considered subdialects of Aukštaitian; the specific subdialect spoken in Aukštaitija

1845-443: A stuffed potato creation, is the most popular national dish. It is popular among Lithuanians all over the world. Other national foods include dark rye bread , cold beet soup (šaltibarščiai), and kugelis (a baked potato pudding). Some of these foods are also common in neighboring countries. Lithuanian cuisine is generally unknown outside Lithuanian communities. Most Lithuanian restaurants outside Lithuania are located in cities with

1968-439: A variety of influences during the country's rich history. Since shared similarities in history and heritage, Lithuanians, Jews and Poles have developed many similar dishes and beverages: dumplings ( koldūnai ), doughnuts ( spurgos ), and crepes ( lietiniai blynai ). German traditions also influenced Lithuanian cuisine, introducing pork and potato dishes, such as potato pudding ( kugelis ) and potato sausages ( vėdarai ), as well as

2091-620: A war that eventually resulted in a massive population exchange between the two countries under the Treaty of Lausanne. According to various sources, several hundred thousand Greeks died during this period, which was tied in with the Greek genocide . A far-left and often explicitly communist revolutionary wave occurred in several European countries in 1917–1920, notably in Germany and Hungary . The single most important event precipitated by

2214-518: Is popular among Lithuanians in Lithuania as well as in the diasporic communities. Basketball came to Lithuania through the Lithuanian-American community in the 1930s. Lithuanian basketball teams were bronze medal winners in the 1992 , 1996 , and 2000 Summer Olympics . Joninės (also known as Rasos ) is a traditional national holiday, celebrated on the summer solstice. It has pagan origins. Užgavėnės ( Shrove Tuesday ) takes place on

2337-525: Is thus known as East Aukštaitian. The region has Russian and Belarusian minorities in the east. The subdialects spoken there use more loanwords from those languages. However, the usage of dialects in the region, as in Lithuania in general, is declining. Aftermath of World War I The aftermath of World War I saw far-reaching and wide-ranging cultural, economic, and social change across Europe , Asia , Africa , and even in areas outside those that were directly involved. Four empires collapsed due to

2460-406: Is well appreciated in Lithuania and abroad. Starka is a part of the Lithuanian heritage, still produced in Lithuania. Among Indo-European languages , Lithuanian is conservative in its grammar and phonology, retaining archaic features otherwise found only in ancient languages such as Sanskrit (particularly its early form, Vedic Sanskrit ) or Ancient Greek . Thus, it is an important source for

2583-616: The Conservative Party opposition but members of his own party led by David Lloyd George who disagreed with his handling of the war. Although Asquith agreed to form a coalition government, the disputes continued and eventually Lloyd George led a faction of the Liberals to form a new coalition government with the cooperation of the Conservatives. During the 1918 "coupon" election Conservatives and Liberals endorsed by

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2706-594: The Emirate of Transjordan . Parts of the Ottoman Empire on the Arabian Peninsula became part of what is today Saudi Arabia and Yemen . The dissolution of the Ottoman Empire became a pivotal milestone in the creation of the modern Middle East, the result of which bore witness to the creation of new conflicts and hostilities in the region. The Soviet Union benefited from Germany's loss, as one of

2829-654: The French invasion of Russia in 1812, the Uprisings of 1831 and 1863 , accelerated this process of Slavicization. While under Russian occupation, Lithuanians endured Russification , which included the 40-year-long ban on public speaking and writing in Lithuanian (see, e.g., Knygnešiai , the actions against the Catholic Church). In such a context, the Lithuanian National Revival began in

2952-668: The Gediminids dynasty is named, Rex de Owsteiten (King of Aukštaitija). Aukštaitija was mentioned as Austechia in Chronicon terrae Prussiae , written around 1326. Politically, from the end of the 13th century, it comprised the Duchy of Vilnius/Lithuania and the Duchy of Trakai , and it is possible that the term was then used to refer to both of them. Since the 15th century, the Trakai and Vilnius voivodeships made up Aukštaitija,

3075-536: The Great Famine of Mount Lebanon . With the fall of the Ottoman government, power vacuums developed and conflicting claims to land and nationhood began to emerge. The political boundaries drawn by the victors of World War   I were quickly imposed, sometimes after only cursory consultation with the local population. These continue to be problematic in the 21st-century struggles for national identity . While

3198-629: The Interwar . A standardised Lithuanian language was approved. In the lead-up to the World War II, the Klaipėda Region was occupied by Nazi Germany after the 1939 German ultimatum to Lithuania . "We do not know on whose merits or guilt such a decision was made, or with what we have offended Your Lordship so much that Your Lordship has deservedly been directed against us, creating hardship for us everywhere. First of all, you made and announced

3321-605: The Kiautschou Bay Leased Territory since 1898. But the western Allies rejected China's request, instead granting transfer to Japan of all of Germany's pre-war territory and rights in China. Subsequently, China did not sign the Treaty of Versailles, instead signing a separate peace treaty with Germany in 1921. The Austro-Hungarian and German concessions in Tianjin were placed under the administration of

