Lithuanian officership in DP camps

Lithuanian military officers, who moved to Germany and were accommodated in DP camps, contributed to building up of camps and actively participated in social activities.

Gen. Stasys Rastiskis actively participated in Regensburg Lithuanian committee, established in spring of 1945.

Members of the committee took care not only for reffugees issues, but also lithuanian soldiers, commandeered to German army and kept in USA prisoners of war camps.

Some of the Lithuanian officership worked in official Germany institutions, lectured in gymnasiums, Baltic, Tubingen Universities. Some of them worked in medical institutions. Most of the older circle of doctors were members of the corporation "Fraternitas Lithuanica", which was established by the brigadier general Vladas Nagevicius.

Lithuanian military officers participated in the The Supreme Committee for the Liberation of Lithuania (VLIK), the Lithuanian Refugees community, Lithuanian Red Cross society, and in other organizations movement, they were active press and cultural activities associates.

Lithuanian, Latvian, Estonian and Polish officers with the verdict of German military office were started to gather to USA, and later to UK auxiliary units, they were assigned to work (logistic, bridges, buildings and repair) and security functions. For example, Vytautas Magnus guard unit had a task to police Germanys war criminals in international Nuremberg tribunal, later – military targets around Nuremberg, other units protected aerodromes, weapons arsenals, food storehouses, other important objects. Number of units was not steady, but at one time even 14 units were working.

Lithuanian officership generated special interest to repatriaiton commision, which agitate to come back home. The were some attempts with the help of KGB agents to move them to Lithuania, using drugs and alcohol, even some physical crackwodn was planned.

 

Lietuvių tremtinių karo invalidų sąjunga : [Society of Lithuanian war disabled refugees]. Kassel-Mattenberg, 1947
Lithuanian national library LA137

Lietuvių tremtinių bendruomenės mokesčių knygelė [tax booklet of Lithuanian exile community]. Kassel-Mattenberg, 1947
Lithuanian national library LA147

Statute articles of the Lithuanian anti-nazi resistance association of political prisiners. Augsburg: 1946
Lithuanian national library A(LKA)111/946

Signs of Lithuanians work units
Lithuanian Cultural Institute in Germany (LKI)

Lithuanians in USA military guard units in Bad Kreuznache, 1952
Lithuanian Cultural Institute in Germany (LKI)

Lithuanian soldier of USA militaty engineering unity No.8724 K.Maciulis, Frankfurt, 1948
Pranas Nagys personal archive