Childhood in the Memel region

ENThe designation ‘Memel Territory’ was coined in 1919 at the peace conference in Versailles, referring to the northern strip of East Prussia, bordered on the south by the Memel River and extending to the village of Nimmersatt (Nemirsatė) on the Baltic coast. Article 99 of the Treaty of Versailles in the end stipulated the cession of the Memel Territory from the German Reich. After the Lithuanian militia had achieved a fait accompli on January 15, 1923, the Entente Powers and Lithuania held tense negotiations that led to the Memel Convention of May 8, 1924. The Convention guaranteed Memelland extensive autonomy within the Republic of Lithuania. Between 1920 and 1937, Memel comprised a region with a German cultural and economic life; the autonomous authorities undertook no anti-Semitic measures whatsoever until 1937. Germany re-incorporated the Memel Territory on March 22, 1939 after forcing an ultimatum on the Lithuanian Foreign Minister Juozas Urbšys. In the region, the majority of the children received a good education.The only area where German, Lithuanian, and Jewish children encountered each other was in school. Children were very active in their leisure time – particularly in sports and in Scouts – regardless of their national affiliation. All the children in the region, Germans, Lithuanians, as well as Jews, were affected by the territorial conflicts and the war. These things unexpectedly and abruptly ended their childhood. This paper examines the memories of different children. It seeks to show that the majority of parents, regardless of their national and political background, tried to secure for their children an apolitical and protected childhood.