Latvian consulate in Klaipėda (1920–1940)

Remiantis vien pirminių šaltinių analize ir sinteze (straipsnyje panaudota trylikos Lietuvos centrinio valstybės archyvo (toliau – LCVA) fondų medžiaga, informacija, esanti publikuotuose dokumentuose, statistiniuose leidiniuose ir krašto periodinėje spaudoje), straipsnyje nagrinėjamas latvių konsulato Klaipėdoje raidos 1920–1940 m. etapai. Įvardijamos Latvijos konsulato steigimo, funkcionavimo ir uždarymo aplinkybės, išskiriami konsulų – Alfreds’o Misse, Peterio Kalcenavs’o, Karlio Freimanio, Janio Riekstiņš’o ir Janio Seskio – atvejai. Aptariama 1920–1940 m. Klaipėdoje veikusio Latvijos konsulato veikla, analizuojami Latvijos konsulato rangų pokyčiai, personalas, konsulų kultūrinė veikla.Based on the analysis and synthesis of primary sources, the article analyses the stages of development of the Latvian consulate in Klaipėda in 1920–1940. It specifies the circumstances of establishment, functioning and closure of the Latvian consulate with a focus on the following consults: Alfreds Misse, Peteris Kalcenavs, Karlis Freimanis, Janis Riekstiņš, and Janis Seskis. It discusses the activities of the Latvian consulate in Klaipėda in 1920–1940 and analyses the changes in the ranks of the Latvian consulate, its personnel and cultural activities of consuls. Until now the development of Latvian consulates in Lithuania has not received adequate attention from Lithuanian researchers. There are barely several publications on this topic in Lithuania. The works by Sandra Grigaravičiūtė and Zenonas Butkus are especially noteworthy. The topic was more extensively covered by Latvian researchers, namely Ē. Jēkabsons, V. Ščerbinskis and K. Kapenieks. The study on the Latvian consulate in Klaipėda in 1920–1940 is new, relevant and significant as it is the first comprehensive study revealing the appointment and activities of Latvian consuls in Klaipėda. The paper makes use of the previously unpublished archival data, periodical press, statistical publications, works of foreign historians. The research object is the circumstances of establishment, functioning and closure of the Latvian consulate in Klaipėda (1920–1940). The position of the Latvian consulate in the Klaipėda Region in 1939 also became the object of research. The article covers the period from May 1920 to February 1940. Year 1920 was selected as the starting point because it was the year of appointment of the Latvian career consular agent in Klaipėda Alfreds Misse, whereas the year 1940 marks the termination of activities of the Latvian consulate in Klaipėda after the transfer of Klaipėda to Germany. The aim of the article is to analyse the motives and process of establishment of the Consulate General of Latvia in Klaipėda and to reveal its activity fields in the period 1920–1940. The article discusses the activities of the Latvian consulate in Klaipėda in 1920–1940; it analyses the changes in the ranks of the Latvian consulate, its personnel and cultural activities of consuls. The analysis of primary and secondary sources prompts a conclusion that the Consulate General of Latvia was established in Klaipėda due to two reasons: 1) observation of events in the Klaipėda Region and collection of information; and 2) a numerous population of Latvians as foreigners in Klaipėda (the consulate intensified the relations with Latvians in the Klaipėda Region and sought to represent their interests). From May 1920 to February 1940 when the Klaipėda Region was transferred to Germany a total of 5 Latvian consuls were appointed to Klaipėda: Alfreds Misse, Peteris Kalcenavs (twice: 1924 and 1933–1934), Karlis Freimanis, Janis Riekstiņš, Janis Seskis (one of the most active Latvian consuls in the Klaipėda Region and Lithuania without the Klaipėda Region). The main fields of activity of the Consulate General of Latvia in Klaipėda were the following: participation in cultural events and educational campaigns. Latvian consuls in Klaipėda paid special attention to the Curonians in 1932–1933 and Latvian Jews in 1939. The analysis of the circumstances of formation of the Latvian consular corps in Klaipėda leads to the conclusion that the Consulate General of Latvia was one of the longest-standing foreign consulates in Klaipėda (1920–1940)