Penkios dienos Lietuvos istorijoje

Abstract

The paper deals with the activities of the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry on 14-18 March, 1938, when the threat of the Polish invasion arose and Poland’s ultimatum was received and considered. The leaders of the Lithuanian foreign policy and the minister Stasys Lozoraitis in particular, with a view to retaining independence and security of Lithuania, appealed to West European diplomacy with a request to restrain Poland from possible aggressive actions towards Lithuania and, after a categorical note having a character of an ultimatum had been received, to alter its contents and extend the short time indicated in the note for establishing relations between the two countries. West European diplomacy insisted that the government of Poland should moderate its categorical demands to Lithuania and avoid creating a conflict situation in the North-Eastern region and that the Lithuanian government should finally establish normal diplomatic relations between the two neighbouring countries in the name of peace. The conclusion is drawn that as Poland's categorical note was delivered in 1938, on the eve of the World war II, and as it was only concerned with establishing proper diplomatic relations, as the relations of the two neighbouring countries had been tense for a long time owing to the issue of Vilnius and problems of national minorities in Poland and Lithuania, as well as due to the fact that Lithuania’s position was neutral, the ultimatum could not in any way mitigate or influence the fate of Poland and the Baltic States, Lithuania among them, when the World War II broke out.