Jungtinių Amerikos Valstijų liberalioji spauda apie tris ultimatumus Lietuvai (1938-1940 m.)

LTStraipsnyje siekiama atskleisti, kaip informacija apie Lietuvai įteiktus ultimatumus (1938 m. Lenkijos, 1939 m. Vokietijos ir 1940 m. Sovietų Sąjungos) atsispindėjo JAV rytinėje pakrantėje leidžiamoje liberaliosios krypties spaudoje, kokį poveikį turėjo Lietuvos oficialių informacijos šaltinių veikla formuojant JAV spaudos poziciją ultimatumų Lietuvai atžvilgiu bei kaip ir kiek JAV lietuvių spauda vertino JAV spaudos pateikiamą informaciją. Siekiama nustatyti, ką palaikė JAV spauda – buvo Lietuvos ar jų įteikėjų pusėje. Tyrimui pasirinkti keturi JAV dienraščiai: "The New York Times", "New York Herald Tribune", "The Washington Post" bei "Chicago Daily Tribune" ir du JAV lietuvių laikraščiai: „Vienybė“ ir „Dirva“. Nors JAV spaudoje buvo pateikiama tiksli informacija, dėstomi aiškūs faktai, vengta įvykius vertinti. Kaip ir JAV politikai, taip ir spauda daugiau laikėsi izoliacinės politikos Lietuvos atžvilgiu. Nors JAV lietuvių spaudoje teigiama, kad įvykiai sulaukė išskirtinai daug vietinės spaudos dėmesio, ir kai kurie straipsniai tikrai pasiekė pirmuosius puslapius, JAV dienraščiai oficialiais Lietuvos informacijos šaltiniais beveik nesinaudojo. Raktiniai žodžiai: Lenkijos ultimatumas, Vokietijos ultimatumas, Sovietų Sąjungos ultimatumas, Antrasis pasaulinis karas, JAV, spauda, laikraščiai, The New York Times, The Washington Post, New York Herald Tribune, Chicago Daily Tribune, Vienybė, Dirva.

ENLithuania received three ultimatums between 1938 and 1940. The first ultimatum was presented to Lithuania by Poland, which demanded the diplomatic relations to be restored; the second ultimatum was presented by Germany, demanding to return the Memel (Klaipėda) district to Germany; the third ultimatum was issued by the Soviet Union and it led to Lithuania’s occupation. The press in the United States of America played a major role in forming the public perception regarding the events in Europe, as it was one of the most influential sources of information. The article seeks to reveal how the information about the ultimatums served to Lithuania (by Poland in 1938, by Germany in 1939, and by the Soviet Union in 1940) was reflected in the US press, how it used Lithuania’s official sources, how the American press evaluated the information, and whether the US press was on the side of Lithuania or not. Four American newspapers ("The New York Times", "The New York Herald Tribune", "The Washington Post", and "The Chicago Daily Tribune") and two American Lithuanian newspapers ("Vienybė" and "Dirva") were selected for the study. The research has revealed that the American press did not use the reports of the Lithuanian news agency ELTA and only in some exceptional cases the newspaper Lietuvos aidas was cited, using the statements by Kazys Škirpa, Vladas Mironas, Stasys Lozoraitis, and Povilas Žadeikis. It is important to note that the facts that acknowledged the ultimatums or the occupation were plentiful, but individual interpretations of the events and their circumstances were few. During the period of 1938–1940, the US press used information from American news agencies such as United Press and The Associated Press; also, from the Soviet TASS news agency and Reuters news agency.Various newspapers were used in this research: Polish ("Glos Lubelski", "Wieczór Warszawski"), Soviet ("Pravda", "Izvestia"), and Swedish ("Aftonbladet"). At the time, the official USA representative was Summer Wells, Secretary of State, who did not agree with the occupation of Lithuania and made it clear in the press. Although the information provided in the US press was accurate, it avoided assessments of the events. Like the US government, the press pursued a more isolationist policy towards Lithuania. Despite the fact that the events in Lithuania received considerable attention from the American press, the country’s newspapers hardly ever used Lithuanian information sources officially. Keywords: Polish ultimatum, German ultimatum, Soviet ultimatum, World War II, USA, press, newspapers, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New York Herald Tribune, The Chicago Daily Tribune, Vienybė, Dirva.