Tautiniai santykiai Lietuvos Respublikos kaimuose ir miesteliuose, 1920-1940

LTPaprastai tautiniuose santykiuose egzistuoja psichologinė nuostata, turinti tiek etnosocialinį, tiek politinį turinį, kurią būtų galima pavadinti priešprieša „mes“ ir „jie“. „Mes“ atstovauja daugumai, o „jie“ - mažumai, arba netgi tautai, esančiai už „mūsų“ teritorijos, t. y. tuose santykiuose psichologiškai atsiranda lyg ir žemesnė hierarchinė vertybė. Tokia priešprieša tautiniuose santykiuose visuomet gyvuoja, tačiau ji kinta ne tik psichologiniu turiniu, bet ir esme, kuri, priklausomai nuo aplinkybių, gali būti socialinio, kultūrinio, ekonominio ar politinio pobūdžio. Remdamasis minėta nuostata, bandysiu pažvelgti į 1920-1940 m. buvusius Lietuvos kaimuose ir miesteliuose lietuvių santykius su žydais, lenkais ir vokiečiais. Šios tautinės mažumos pasirinktos todėl, kad jos susijusios su skirtinga gyvenamąja sfera: žydai daugiausia buvo miestelių, lenkai - miestelių ir kaimų, o vokiečiai - kaimų gyventojai. Tirtų tautybių žmonių gausumą mažai veikė migraciniai procesai. Tiesa, dalis žydų emigravo, bet apskritai tai buvo tautinės mažumos, ilgai gyvenusios Lietuvos teritorijoje. [p. 97].

ENThe article analyses relations between the Lithuanians and Jews, Poles and Germans in Lithuanian small towns and villages from 1920 to 1940 from the „we-they“ point of view. „We“ implies the national majority (Lithuanians) and „they“ are national minorities (Jews, Poles and Germans). In the years of the Lithuanian Republic, even though the Lithuanians considered the Jews as reliable business partners, there were some misunderstandings. The Lithuanians often harboured hostility and psychological tension which made the communication between the peoples living side by side difficult. The Jews were not interested in more informal relations with the Lithuanians, either. The negative attitude of Lithuanians was mainly caused by religious and cultural differences and by the sense of psychological superiority over other nationalities („we“) which appeared after gaining independence.Relations between Lithuanians and Poles sometimes grew into an open confrontation. This was caused by the historical heritage, former common self-dependence of the two states, and political Lithuanian-Polish relations and their fluctuations. Not only political motives, but also the issue of national identity was the cause of many conflicts. The Poles were trying to prove their ethnocultural superiority over the Lithuanians and to negate the fact that they were a national minority (‘they“) in Lithuania. Nevertheless, belonging of the both nations to the Roman Catholic Church created conditions for mixed marriages. The Germans that lived on the other side of the Nemunas River (Užnemunė) caused less problems to Lithuanians. The Germans accepted their status of national minority („they“), were well adjusted to living under different conditions and well integrated into the ethnocultural life of Lithuania. The most important thing for them was to preserve their national identity. The article suggests that cultural integration and the ability to perceive oneselves as a national minority were the main preconditions for avoiding ethnical contradictions.