3444-558: The Kingdom of Bohemia with parts of the Kingdom of Hungary, became a new nation. Romania would unite all Romanian-speaking people under a single state leading to Greater Romania . Russia became the Soviet Union and lost Finland , Estonia , Lithuania , and Latvia , which became independent countries. The Ottoman Empire was soon replaced by Turkey and many of its territories became mandates under British or French rule. In

3567-582: The Kingdom of Greece , with the backing of Britain, to invade deep into Anatolia in an attempt to deal a blow to the revolutionaries. At the Battle of Dumlupınar , the Greek army was defeated and forced into retreat, leading to the burning of Smyrna and the withdrawal of Greece from Asia Minor. With the nationalists empowered, the army marched on to reclaim Istanbul, resulting in the Chanak Crisis in which

3690-526: The Nemunas , as opposed to the Lowlands that begin from Šiauliai westward. Although Kaunas is surrounded by Aukštaitija, the city itself is not considered to be a part of any ethnographic region in most cases. Aukštaitija is in the northeast part of Lithuania and also encompasses a small part of Latvia and Belarus . The largest city located entirely within this region, Panevėžys , is considered to be

3813-601: The Ottoman Army , left Istanbul for Samsun to organize the remaining Ottoman forces to resist the terms of the treaty. On the eastern front, after the invasion of Armenia in 1920 and signing of the Treaty of Kars with the Russian S.F.S.R. Turkey took over territory lost to Armenia and post-Imperial Russia. On the western front, the growing strength of the Turkish National Movement forces led

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3936-684: The Representation of the People Act 1918 . As a result both Liberal factions performed poorly in the 1922 general election while Labour became the Official Opposition for the first time. The Liberals reluctantly collaborated with Labour to help it form a brief minority government under Ramsay MacDonald . The Liberals would not fully reunify until Asquith's death in 1928, and thereafter primarily expressed influence through confidence and supply arrangements and coalitions in

4059-489: The Rhineland . She further claims that the German government delayed the relief effort by refusing to surrender their merchant fleet to the Allies. Finally, she concludes that "the very success of the relief effort had in effect deprived the [Allies] of a credible threat to induce Germany to sign the Treaty of Versailles. However, it is also the case that for eight months following the end of hostilities, some form of blockade

4182-993: The Romanian Army in the Hungarian-Romanian War . In the late spring of 1918, three new states were formed in the South Caucasus : the First Republic of Armenia , the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic , and the Democratic Republic of Georgia , which declared their independence from the Russian Empire. Two other minor entities were established, the Centrocaspian Dictatorship and South West Caucasian Republic (the former

4305-771: The Russian Army and since summer 1917 in the Romanian front as part of the Romanian Army . As a supporter of the White movement with the Czechoslovak Legion against the Red Army during the Russian Civil War . In the battles of Montello, Vittorio Veneto, Sisemolet, Piave, Cimone, Monte Grappa, Nervesa and Ponte Delle Alpi as part of the Italian Army against Austria-Hungary and in 1919 as part of

4428-617: The Samogitians call Lithuania Aukštaitija , that is, from the Samogitian point of view, a higher land. Also, the people of Samogitia have long called themselves Lithuanians and never Samogitians, and because of such identity ( sic ), we do not write about Samogitia in our letter, because everything is one: one country and the same inhabitants." — Vytautas the Great , excerpt from his 11 March 1420 Latin -written letter sent to Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor , in which he described

4551-502: The Samogitians call Lithuania as Aukštaitija , that is, from the Samogitian point of view, a higher land. Also, the people of Samogitia have long called themselves Lithuanians and never – Samogitians, and because of such identity ( sic ) we do not write about Samogitia in our letter, because everything is one: one country and the same inhabitants." — Vytautas the Great , excerpt from his 11 March 1420 Latin letter sent to Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor , in which he described

4674-623: The Vilnius County . Especially large Polish communities are located in the Vilnius District Municipality and the Šalčininkai District Municipality . Despite being the capital, Vilnius was not the largest city by number of Lithuanians until mid-2000s. According to the 2011 census Vilnius had 337,000 Lithuanians while Kaunas – 316,000. Russians, even though they are almost as numerous as Poles, are much more evenly scattered. The most prominent community lives in

4797-693: The Visaginas Municipality (52%). Most of them are workers who moved from Russia to work at the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant . A number of ethnic Russians left Lithuania after the declaration of independence in 1990. In the past, the ethnic composition of Lithuania has varied dramatically. The most prominent change was the extermination of the Jewish population during the Holocaust . Before World War II, about 7.5% of

4920-539: The Weimar Republic . On 28 June 1919 the Weimar Republic was forced, under threat of continued Allied advance, to sign the Treaty of Versailles. Germany viewed the one-sided treaty as a humiliation and as blaming it for the entire war . While the intent of the treaty was to assign guilt to Germany to justify financial reparations, the notion of blame took root as a political issue in German society and

5043-435: The ban against printing the Lithuanian language was lifted in 1904, various European literary movements such as Symbolism , impressionism , and expressionism each in turn influenced the work of Lithuanian writers. The first period of Lithuanian independence (1918–1940) gave them the opportunity to examine themselves and their characters more deeply, as their primary concerns were no longer political. An outstanding figure of

