Amerikos lietuvių konferencijos 1943 metais vaidmuo

LTIstoriografijoje Amerikos lietuvių konferencija 1943 m. rugsėjo 2–3 d. Pitsburge nesulaukė didesnio tyrinėtojų dėmesio. Apie ją užsiminę autoriai, pvz., Antanas Kučas ar Stasys Michelsonas, pažymėjo, kad šioje konferencijoje buvo padėti pagrindai šalpos organizacijai BALF᾽ui atsirasti. Apskritai Amerikos lietuvių konferencija – tai Amerikos lietuvių tarybos (ALT) ir JAV lietuvių tautininkų varžybų siekiant vadovauti išeivijos vykdomam Lietuvos laisvinimui išraiška. Konferenciją organizavo ALT᾽os vadovybė, nes jau 1943 m. pradėjo aiškėti sąjungininkų lūžis Europos frontuose prieš Vokietiją bei Italiją ir atsirado reali galimybė išvaduoti Lietuvą iš nacių okupacijos. Tuo metu sparčiai telkėsi ir JAV lietuviai tautininkai, kurie konkuravo su ALT, pasisakė už visuotinį JAV lietuvių seimą ir atsisakė dalyvauti konferencijoje. ALT᾽ą labiau palaikė Lietuvos diplomatai, nes ši politinė organizacija jungė JAV lietuvių didžiąsias organizacijas ir didesnę dalį išeivijos. Diplomatai bandė tarpininkauti ALT᾽ai ir tautininkams, bet nesėkmingai. Konferencijos metu buvo priimta nemažai rezoliucijų ir nutarimų, parengtas gana konkretus ALT᾽os planas telkti išeiviją Lietuvai laisvinti ir organizuoti paramą lietuviams tremtiniams. Vis dėlto konferencija turėjo reikšmės telkiant patriotines JAV lietuvių jėgas, o vėliau – pritraukiant į ALT᾽ą ir tautininkus. Raktažodžiai: Amerikos lietuvių konferencija, 1943 metai, Pitsburgas, Amerikos lietuvių taryba, JAV lietuviai tautininkai, Leonardas Šimutis, Kazys Karpius, Povilas Žadeikis, Petras Daužvardis. [Iš leidinio]

ENThe Lithuanian-American Conference that took place 1943.9.1-2 in Pittsburgh was referred to as the Lithuanian-American Congress in later historiography. Since delegates from the influential and patriotic U.S. Lithuanian nationalist movement did not participate in that conference, it had less weightier consequences than a Congress might have had. The Conference was called in response to the successes of the Allies (the United States, the Soviet Union, Great Britain) on the European Front and in response to the emerging opportunity to liberate Lithuania from the Nazi occupation. The fact that Leonardas Šimutis, Pijus Grigaitis and other stalwarts of the Lithuanian-American Council (ALT) took the lead in calling this conference reflected their desire to retain and strengthen their own position as leaders of the diaspora community in the struggle for Lithuanian independence. In that period the Lithuanian nationalists in America attempted to unify their ranks so they could effectively participate themselves in efforts to reestablish Lithuania’s independence. But it proved difficult to unite all the Lithuanian patriotic forces in the United States, mainly because the diaspora nationalists (first of all the editor of the weekly “Dirva” newspaper Kazys Karpius) felt offended by the stalwarts of the Lithuanian American Council (ALT), particularly the socialists. The latter did not support President Antanas Smetona, demanded that upon liberation a “democratic Lithuania” be established, incessantly castigated the previous authoritarian regime, and failed to invite the nationalists’ political organization, the Union to Free Lithuania, to the conference. The still active Lithuanian Communists in the United States fully rejected participation in the conference, which their newspapers “Vilnis” and “Laisvė” denounced as an effort to revive “Fascist rule in Lithuania.”.Lithuanian diplomats – the envoy Povilas Žadeikis and the consuls Petras Daužvardis and Jonas Budrys – attempted to make peace between the various patriotic forces in the U.S. Lithuanian community as well as to return the nationalists to the Lithuanian American Council (ALT). The diplomats emphasized the necessity of standing united at such an important period for Lithuania. They recommended to temporarily cease intramural disputes, not to get bogged down in details, and to make mutual concessions. They called attention to common projects engaged in by all collecting donations for charity and helping out Lithuanians in need. Diplomats tended to support the Lithuanian American Council as the common political arm of the major U.S. Lithuanian organizations supported by a large part of the Lithuanian diaspora. Still, the Lithuanian-American Conference attracted a comparatively large number participants, including 417 elected delegates in addition to two U.S. senators, representatives of Pittsburgh’s municipal government, and representatives of the recently established Lithuanian National Council. The Conference adopted a number of resolutions, the most important of which (1) called for organizing material assistance for Lithuanian refugees by creating a United Lithuanian Relief Fund of America (BALF) and (2) adopted a concrete plan for the liberation of Lithuania and the re-establishment of an independent state. This plan was supposed to be acceptable to the U.S. Lithuanian nationalists as well inasmuch as their politics and rhetoric showed them acting in accordance with very similar principles. The Conference strengthened the authority of its main organizer, the Lithuanian American Council (ALT), by approving its new by-laws, broadening its structure, enlarging its leadership, and endorsing its claim to marshal the diaspora in pursuit of Lithuania’s liberation.On the other hand, the Conference did not escape objections that it did not allow enough time for discussion, that it failed to invite President Smetona, that there was interminable criticism of the Nationalists, and so on. But the Conference did lay the foundation for the future cooperation of the Lithuanian American Council with the U.S. Lithuanian nationalists by first establishing a joint charity, the United Lithuanian Relief Fund of America (BALF). Even though for a long time (up to 1948) the political activities of both were largely separate, but carried out in parallel, they pursued much the same objectives. Keywords: Lithuanian-American Conference, 1943, Pittsburgh, Lithuanian-American Council, U.S. Lithuanian nationalists, Leonardas Šimutis, Kazys Karpius, Povilas Žadeikis, Petras Daužvardis. [From the publication]

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