THE BALTIC RIDDLE FINLAND, ESTONIA, LATVIA, LITHUANIA-KEY-POINTS OF EUROPEAN PEACE by GREGORY MEIKSINS Parming PkDf Canada/USA NEW YORK L. B. FISCHER COPYRIGHT 1943 BY L. B. FISCHER PUBLISHING CORPORATION THIS IS A WARTIME BOOK. SIZE, WEIGHT OF PAPER AND MARGINS HAVE BEEN RE­ DUCED TO CONSERVE MATERIAL NECESSARY FOR THE WAR EFFORT. PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AMERICAN BOOK-STRATFORD PRESS, INC., NEW YORK Prejace On many occasions the Russians made it clear that the in­ corporation of the Baltic states into the Soviet Union is definite and that the status of these regions "could no more serve as a subject for discussion than, for instance, the status of Cali­ fornia. Yet the Baltic question still remains, for the time being, on the order of the day of political discussions among the Allies, true, only as a conditio sine qua non set forth by the Russians. It is not difficult to guess that sooner or later this condition will be met by Britain and also by the United States; the situation on the fighting fronts, the actual diplomatic line-up and the present political relations throughout the Allied world are such that the United Nations can be expected shortly to recognize the incorporation of the Baltic states within the Soviet federa­ tion. After numerous official expressions to the contrary, published with generally negative press commentary, recognition of the Soviet Baltic republics cannot but come as a shock to an unpre­ pared public opinion, which has heretofore considered only the anti-Russian interpretation of the Baltic issue. Already there is a marked tendency to represent the expected decision as a form V vi Preface of concession to force. That is what Russia wants, it is said, and she has the necessary force behind her; therefore, the concession must be made even though it means violation of the rights of small and sympathetic peoples. In this manner everything that has been said and done up to now is justified and, moreover, since the present system of power relations is not permanent, the decision remains provisionary in principle. The implications of such an interpretation are clear for every­ body and anybody can accordingly understand why those who are dreaming of a new war ten to twenty years hence, maintain this view with particular emphasis right now. The view that if there had been no pressure from the Soviet Union there would be no Baltic question, is a misconception rooted in prolonged agitation that stems to a great extent from the foreign office and war ministry in Germany. For obvious reasons, Germany wants the Baltic running sores ever exposed and never healed. They hide behind a screen of false pity for small peoples, but as it usually happens, the first and foremost victims of the uninvited guardians are the small nations them­ selves. For they have always suffered most of all precisely from the insecurity of their status and from the consequent instability of their economic and political life. Above everything else they now want to arrive at a final and organic decision granting them a new lease on a free and robust life. Fortunately for them and for the world such an opportunity now presents itself and, moreover, is such that the interests of the Baltic nations coincide with the current trend of interna­ tional affairs. It is only necessary to crack down in time on those who still wish to keep the Baltic question open and, while rant­ ing about democratic public conscience, conceal their own dark schemes fraught with disaster for all the world's peoples alike, not the Baltic nations alone. If the facts presented in this book enable the reader to make Preface vii sense out of the welter of propaganda and misinformation spread about the Baltic nations and contribute toward giving American public opinion a clear conception of the "Baltic Riddle," the purpose of this work will have been fully accom­ plished. # # # I take this opportunity to express full and grateful acknowl­ edgment to two persons who have been of utmost assistance to me in the creation of this volume. They are: Andrew J. Steiger, author of Soviet Asia, who has given me invaluable editorial aid in the preparation of the English version, and E. Schloss, artist on the staff of the Fighting French newspaper France-Amerique, a Latvian himself, who has illustrated the basic content with excellent maps and charts. G. M. October 25, 1943 Contents PAGE Preface v PART I: THE MEDITERRANEAN OF THE NORTH 1 CHAPTER I. The Baltic Area: Where the West and Russia Meet 3 II. Germandom in the Baltic Area 12 III. Between Brest-Litovsk and Versailles 32 PART II: BETWEEN TWO WORLD WARS 51 IV. The Baltic Lungs 53 V. The Cordon Sanitaire 72 VI. The