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5166-708: The baroque tree cake known as šakotis . Traditional dishes of Lithuanian Tatars and Lithuanian Karaites like Kibinai and čeburekai , that are similar to pasty , are popular in Lithuania. For Lithuanian Americans both traditional Lithuanian dishes of virtinukai (cabbage and noodles) and balandėliai (rolled cabbage) are growing increasingly more popular. There are also regional cuisine dishes, e.g. traditional kastinys in Žemaitija , Western Lithuania, Skilandis in Western and Central Lithuania, Kindziukas in Eastern and Southern Lithuania ( Dzūkija ). Cepelinai ,

5289-552: The 14th century, corresponding to the establishment of Ashkenazi settlements in response to the invitation extended by Vytautas the Great in 1388. At the end of the 19th century, the average height of males was 163.5 cm (5 ft 4 in) and the average height of females was 153.3 cm (5 ft 0 in). By the end of the 20th century, heights averaged 181.3 cm (5 ft 11 in) for males and 167.5 cm (5 ft 6 in) for females. Lithuanian settlement extends into adjacent countries that are now outside

5412-695: The 1916 Easter Rising and its failed attempt to introduce conscription in Ireland in 1918 , led to an increased support for separatist radicals. This led indirectly to the outbreak of the Irish War of Independence in 1919. The creation of the Irish Free State that followed this conflict in effect represented a territorial loss for the United Kingdom that was all but equal to the loss sustained by Germany, and furthermore, compared to Germany,

5535-534: The 19th century. Some believed at the time that the Lithuanian nation as such, along with its language, would become extinct within a few generations. Some of the Polish- and Belarusian-speaking persons from the lands of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania expressed their affiliation with the modern Lithuanian nation in the early 20th century, including Michał Pius Römer , Stanisław Narutowicz , Oscar Milosz and Tadas Ivanauskas In February 1918, while World War I

5658-671: The Allies as an equal. Lausanne Treaty formally acknowledged the new League of Nations mandates in the Middle East, the cession of their territories on the Arabian Peninsula, and British sovereignty over Cyprus . The League of Nations granted Class A mandates for the Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon and British Mandate of Mesopotamia and Palestine , the latter comprising two autonomous regions: Mandate Palestine and

5781-636: The Aryans (1892): "Thus it would seem that the Lithuanians have the best claim to represent the primitive Aryan race , as their language exhibits fewer of those phonetic changes, and of those grammatical losses which are consequent on the acquirement of a foreign speech." The Proto-Balto-Slavic language branched off directly from Proto-Indo-European, then sub-branched into Proto-Baltic and Proto-Slavic . Proto-Baltic branched off into Proto-West Baltic and Proto-East Baltic. Baltic languages passed through

5904-508: The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC), celebrates this defining moment. After the Battle of Vimy Ridge, where the Canadian divisions fought together for the first time as a single corps, Canadians began to refer to their country as a nation "forged from fire". Having succeeded on the same battleground where the "mother countries" had previously faltered, they were for the first time respected internationally for their own accomplishments. Like Australia and New Zealand, Canada entered

6027-474: The British Empire, the war unleashed new forms of nationalism. In the Dominions of Australia and New Zealand, the Battle of Gallipoli became known as those nations' "Baptism of Fire". It was the first major war in which the newly established countries fought, and it was one of the first times that Australian troops fought as Australians, not just subjects of the British Crown , and independent national identities for these nations took hold. Anzac Day , commemorating

6150-408: The British Prime Minister, David Lloyd George , was forced to resign. After Turkish resistance gained control over Anatolia and Istanbul, the Sèvres treaty was superseded by the Treaty of Lausanne which formally ended all hostilities and led to the creation of the modern Turkish Republic . As a result, Turkey became the only power of World War I to overturn the terms of its defeat, and negotiate with

6273-402: The Central Powers may have been exposed to the viral wave before the Allies. The resulting casualties having greater effect, having been incurred during the war, as opposed to the allies who suffered the brunt of the pandemic after the Armistice. When the extent of the epidemic was realized, the respective censorship programs of the Allies and Central Powers limited the public's knowledge regarding

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6396-446: The Chinese government; in 1920 they occupied the Russian area as well. The western Allies' substantial accession to Japan's territorial ambitions at China's expense led to the May Fourth Movement in China, a social and political movement that had profound influence over subsequent Chinese history. The May Fourth Movement is often cited as the birth of Chinese nationalism , and both the Kuomintang and Chinese Communist Party consider

6519-430: The Coalition won a landslide majority in the British Parliament. However, the split between Lloyd George's National Liberals and Asquith's Independent Liberals fatally weakened the party. On the other hand, the Labour Party remained unified despite tensions between pacifist and pro-war leaders; it used the war to expand the British trade union movement , and benefited from the establishment of universal suffrage under

6642-460: The Grand Duchy of Lithuania as an independent country. There is a current argument that the Lithuanian language was considered non-prestigious enough by some elements in Lithuanian society, meaning that the number of Lithuanian language-speakers decreased with Polonization in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , as well as a Germanisation of Prussia . The subsequent imperial Russian occupation from 1795 until 1915, with some interpositions such as

