The Klaipėda Region () or Memel Territory ( or Memelgebiet) was defined by the 1919 Treaty of Versailles in 1920 and refers to the northernmost part of the German province of East Prussia, when, as Memelland, it was put under the administration of the Entente's Council of Ambassadors. The Memel Territory, together with other areas severed from Germany (the Saar and Danzig), was to remain under the control of the League of Nations until a future date, when the people of those regions would be allowed to vote on whether or not the land would return to Germany. Today, the former Memel Territory is controlled by Lithuania as part of Klaipėda and Tauragė counties.
Historical overview In 1226, Duke Konrad I of Masovia requested assistance against the Prussians and other Baltic tribes, including the Skalvians who lived along the Neman (Memel) River. In March 1226, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II issued the Golden Bull of Rimini, which provided that the Teutonic Knights would possess lands taken beyond the Masovian border in exchange for securing Masovia. After uprisings of the Baltic Prussian tribes in 1242 to 1274 failed, the Order conquered many remaining western Balts in Lithuania Minor, including the Skalvians, Nadruvians and Yotvingians. In 1252, the Order constructed Memel Castle where the Dangė river flows into the Neman, at the north end of the Curonian Spit. In 1422, after centuries of conflict, the Order and the Polish–Lithuanian union signed the Treaty of Melno, which defined a border between Prussia and Lithuania. Although Grand Duke Vytautas of Lithuania wanted the border to be coextensive with the Neman River, the treaty border started north of Memelberg and ran southeasterly to the Neman. This border remained until 1918. After the Treaty of Melno was signed, many Lithuanians returned to northeastern Prussia, which became known as Lithuania Minor in the 16th century.
After World War I ended in 1918, the Klaipėda Region was defined as a roughly-triangular wedge, with the northern border being the Treaty of Melno border, the southern border following the Neman River, and on the west abutting the Baltic Sea. In 1923, fearing that the western powers would create a free state, Lithuanians took control of the region and, as part of larger regional negotiations, incorporated the region into the State of Lithuania. In March 1939, Lithuania acquiesced to Nazi demands and transferred the Klaipėda Region to Germany. As World War II came to an end in 1945, the Soviet Union incorporated the region into the Lithuanian SSR. Since 1990, the area of the Klaipėda Region has formed part of the independent Republic of Lithuania, as part of Klaipėda and Tauragė counties. The southern border established by the Treaty of Versailles defines the current international boundary between Lithuania and the Kaliningrad Oblast of the Russian Federation.
Timeline
+Timeline with changes of control over the territory pre-1252 Curonian and Scalovian tribes 1252–1525 Livonian Order and Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights (also Monastic State of Prussia) 1525–1618 Duchy of Prussia, a fief of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth 1618–1657 Duchy of Prussia, a fief of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, in personal union with Brandenburg 1657–1701 Brandenburg–Prussia, the Duchy of Prussia as a self govering state in personal union with Brandenburg and fief of the Holy Roman Empire 1701–1866 Kingdom of Prussia, outside of both Holy Roman Empire and German Confederation 1866–1871 Kingdom of Prussia, part of the North German Confederation 1871–1918 Kingdom of Prussia, part of the German Empire 1918–1920 Free State of Prussia, part of Weimar Republic 1920–1923 Conference of Ambassadors 1923–1939 Republic of Lithuania 1939–1945 Nazi Germany 1945–1990 Lithuanian SSR, part of the Soviet Union 1990–present Retroceeded to Republic of Lithuania
Treaty of Versailles
The eastern boundaries of Prussia (from 1871, part of the German Empire), having remained unchanged since the Treaty of Melno in 1422, became a matter of discussion following World War I as the newly-independent states of Poland and Lithuania emerged. The separatist Act of Tilsit was signed by a few pro-Lithuanian-oriented Prussian Lithuanians in 1918 and demanded the unification of Prussian Lithuania with Lithuania proper. It is traditionally viewed by Lithuanians as expressing the desire of Lithuania Minor to unite with Lithuania, but the majority of Prussian Lithuanians did not want to join with Lithuania, and the Prussian Lithuanians, at 26.6% of the population, did not make up a majority of the region.
