SECRET NAZI-SOVIET PROTOCOLS OF 1939 AND VISION AND WAYS OF RESTORATION / NONRESTORATION OF LITHUANIAN INDEPENDENCE

The secret protocols between SSRS and Germany from the very moment of being made public after the turmoil and fervour caused by the Nuremberg Tribunal found themselves in the centre of attention of the Lithuanian emigrees’ political thought and historical consciousness. Likewise, shortly afterwards these documents ceased to be secret in the occupied Lithuania, a far-away country behind the iron curtain. The issue was covered by underground press; the information wason numerous occasions transmitted in Lithuania via different radio stations of the free world. In the public space of not yet free Lithuania, the secret protocols were made public during the commemoration of the 48th anniversary of the Pact in Adam Mickievic square, Vilnius, on August 23, 1987. The meeting ws convened by the Freedom League (hereinafter LLL). This meeting was followed by a number of public meetings held by the Lietuvos Sąjūdis, with pressure applied to the Soviet Union…. The article aims at a legal evaluation of the Ribbentrop-Molotov Agreement Pact and presents an analysis of historical consciousness, related to the recognition of Lithuania’s occupation. Proper consideration is made of public movement and pressure, which predetermined the said recognition.