“This year marks the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, a milestone noted in many countries. In the Baltic Sea region, however, 1945 often does not mean what it does, for instance, in Western Europe. Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia were not restored on the political map after the war. Fundamental changes followed: Germans – whose influence in the region had developed since the Middle Ages – were forced out, and the region fell within the Soviet Union’s sphere of influence. We feel these consequences to this day, when Russia’s leader at times behaves in the Baltic Sea as if it were ‘internal waters’,” says Prof. Dr. Vasilijus Safronovas, Director of the KU Institute of Baltic Region History and Archaeology.
Conference sessions examined the perspectives not only of major political actors but also of small states; not only of wartime participants but also of those affected by the war in various ways. The aim was to highlight how the experiences of the Baltic Sea region contribute to a more balanced and nuanced global picture of the war, and how they relate to today’s European security architecture.
“With this conference, we sought to present the Baltic Sea region as a space for which the year 1945 has a meaning quite different from that of other European regions. As one speaker noted, after 1945 the Baltic Sea never truly saw peace; it was simply calm for a time. At the same time, we invited a look at personal experiences: what 1945 meant, for example, to German soldiers who fought here, to Lithuania’s Jews, to their rescuers, or to the Forest Brothers,” Prof. Dr. Safronovas emphasizes.
Presenters analyzed, from a geopolitical perspective, the role of the Baltic Sea in the plans of the great powers in 1944–1945, and discussed how decisions at the end of the war affected the Baltic states and the region’s place on Europe’s political map. Another thematic axis explored postwar visions – the expectations of different political actors (from governments-in-exile to armed resistance structures) regarding the postwar order and the strategies they employed.
Attention was also devoted to attempts to entrench Soviet rule and the attitudes of different groups of local inhabitants. Finally, the conference turned to personal experiences: histories of Lithuanian Jews and their rescuers; the experiences of civilians and soldiers in 1945; and examples of commemorative policies related to maritime disasters.
The event was organized by the KU Institute of Baltic Region History and Archaeology in cooperation with the Bundeswehr Center for Military History and Social Sciences (Potsdam, Germany).
“This was our first joint event with the Bundeswehr Center for Military History and Social Sciences in Potsdam. Such cooperation is important in the broader context of Lithuanian–German relations, especially regarding ties between our armed forces, because a shared reflection on historical experience helps to strengthen and develop those ties,” notes Prof. Dr. Vasilijus Safronovas.
The key issues discussed at the conference and the common field of Lithuanian–German interests were examined in greater depth by Prof. Dr. Vasilijus Safronovas together with the co-organizer, Prof. Dr. Jörg Echternkamp, Head of the Bundeswehr Center for Military History and Social Sciences, in a separate meeting with KU Rector Prof. Dr. Artūras Razbadauskas. The conversation addressed future avenues of cooperation, joint research, the strengthening of academic exchanges, and practical steps to turn the insights highlighted at the conference into concrete projects.