Baltic Vichy Governments 90 VII. The Baltic in the First Year of World War II 111 VIII. Finland: Legend and Reality 134 PART III: TOWARD A NEW LIFE 159 IX. The Soviet Baltic Republics 161 X. Ostland: Reichsminister Alfred Rosenberg 182 XI. The Baltic and the Future 209 APPENDIX I: SPECIAL PROBLEMS OF BALTIC POLITICS 229 The Vilna Controversy 232 Memel (Klaipeda) 235 The Aland Islands 239 ix X Contents PACE APPENDIX II: STATISTICAL SUMMARY 243 Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania 245 Finland 257 Bibliographical Notes 259 Recent Publications in English 261 Index 263 List of Maps PAGE 1. Political Map of Baltic Area xii 2. Baltic Communication System 65 3. German Invasion of the Baltic Area—1941 191 List of Charts 1. Population and Area xiii 2. Decline of Baltic Urban Life 60 3. Foreign Trade in 1938 88 OULU VAASA BOTHNIA POR/ AIANDJI— *TVRKU my*O ' - 7 H£IAU*K1 KRONStA HANeO TQCKHOLM ~ o- "ZPALO/SHi&u-— - * HAAPS ALU Peipu* STARAtA# HUSSA GOTLAND ^"SvALeA &&LF& VALMHRA cesis~>.r H*A I, / V . J6LGAVA ¥£i.tKt£ LVKt L9BPA KRUSTPiLS j- JQNISKIS W V *aeB£ZH KIAIPCDA V3_/ (M£M£U |U • _1 1_ / " JL V - T H 17 A N IA // • V/7ffftJR //J _ ^/'' _ TILSIT xoN/GsaeoG • ' # V/Z/VA /MST£ReURG- V/LKAVtSKlSM ,m* 0 6 ORfSOY GR00N0 ^ • i7X7£ FftONTItKi BIALYSTOK ^ ^ BARA»CSV/CZ£ . • BEFORE 1939 . P" 1) rnONJIEKS Af ALTCRCD eerwetn 1930- tsto MAP 1. POLITICAL MAP OF BALTIC AREA FINLAND nmiii ESTONIA Ml LATVIA mi LITHUANIA mn VUA/A « 1 EACH MANNEQUIN ft£P*€S&OG HAL? MILLION POPULATION BACH BLOCK KEP*£S£*TS SOOO SQ.MI. CHART 1. POPULATION AND AREA PART I THE MEDITERRANEAN OF THE NORTH CHAPTER I The Baltic Area: Where the West and Russia Meet Not one of the Baltic countries has a total population much larger than that of Brooklyn, which has some two and a half million inhabitants. It is quite natural therefore that to the in­ habitants of New York, Chicago, and San Francisco the complex national and social problems of the Baltic area cannot but ap­ pear to be a tempest in a teapot. Not well versed in geography generally, the public loses orien­ tation completely in the East European border states, with their unpronounceable names, unfamiliar political leaders, and un­ known historic traditions. Many are not even clear about the geographic location of such small countries as Lithuania, Latvia, or Estonia, let alone the maze of entangled diplomatic con­ troversy woven around them. It may not be amiss to begin this book on the Baltic states as did the London author Jan Apse, who wrote: "Let us make no mistake about it: Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia are not the Balkan but the Baltic States. They owe their name to the Baltic Sea. The British author decided to begin his book on the Baltic states in this curious way because, as a lecturer on the Baltic, he 3 4 The Mediterranean of the North found himself constantly reproached for saying nothing about Yugoslavia. When he inquired in public libraries for books on the Baltic area he was frequently given volumes on Rumania and Bulgaria. The situation here is not much different. Should anyone in this country resolve to conduct a Gallup Poll on the Baltic problem he would find it expedient to supply an atlas, plainly marking the Baltic Sea and its eastern littoral states: Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Finland, as the area in question. A biographical lexicon of political leaders would also help, as would also a concise Baltic history. Even then perhaps, a large percentage of the persons queried would answer: "What's all this to us, anyway?" or "So what?" Yet there is something that does not allow us to dismiss or ignore the small Baltic countries. Hardly a day passes that the Baltic problem does not crop up in the news. The query, "What about the Baltic republics?" stands out like a cliche in editorials about the future of the world. Some writers are infuriated at what they describe as Bolshevik imperialism and hint that Allied military action against Soviet Russia is inevitable unless she re­ nounces Baltic territorial claims. Others, more favorable to the Soviets, offer explanation saying that Russia lays claim to the eastern Baltic littoral for reasons of security. Compromise solu­ tions are offered in proposed international agreements which would eliminate the threat of anti-Soviet aggression in Eastern Europe and so obviate Russian interest in territorial guarantees. Everything points to the fact that the Baltic issue is bound to become one of the most hotly debated of postwar problems— and not for the first time. During the Moscow talks held be­ tween Russia, England, and France in the summer of 1939, dis­ cussion persistently revolved around the Baltic countries.