The division of Prussia was also promoted by Poland's Roman Dmowski"Lemtinga situacija susidarė 1919 m. Versalio taikos konferencijoje. Lenkijos atstovas R. Dmovskis ten pareiškė, kad Lietuva nepribrendo valstybingumui, ir reikalavo ją prijungti prie Lenkijos. Dmovskis su prancūzų atstovu Klemanso iškėlė Rytprūsių pasidalijimo klausimą. Jie siūlė Gumbinę su Įsrutimi prijungti prie Lenkijos, Karaliaučių paskelbti laisvu miestu, o likusią dalį atiduoti būsimai marionetinei, nuo Lenkijos priklausomai Lietuvai." English translation: "A fatal situation appeared in 1919 at the Versailles peace conference. The Polish representative Dmowski expressed that Lithuania is not ready for independence, and insisted on attaching Lithuania to Poland. Dmowski and French representative Clemenceau promoted the idea of a partition of East Prussia. They proposed to attach Gumbinnen and Insterburg to Poland, Königsberg should be declared a free city, and the remaining part should be attached to Lithuania which would be controlled by Poland." Nuotrupos iš Mažosios Lietuvos istorijos Retrieved 2007, 12–59; excerpted from in Versailles who acted on the orders of Józef Piłsudski. The purpose was to give the lower part of the Neman River and its delta, which was located in Germany and called the Memel River, to Lithuania, as that would provide her access to the Baltic Sea, and Lithuania itself should be part of Poland. Those ideas were supported by French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau."dem Entschluß, das Memelgebiet von Deutschland abzutrennen, trug die antideutsche Einstellung des französischen Premiers, Georges Clemenceau, bei, der "die armen versklavten Litauer in Ostpreußen aus dem deutschen Joch" befreien wollte. Litauische Politiker haben diese antideutsche Haltung Clemenceaus später erfolgreich ausgenutzt und Forderungen, die für Litauen günstig waren, gestellt." Translation: "The resolution to separate the Memel Territory from Germany, the anti-German attitude of the French Prime Minister, Georges Clemenceau, who wanted to "free the poor enslaved Lithuanians in East Prussia from the German yoke". Lithuanian politicians later successfully took advantage of Clemenceau's anti-German attitude and made claims that were favorable for Lithuania." Vygantas Vareikis Retrieved 2007, 19–52
In 1920, according to the Treaty of Versailles, the German area north of the Memel River was given the status of Territoire de Memel under the administration of the Conference of Ambassadors, and French troops were sent for protection. The German delegation at the Paris Peace Conference, under the leadership of Count Ulrich von Brockdorff-Rantzau, immediately protested that decision and stated on 9 May 1919: [Memellanders], including those whose mother-tongue is Lithuanian, have never desired a separation from Germany [...] they have always proved themselves a loyal constituent part of the German community...moreover, Memel is an entirely German town [...] which has never in its whole history belonged to Lithuania or to Poland.
To that claim, the Allied Powers responded the following: The Allied and associated Powers reject the suggestion that the cession of the district of Memel conflicts with the principles of nationality. The district in question has always been Lithuanian; the majority of the populace is Lithuanian in origin and in speech and the fact that the city of Memel itself is in large parts German is no justification for maintaining the district under German sovereignty, particularly from the view of the fact that the port of Memel is the only sea outlet for Lithuania.
Following the evacuation of German troops from Memel, the French took over the temporary military administration of the region on 15 February 1920 under the leadership of General Dominique Odry. This was supplemented by a civilian one headed by Gabriel Jean Petisné in 1921. The French administration proved problematic, as it was accused by the Lithuanian population of siding too closely with the pro-German Landes Directorium and subsequently of siding with Polish civilian and military representatives. As a result of that backlash, Odry left his post shortly after coming to Memel and handed the responsibility of the administration over to High Commissioner Gabriel Jean Petisné. During the French administration, the idea of an independent state of Memelland grew in popularity among local inhabitants. The organisation Deutsch-Litauischer Heimatbund (German-Lithuanian homeland federation) promoted the idea of a Freistaat Memelland, which later should return to Germany. It had 30,000 members, both ethnic Germans and Lithuanians, or about 21% of the total population.
Lithuanian takeover
On 9 January 1923, three years after the Versailles Treaty had become effective, Lithuania occupied the territory during the Klaipėda Revolt,Occupation is admitted by modern Lithuanian historians: "Neue Untersuchungen machen es heute möglich, die tatsächliche Verteilung der Rollen auf die Schützen, die litauische Regierung und die Armee bei der Besetzung des Memegebietes offenzulegen." tr.: "New investigations make it possible today to reveal the actual distribution of roles between the Lithuanian Riflemen's Union, the Lithuanian Government and the Lithuanian Army in the case of the occupation of the Memel territory." Retrieved 2007, 13–04 mainly by militias that had entered the region from Lithuania. At the same time, France had started the Occupation of the Ruhr in Germany, and the French administration in Memel did not take any significant counteractive measures against the rebels. On 19 January, the territory was annexed by Lithuania, and the fait accompli was eventually confirmed by the Conference of Ambassadors in 1924.
Autonomous region within Lithuania
At the Klaipėda Convention, signed by the Conference of Ambassadors and Lithuania, the area was granted a separate parliament, two official languages, the capacity to raise its own taxes, charge custom duties, and manage its cultural and religious affairs, and was allowed a separate judicial system, separate citizenship, internal control of agriculture and forestry, as well as a separate social security system. The Council of Ambassadors accepted the resulting arrangement and confirmed the autonomy of the region within the Republic of Lithuania. On 8 May 1924, a further Convention on the Klaipėda region confirmed the annexation, and a resulting autonomy agreement was signed in Paris. In the Lithuanian-German Arbitration and Settlement Agreement () of 29 January 1928, the Republic of Lithuania and the Weimar Republic agreed "as a sign of the friendly nature of their relations" to conclude, among other items, a border settlement agreement that included the status of the Memel Territory.
Importantly, the annexation gave Lithuania control of a year-round, ice-free Baltic port. Lithuania made full use of Klaipėda's port by modernising and adapting it largely for its agricultural exports. The port reconstruction was certainly one of the larger long-term investment projects enacted by the government of Lithuania in the interwar period.