6765-427: The Kaliningrad Oblast ( Lithuania Minor ) were almost destroyed as a result. The Lithuanian nation as such remained primarily in Lithuania, few villages in northeastern Poland, southern Latvia and also in the diaspora of emigrants. Some indigenous Lithuanians still remain in Belarus and the Kaliningrad Oblast, but their number is small compared to what they used to be. Lithuania regained its independence in 1990, and

6888-450: The Lithuanian nation, mainly as a defence against the marauding Teutonic Order and Eastern Slavs . The Lithuanian state was formed in the High Middle Ages , with different historians dating this variously between the 11th and mid-13th centuries. Mindaugas , Lithuania's only crowned king and its first baptised ruler, is generally considered Lithuania's founder. The Lithuanians are the only branch of Baltic people that managed to create

7011-456: The Movement to be an important period in their own histories. Alsace–Lorraine returned to France, the region which had been ceded to the Kingdom of Prussia in 1871 after the Franco-Prussian War . At the 1919 Peace Conference, Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau 's aim was to ensure that Germany would not seek revenge in the following years. To this purpose, the chief commander of the Allied forces, Marshal Ferdinand Foch , had demanded that for

7134-433: The Ruhr until 1925. The treaty required Germany to permanently reduce the size of its army to 100,000 men, and destroy their tanks, air force, and U-boat fleet (her capital ships, moored at Scapa Flow , were scuttled by their crews to prevent them from falling into Allied hands). Germany saw relatively small amounts of territory transferred to Denmark , Czechoslovakia, and Belgium, a larger amount to France (including

7257-446: The Ruhr, and then the Young Plan in 1929. Also extremely important in the War was the participation of French colonial troops (who amounted for around 10% of the total number of troops deployed by France across the war), including the Senegalese tirailleurs , and troops from Indochina , North Africa , and Madagascar . When these soldiers returned to their homelands and continued to be treated as second class citizens, many became

7380-612: The Soviet Union as the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic . Romania gained Bessarabia from Russia. The Russian concession of Tianjin was occupied by the Chinese Beiyang government in 1920; in 1924 the Soviet Union renounced its claims to the district. In the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , funding the war had a severe economic cost . From being the world's largest overseas investor, it became one of its biggest debtors with interest payments forming around 40% of all government spending. Inflation more than doubled between 1914 and its peak in 1920, while

7503-418: The Treaty of Versailles on 28 June 1919, between Germany on the one side and France, Italy, Britain and other minor allied powers on the other, officially ended war between those countries. Other treaties ended the relationships of the United States and the other Central Powers. Included in the 440 articles of the Treaty of Versailles were the demands that Germany officially accept responsibility "for causing all

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7626-790: The United States and Israel. Now there are about 3,200 Jews living in Lithuania. Apart from the various religious and ethnic groups currently residing in Lithuania, Lithuanians themselves retain and differentiate between their regional identities; there are 5 historic regional groups: Žemaičiai , Suvalkiečiai , Aukštaičiai , Dzūkai and Prūsai , the last of which is virtually extinct. City dwellers are usually considered just Lithuanians, especially ones from large cities such as Vilnius or Kaunas . The four groups are delineated according to certain region-specific traditions, dialects, and historical divisions. There are some stereotypes used in jokes about these subgroups, for example, Sudovians are supposedly frugal while Samogitians are stubborn. Since

7749-402: The United States to support Germany culminated in the British government's Balfour Declaration of 1917, endorsing creation of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. A total of more than 1,172,000 Jewish soldiers served in the Allied and Central Power forces in World War   I, including 275,000 in Austria-Hungary and 450,000 in Tsarist Russia. The establishment of the modern state of Israel and

7872-434: The Western allies themselves, and other agendas such as a desire to implement the spirit of the Fourteen Points. For example, in order to live up to the ideal of self-determination laid out in the Fourteen Points, Germans, whether Austrian or German, should be able to decide their own future and government. However, the French especially were concerned that an expanded Germany would be a huge security risk. Further complicating

7995-434: The Western allies. The Western forces were officially supposed to occupy the old Empire, but rarely had enough troops to do so effectively. They had to deal with local authorities who had their own agenda to fulfill. At the peace conference in Paris the diplomats had to reconcile these authorities with the competing demands of the nationalists who had turned to them for help during the war, the strategic or political desires of

8118-432: The anti-communist movements, and thousands of Latin crosses were placed on the Hill of Crosses near Šiauliai , despite its being bulldozed in 1961. Lithuanian folk music is based around songs ( dainos ), which include romantic and wedding songs, as well as work songs and archaic war songs. These songs used to be performed either in groups or alone, and in parallel chords or unison . Duophonic songs are common in

8241-444: The blockade after the fighting ended, as author Robert Leckie wrote in Delivered from Evil , did much to "torment the Germans ... driving them with the fury of despair into the arms of the devil." The terms of the Armistice did allow food to be shipped into Germany, but the Allies required that Germany provide the means (the shipping) to do so. The German government was required to use its gold reserves, being unable to secure

