Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Poles in Lithuania" in English language version.
The Union of Lublin (1569) made Poland and Lithuania a single, federated state. Although Lithuania retained the title of grand duchy and its code of laws, its western province Podlasia which had been heavily settled by Polish colonists—was ceded to Poland
The irredentist campaign tainted Lithuanian society with currents of hatred and revenge directed against the Poles. In fact, the largest social organization in interwar Lithuania was the League for the Liberation of Vilnius (Vilniaus Vadavimo Safunga, or WS), which trumpeted the irredentist line in its magazine "Our Vilnius" (Mūsų Vilnius).
In a letter written to Vytautas Landsbergis in December of 1991, Polish President Lech Walesa described Lithuanian-Polish relations as "close to critical."
The interval between the restoration of diplomatic relations in September 1991 and the signing of the Treaty on Friendly Relations and Good Neighborly Cooperation on April 26, 1994 was probably the most difficult period for Lithuanian-Polish relations (there were even assertions that relations in this period were "in some ways even worse than before the war").
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)Lithuanian nationalists resented demands by Poles for greater cultural autonomy (similar to that granted to the Jewish minority), holding that most of Lithuania's Poles were really deracinated Lithuanians who merely needed to be re-Lithuanianized. Resentments were exacerbated when Lithuanian Poles expressed a desire to "re-unite" the country with Poland. As a result, the nationalizing Lithuanian state took measures to confiscate Polish-owned land. It also restricted Polish religious services, schools, Polish publications, Polish voting rights. Poles were often referred to in the press in this period as the "lice of the nation"
For example, in Vilnius where in the Soviet years education in Polish was offered by some 13–14 schools, only 25 percent of the children born to monoethnic Polish families attended Polish schools. About 50% of them chose Russian schools, and only 10% Lithuanian schools.
In a letter written to Vytautas Landsbergis in December of 1991, Polish President Lech Walesa described Lithuanian-Polish relations as "close to critical."
The interval between the restoration of diplomatic relations in September 1991 and the signing of the Treaty on Friendly Relations and Good Neighborly Cooperation on April 26, 1994 was probably the most difficult period for Lithuanian-Polish relations (there were even assertions that relations in this period were "in some ways even worse than before the war").
Lithuanian nationalists resented demands by Poles for greater cultural autonomy (similar to that granted to the Jewish minority), holding that most of Lithuania's Poles were really deracinated Lithuanians who merely needed to be re-Lithuanianized. Resentments were exacerbated when Lithuanian Poles expressed a desire to "re-unite" the country with Poland. As a result, the nationalizing Lithuanian state took measures to confiscate Polish-owned land. It also restricted Polish religious services, schools, Polish publications, Polish voting rights. Poles were often referred to in the press in this period as the "lice of the nation"
For example, in Vilnius where in the Soviet years education in Polish was offered by some 13–14 schools, only 25 percent of the children born to monoethnic Polish families attended Polish schools. About 50% of them chose Russian schools, and only 10% Lithuanian schools.
Było to już po masowej "repatriacji" Polaków z Wileńszczyzny, która w latach 1945–1948 objęła 197 tys. Polaków (w tym z Wilna – 107,6 tys.) oraz kolejnej z lat 1956–1959, która umożliwiła wyjazd do Polski 46,6 tys. osób narodowości polskiej.