Migratory processes and the ethno-demographic situation in Vilnius in the 1920s and 1930s

This article deals with Vilnius’s ethnodemographic development from 1920 to 1939 when the city was incorporated into Poland. Three basic stages are identified: first, a period of intense population growth from 1920 to 1925; second, a deceleration of that growth from 1926 to 1932; third, a demographic stagnation from 1932 to 1939. All three stages were determined by political and economic conditions. The major factor in Vilnius’s ethnic and demographic changes during this whole period was a process of migration. This resulted in the city’s population increasing by 70,000. The most intense migration was from 1920 to 1923 when former Vilnius residents sought to return from the Soviet Union. Furthermore, Polish political authorities and their representatives in Vilnius tried to strengthen Polish influence by administrative measures. An official policy of assimilation in municipal administration was implemented. This kind of policy meant that living conditions for the city’s non- Polish population were made more difficult and that migration to Vilnius of Poles from other Polish territories was promoted. These political and economic measures helped to maintain the dominance of Poles in Vilnius from 1920 to 1939