8364-452: The capital, though not in a political sense. Sometimes Utena is regarded as a symbolical capital. The largest cities by population are: The region has many lakes, mainly on the eastern side. "We do not know on whose merits or guilt such a decision was made, or with what we have offended Your Lordship so much that Your Lordship has deservedly been directed against us, creating hardship for us everywhere. First of all, you made and announced

8487-476: The center of the 1918 flu pandemic. A significant precursor virus was harbored in birds, and mutated to pigs that were kept near the front. The exact number of deaths is unknown but about 50 million people are estimated to have died from the influenza outbreak worldwide. In 2005, a study found that, "The 1918 virus strain developed in birds and was similar to the 'bird flu' that in the 21st century spurred fears of another worldwide pandemic, yet proved to be

8610-440: The charge made at Versailles". This position is also supported by Elisabeth Gläser who notes that an Allied task force, to help feed the German population, was established in early 1919 and that by May 1919 Germany "became the chief recipient of American and Allied food shipments". Gläser further claims that during the early months of 1919, while the main relief effort was being planned, France provided food shipments to Bavaria and

8733-413: The core of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania , composed from Žemaitija (lowlands) and Aukštaitija (highlands). Term Aukštaitija is known since the 13th century. The territory inhabited by the ethnic Lithuanians has shrunk over centuries; once Lithuanians made up a majority of the population not only in what is now Lithuania , but also in northwestern Belarus , in large areas of the territory of

8856-536: The core of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania , composed of Žemaitija (lowlands) and Aukštaitija (highlands). The term Aukštaitija has been known since the 13th century. Historically, Aukštaitija corresponded to the Duchy of Lithuania until the 13th century. Its initial capital was most likely Kernavė . In the 1322 treaty of Gediminas , Aukštaitija was called terra Eustoythen (land of Aukštaitians). Some German sources also titled Grand Duke Gediminas , after whom

8979-502: The day before Ash Wednesday , and is meant to urge the retreat of winter. There are also national traditions for Christian holidays such as Easter and Christmas . Lithuanian cuisine has much in common with other European cuisines and features the products suited to its cool and moist northern climate: barley, potatoes, rye, beets, greens, and mushrooms are locally grown, and dairy products are one of its specialties. Nevertheless, it has its own distinguishing features, which were formed by

9102-621: The dissolution of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War   I was pivotal in contributing to the modern political situation of the Middle East, including the Arab-Israeli conflict , the end of Ottoman rule also spawned lesser-known disputes over water and other natural resources. The prestige of Germany and German things in Latin America remained high after the war but did not recover to its pre-war levels. Indeed, in Chile

9225-487: The early 20th century was Vincas Krėvė-Mickevičius , a novelist and dramatist. His many works include Dainavos šalies senų žmonių padavimai (Old Folks Tales of Dainava , 1912) and the historical dramas Šarūnas (1911), Skirgaila (1925), and Mindaugo mirtis (The Death of Mindaugas , 1935). Petras Vaičiūnas was another popular playwright, producing one play each year during the 1920s and 1930s. Vincas Mykolaitis-Putinas wrote lyric poetry, plays, and novels, including

9348-549: The event of a hung parliament . The Republic of China had been one of the Allies; during the war, they had sent thousands of labourers to France. At the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 , the Chinese delegation called for an end to Western imperialistic institutions in China, but was rebuffed. China requested at least the formal restoration of its territory of Jiaozhou Bay , under German colonial control as

9471-437: The first terms of the armistice was the abrogation of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk . At the time of the armistice Russia was in the grips of a civil war which left more than seven million people dead and large areas of the country devastated. The nation as a whole suffered socially and economically. Lithuania , Latvia and Estonia gained independence. They were occupied again by the Soviet Union in 1940. Finland gained

9594-591: The first time in history, as in Germany ( 1919 German federal election ), Great Britain ( 1918 United Kingdom general election ), and the United States ( 1920 United States presidential election ). Through the period from the Armistice of 11 November 1918 until the signing of the Treaty of Versailles with the Weimar Republic on 28 June 1919, the Allies maintained the naval blockade of Germany that had begun during

9717-453: The future protection of France the Rhine river should now form the border between France and Germany. Based on history, he was convinced that Germany would again become a threat, and, on hearing the terms of the Treaty of Versailles that had left Germany substantially intact, he observed that "This is not Peace. It is an Armistice for twenty years." The destruction brought upon French territory

9840-399: The greatest outrage . Nazi propaganda would feed on a general German view that the treaty was unfair – many Germans never accepted the treaty as legitimate, and lent their political support to Adolf Hitler . At the end of the war, the Allies occupied Constantinople ( Istanbul ) and the Ottoman government collapsed. The Treaty of Sèvres , designed to repair damage caused by Ottomans during

9963-608: The lands between the Baltic and Black seas. Thereafter, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania continued existing until 1795, however, since the Union of Lublin in 1569, it maintained its independence in the bi-confederal Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . In the 16th century the Lithuanian humanists based the national consciousness of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania on the idea of their national singularity or uniqueness and considered

