Nelegali emigracijos biurų veikla Lietuvoje 1918–1940 m.

Abstract

The phenomenon of emigration exists in all societies irrespective of the epoch, the form of government, and the organization of social life in that society. In this respect the interwar period was no exception: because of difficult living conditions in the Republic of Lithuania many of its inhabitants decided to move abroad. Undaunted by the potential dangers of traveling and placing unconditional trust in profit-seeking travel agents, the majority of these emigrants headed for economically struggling Latin American states, where they experienced the slave-like exploitation of their employers and had no possibilities whatsoever of returning home. Doubtless contributing to the emigrants’ difficult situation in the countries they emigrated to were the emigration bureaus which were operating with the consent of Lithuanian government institutions. The legal activities of these bureaus in preparing documents and making travel arrangements had hidden aspects of criminality. The main task of this article is to present a view of the legal and illegal aspects of the activities of the emigration bureaus in the context of the emigration policies pursued by the interwar Lithuanian government. As the treatment of this topic in historiography is quite fragmentary, the author tries to look as closely as possible at archical and periodical sources in order to gain a better understanding of the criminal nature of emigration bureau activities that increased sharply due to adverse economic conditions in the interwar period.