Lithuanian resistance against the first Soviet occupation and Nazi occupation, and the determination to remain in Europe
ENSome details of the Soviet-Lithuanian Non-Aggression Pact are worthy of attention. Under Article 2 of the pact, the Soviet Union and Lithuania entered into a mutual agreement to guarantee the integrity and inviolability of their territories, while Article 3 stated that both parties mutually renounced any possible act of aggression that they could take against each other, and also agreed to observe strict neutrality in the event that either of them should be attacked by a third party. Under Article 4, both states undertook not to adhere to any agreement or coalition formed between third parties for the purpose of economic or financial boycotts against either of them. This nonaggression pact strengthened Lithuania’s feeling of security, though its promulgation “occasioned great surprise throughout Europe” as “Lithuania was perceived as having weakened Europe’s united front against Bolshevik Russia.” Interestingly, similar non-aggression pacts were signed with the Soviet Union six years later – by Finland in January 1932, and by Latvia and Estonia in February and May of the same year. These details were, however, not the end of the story. Later in the 1930s, Finland gradually gravitated towards the Scandinavian countries, and Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania drew closer to each other. After being admitted into the League of Nations, each of these three countries, together with Finland, practiced a concerted policy in Geneva, and there was developing Baltic cooperation. On February 17, 1934, Estonia and Latvia signed a union agreement, and on April 25, 1934, Lithuania sent a memorandum to these two countries outlining principles for strengthening the solidarity of the Baltic States.Just five days later, on May 1, 1934, Estonia and Latvia invited Lithuania to join in their alliance. Later that same year, the Baltic ministers of foreign affairs met in Kaunas and Riga, and on September 12, 1934, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia signed the Treaty of Understanding and Cooperation (known as the Baltic Entente) in Geneva. [p. 19].
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