10086-532: The late Neolithic period the native inhabitants of the Lithuanian territory have not been replaced by migrations from outside, so there is a high probability that the inhabitants of present-day Lithuania have preserved the genetic composition of their forebears relatively undisturbed by the major demographic movements, although without being actually isolated from them. The Lithuanian population appears to be relatively homogeneous, without apparent genetic differences among ethnic subgroups. A 2004 analysis of mtDNA in

10209-475: The late 19th century, including the concertina , accordion and bandoneon . Sutartinė can be accompanied by skudučiai , a form of panpipes played by a group of people, as well as wooden trumpets ( ragai and dandytės ). Kanklės is an extremely important folk instrument, which differs in the number of strings and performance techniques across the country. Other traditional instruments include švilpas whistle, drums and tabalas (a percussion instrument like

10332-419: The loss and damage" of the war and pay economic reparations . The treaty drastically limited the German military machine: German troops were reduced to 100,000 and the country was prevented from possessing major military armaments such as tanks, warships, armored vehicles and submarines. Historians continue to argue about the impact the 1918 flu pandemic had on the outcome of the war. It has been posited that

10455-537: The majority of Lithuanians have been members of the Roman Catholic Church . According to the 2021 census, 74% of Lithuanians are Roman Catholic. Under Article 26 of the Constitution of Lithuania , persons can freely practice a religion of their choosing. Catholicism played a significant role in Lithuanian anti-communist resistance under the Soviet Union . Several Catholic priests were leaders of

10578-619: The modern Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia, and in some parts of modern Latvia and Poland. In 1940, Lithuania was invaded and occupied by the Soviet Union , and forced to join it as the Lithuanian SSR . The Germans and their allies attacked the USSR in June 1941, and from 1941 to 1944, Lithuania was occupied by Germany. The Germans retreated in 1944, and Lithuania fell under Soviet rule once again. The long-standing communities of Lithuanians in

10701-603: The modern Lithuanian state. A small Lithuanian community exists in the vicinity of Puńsk and Sejny in the Suwałki area of Poland, an area associated with the Lithuanian writer and cleric Antanas Baranauskas . Although most of the Lithuanian inhabitants in the region of Lithuania Minor that formed part of East Prussia were expelled when the area was annexed by the Soviet Union as the Kaliningrad Oblast , small groups of Lithuanians subsequently settled that area as it

10824-478: The monarchy. The economic disruption of the war and the end of the Austro-Hungarian customs union created great hardship in many areas. Although many states were set up as democracies after the war, one by one, with the exception of Czechoslovakia, they reverted to some form of authoritarian rule. Many quarreled amongst themselves but were too weak to compete effectively. Later, when Germany rearmed ,

10947-469: The nation states of south-central Europe were unable to resist its attacks, and fell under German domination to a much greater extent than had ever existed in Austria-Hungary. In Germany, there was a socialist revolution which led to the brief establishment of a number of communist political systems in (mainly urban) parts of the country, the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II , and the creation of

11070-494: The new states built around ethnic nationalism . The Jews were especially distrusted because of their minority religion and distinct subculture. This was a dramatic come-down from the days of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Although antisemitism had been widespread during Habsburg rule , Jews faced no official discrimination because they were, for the most part, ardent supporters of the multi-national state and

11193-601: The newly created countries as minorities. More than two million ethnic Hungarians found themselves living outside of Hungary in Czechoslovakia, Romania and the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. Many of these national minorities found themselves in hostile situations because the modern governments were intent on defining the national character of the countries, often at the expense of the other nationalities. The interwar years were hard for religious minorities in

11316-761: The novel Altorių šešėly (In the Shadows of the Altars, 3 vol., 1933), a remarkably powerful autobiographical novel. Keturi vėjai movement started with publication of The Prophet of the Four Winds by talented poet Kazys Binkis (1893—1942). It was rebellion against traditional poetry. The theoretical basis of Keturi vėjai initially was futurism which arrived through Russia from the West and later cubism , dadaism , surrealism , unanimism , and German expressionism . The most influensive futurist for Lithuanian writers

11439-473: The nuclei of pro-independence groups. Furthermore, under the state of war declared during the hostilities, the French economy had been somewhat centralized in order to be able to shift into a " war economy ", leading to a first breach with classical liberalism . Finally, the socialists' support of the National Union government (including Alexandre Millerand 's nomination as Minister of War) marked

11562-522: The population was Jewish; they were concentrated in cities and towns and had a significant influence on crafts and business. They were called Litvaks and had a strong culture. The population of Vilnius, which was sometimes nicknamed the northern Jerusalem , was about 30% Jewish. Almost all its Jews were killed during the Holocaust in Nazi-occupied Lithuania , some 75,000 alone between the years 1941 – 1942, while others later immigrated to

11685-531: The pre-war average rate and more than replaced by 1928. Material loss was "slight": the most significant being 40% of the British Merchant Navy sunk by German U-boats . Most of this was replaced in 1918 and all immediately after the war. The military historian Correlli Barnett has argued that "in objective truth the Great War in no way inflicted crippling economic damage on Britain" but that

