Activity of the "Rytas" association in the Seinai area

In the interwar period the Lithuanian minority had no luck in terms of the functioning of its associations. A glimmer of hope appeared after 1925 when educational and cultural organizations were allowed to function. The association “Rytas” (Eng. “Morning”) also resumed its activity. Its entity had previously been disrupted by World War I. “Rytas” was based in Vilnius, and its main objective was to spread education among the Lithuanian minority living in the Republic of Poland. Its activities in the Punskas and Seinai area focused on the opening of Lithuanian schools and library-reading rooms, conducting evening classes for adults, assigning instructors, distributing Lithuanian magazines and taking care of Lithuanian cultural activities, such as concerts and other performances. The activists of “Rytas” closely collaborated with the association of Šventasis Kazimieras (St. Casimir), assisting them and supporting their activities in the rural areas inhabited by Lithuanians. They did not form their own local units. In 1936 the ban issued by the wojewoda (governor) of Białystok stopped the activities of “Rytas” and other Lithuanian associations. Only after Poland and Lithuania had established mutual diplomatic relations in 1939, “Rytas” attempted to resume its operations