Granting citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania in Vilnius region (1939-1940)

Based on archival and historiographical materials, the article focuses on the issue of granting citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania to the residents of Vilnius and its region in 1939–1940, discloses the mechanism for granting citizenship, the people’s attitudes towards accepting citizenship and the related reservations, identifies the number of people who received Lithuanian passports. At close of 1939, the population of Vilnius and its region was approximately 450,000, nearly half of which was constituted by residents of Vilnius city. In terms of quantity, the Polish, Lithuanians and Jews were the largest ethnic groups. The integration of Vilnius and its region into the life of the Republic of Lithuania brought the campaign of granting citizenship to residents of the region concerned. However, due to strict requirements for proving one’s eligibility to citizenship of Lithuania, a great number of people residing in the region could not become citizens of Lithuania. Approximately 100,000 of such individuals could be counted in Vilnius alone. They were classified as “aliens”, and had to obtain permits of residence and work in Lithuania. Intellectuals of Polish nationality, former civil servants, who regarded the state dependence status of Vilnius Region as a short-term phenomenon and hoped for prompt restoration of the pre-war Polish state, avoided becoming citizens of Lithuania. Opportunities of becoming citizens of Lithuania were mostly used by Lithuanians and Jews. However, subjective factors (efforts to get out from prisons and prisoner-of-war camps, to secure a more stable social life) prompted the local residents to become citizens of Lithuania. Plans of Lithuanian authorities to conduct the campaign of granting citizenship to the residents of Vilnius and its region in a few months were not implemented, and the campaign continued until occupation of Lithuania by the Soviets in June 1940