11808-541: The preceding fifty years. This hope proved far too optimistic. Changes in territorial configuration after World War I included: These changes were recognized in, but not caused by, the Treaty of Versailles. They were subsequently further elaborated in the Treaty of Saint-Germain and the Treaty of Trianon . The 1919 treaties generally included guarantees of minority rights , but there was no enforcement mechanism. The new states of eastern Europe mostly all had large ethnic minorities . Millions of Germans found themselves in

11931-664: The privations of World War I was the Russian Revolution of 1917 . With the war having turned decisively against the Central Powers , the people of Austria-Hungary lost faith in their allied countries, and even before the armistice in November, radical nationalism had already led to several declarations of independence in south-central Europe after November 1918. As the central government had ceased to operate in vast areas, these regions found themselves without

12054-585: The purchases of foreign currency required to pay off the reparations, the new German republic printed tremendous amounts of money—to disastrous effect. Hyperinflation plagued Germany between 1921 and 1923. In this period the worth of fiat Papiermarks with respect to the earlier commodity Goldmarks was reduced to one trillionth (one million millionth) of its value. In December 1922 the Reparations Commission declared Germany in default, and on 11 January 1923 French and Belgian troops occupied

12177-482: The reconstruction of the Proto-Indo-European language despite its late attestation (with the earliest texts dating only to c.  1500 A.D. , whereas Ancient Greek was first written down in c.  1450 B.C. ). There was fascination with the Lithuanian people and their language among the late 19th-century researchers, and the philologist Isaac Taylor wrote the following in his The Origin of

12300-486: The renowned sutartinės tradition of Aukštaitija . Another style of Lithuanian folk music is called rateliai , a kind of round dance . Instrumentation includes kanklės , a kind of zither that accompanies sutartinės, rateliai, waltzes , quadrilles and polkas , and fiddles , (including a bass fiddle called the basetle ) and a kind of whistle called the Lamzdeliai lumzdelis ; recent importations, beginning in

12423-538: The roots of the continuing Israeli–Palestinian conflict are partially found in the unstable power dynamics of the Middle East that resulted from World War   I. Before the end of the war, the Ottoman Empire had maintained a modest level of peace and stability throughout some parts of the Middle East, although during the war the Ottomans conducted the ethnically and religiously motivated Greek genocide , Armenian genocide and Assyrian genocide , as well as overseeing

12546-474: The situation, delegations such as the Czechs and Slovenians made strong claims on some German-speaking territories. The result was treaties that compromised many ideals, offended many allies, and set up an entirely new order in the area. Many people hoped that the new nation states would allow for a new era of prosperity and peace in the region, free from the bitter quarrelling between nationalities that had marked

12669-539: The temporary French occupation of the Rhineland) and the greatest portion as part of a reestablished Poland. Germany's overseas colonies were divided between a number of Allied countries, most notably the United Kingdom in Africa, but it was the loss of the territory that composed the newly independent Polish state, including the German city of Danzig and the separation of East Prussia from the rest of Germany, that caused

12792-583: The true extent of the disease. Because Spain was neutral , their media was free to report on the Flu, giving the impression that it began there. This misunderstanding led to contemporary reports naming it the " Spanish flu ". Investigative work by a British team led by virologist John Oxford of St Bartholomew's Hospital and the Royal London Hospital , identified a major troop staging and hospital camp in Étaples , France as almost certainly being

12915-530: The value of the Pound Sterling (consumer expenditure ) fell by 61%. War reparations in the form of free German coal depressed local industry, precipitating the 1926 United Kingdom general strike . British private investments abroad were sold, raising £550 million. However, £250 million in new investment also took place during the war. The net financial loss was therefore approximately £300 million; less than two years investment compared to

13038-492: The war "crippled the British psychologically but in no other way". Less concrete changes include the growing assertiveness of Commonwealth nations. Battles such as Gallipoli for Australia and New Zealand, and Vimy Ridge for Canada led to increased national pride and a greater reluctance to remain subordinate to Britain, leading to the growth of diplomatic autonomy in the 1920s. These battles were often decorated in propaganda in these nations as symbolic of their power during

13161-465: The war as a Dominion of the British Empire and remained so, although it emerged with a greater measure of independence. When Britain declared war in 1914, the dominions were automatically at war; at the conclusion, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa were individual signatories of the Treaty of Versailles. Lobbying by Chaim Weizmann and fear that American Jews would encourage

13284-667: The war bought an end to a period of intense scientific and cultural influence writer Eduardo de la Barra scornfully called "the German bewitchment" ( Spanish : el embrujamiento alemán ). The Transylvanian and Bukovinian Romanians who were taken prisoners of war fought as the Romanian Volunteer Corps in Russia , Romanian Legion of Siberia and Romanian Legion in Italy. Taking part in the Eastern Front as part of

13407-466: The war to the winning Allies, was signed by Ottoman Empire on 10 August 1920, but was never ratified by the Sultan. The occupation of Smyrna by Greece on 18 May 1919 triggered a nationalist movement to rescind the terms of the treaty. Turkish revolutionaries led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk , a successful Ottoman commander, rejected the terms enforced at Sèvres and under the guise of General Inspector of

13530-485: The war, old countries were abolished, new ones were formed, boundaries were redrawn, international organizations were established, and many new and old ideologies took a firm hold in people's minds. Additionally, culture in the nations involved was greatly changed. World War I also had the effect of bringing political transformation to most of the principal parties involved in the conflict, transforming them into electoral democracies by bringing near- universal suffrage for

13653-606: The war. Overseas possessions such as British India and Nigeria also became increasingly assertive, because of their participation in the war. The populations in these countries became increasingly aware of their own power and Britain's fragility. In Ireland , the delaying of the Government of Ireland Act 1914 , which was enacted to resolve the Home Rule issue , later exacerbated by the Government's severe response to

13776-536: The war. As the German economy was dependent on imports, it is estimated that around half a million civilians had died. N. P. Howard, of the University of Sheffield , estimates that a quarter of a million excess deaths occurred in eight-month period following the conclusion of the conflict, 40% of which took place in November 1918, making for 474,085 excess deaths for the entire 1914–1919 period. The continuation of

13899-403: The westernmost East Slavs ; furthermore, Germans and West Slavs (especially Poles ) are situated more proximal to Lithuanians than Finns and northern Russians. Lithuanian Ashkenazi Jews display a number of unique genetic characteristics; the utility of these variations has been the subject of debate. One variation, which is implicated in familial hypercholesterolemia , has been dated to

14022-576: Was Russian poet Vladimir Mayakovsky . Oskaras Milašius (1877–1939) is a paradoxical and interesting phenomenon in Lithuanian culture. He never lived in Lithuania but was born and spent his childhood in Cereja (near Mogilev , Belarus ) and graduated from Lycée Janson de Sailly in Paris. His longing for his fatherland was more metaphysical. Having to choose between two conflicting countries — Lithuania and Poland — he preferred Lithuania which for him

14145-564: Was an idea even more than a fatherland. In 1920 when France recognized the independence of Lithuania, he was appointed officially as Chargé d'Affaires for Lithuania. He published: 1928, a collection of 26 Lithuanian songs; 1930, Lithuanian Tales and Stories ; 1933, Lithuanian Tales ; 1937, The origin of the Lithuanian Nation . Since the Christianization of parts of Lithuania proper in 1387 and of Samogitia in 1413,

14268-410: Was continually in place, with some contemporary estimates that a further 100,000 casualties among German civilians due to starvation were caused, on top of the hundreds of thousands which already had occurred. Food shipments, furthermore, had been entirely dependent on Allied goodwill, causing at least in part the post-hostilities irregularity. After the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the signing of

14391-727: Was created in the spring of 1918, but this collapsed in May when the Georgians asked for and received protection from Germany and the Azerbaijanis concluded a treaty with the Ottoman Empire that was more akin to a military alliance. Armenia was left to fend for itself and struggled for five months against the threat of a full-fledged occupation by the Ottoman Turks before defeating them at the Battle of Sardarabad . Greece fought against Turkish nationalists led by Mustafa Kemal ,

14514-603: Was liquidated by Azerbaijan in the autumn of 1918 and the latter by a joint Armenian-British task force in early 1919). With the withdrawal of the Russian armies from the Caucasus front in the winter of 1917–18, the three major republics braced for an imminent Ottoman advance, which commenced in the early months of 1918. Solidarity was briefly maintained when the Transcaucasian Federative Republic

14637-654: Was never accepted by nationalists, although it was argued by some, such as German historian Fritz Fischer . The German government disseminated propaganda to further promote this idea, and funded the Centre for the Study of the Causes of the War to this end. 132 billion gold marks ($ 31.5 billion, 6.6 billion pounds) were demanded from Germany in reparations, of which only 50 billion had to be paid. In order to finance

14760-568: Was ongoing, the re-establishment of an independent Lithuanian state was declared , 122 years after it was destroyed. In the aftermath of World War I , Lithuanians militarily defended their country's independence from Poland , Whites and Soviet Russia during the Lithuanian Wars of Independence . However, a third of Lithuania's lands, namely the Vilnius Region , as well as its declared capital, fell under Polish occupation during

14883-604: Was recognized by most countries in 1991. It became a member of the European Union on May 1, 2004. Among the Baltic states , Lithuania has the most homogeneous population. According to the census conducted in 2001, 83.45% of the population identified themselves as ethnic Lithuanians, 6.74% as Poles , 6.31% as Russians , 1.23% as Belarusians , and 2.27% as members of other ethnic groups such as Ukrainians , Jews , Germans , Tatars , Latvians , Romani , Estonians , Crimean Karaites etc. Poles are mostly concentrated in

15006-518: Was repopulated with new Soviet citizens. Small groups of Lithuanians are still present in Belarus within the Grodno and Vitebsk regions . Apart from the traditional communities in Lithuania and its neighboring countries, Lithuanians have emigrated to other continents during the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. The Lithuanian national sport is usually considered to be basketball ( krepšinis ), which

15129-513: Was to be indemnified by the reparations negotiated at Versailles. This financial imperative dominated France's foreign policy throughout the 1920s, leading to the 1923 Occupation of the Ruhr in order to force Germany to pay. However, Germany was unable to pay, and obtained support from the United States. Thus, the Dawes Plan was negotiated after Prime Minister Raymond Poincaré 's occupation of

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