page_title: June Uprising in Lithuania
section_title: Background and preparations
hierarchical_section_title: June Uprising in Lithuania / Background and preparations
caption_attribution_description: English: Historical Presidential Palace in Kaunas, Lithuania.
context_page_description: The June Uprising was a brief period in the history of Lithuania between the first Soviet occupation and the Nazi occupation in late June 1941. Approximately one year earlier, on June 15, 1940, the Red Army invaded Lithuania and the unpopular Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic was soon established. Political repression and terror were used to silence its critics and suppress any resistance. When Nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, a diverse segment of the Lithuanian population rose up against the Soviet regime, declared renewed independence, and formed the short-lived Provisional Government. Two large Lithuanian cities, Kaunas and Vilnius, fell into the hands of the rebels before the arrival of the Wehrmacht. Within a week, the German Army took control of the whole of Lithuania. The Lithuanians greeted the Germans as liberators from the repressive Soviet rule and hoped that the Germans would re-establish their independence or at least allow some degree of autonomy. No such support came from the Nazis, who steadily replaced Lithuanian institutions with their own administration. The Reichskommissariat Ostland was established at the end of July 1941.
context_section_description: In 1918, Lithuania achieved independence in the aftermath of the First World War and the Russian revolution and secured its statehood during the Lithuanian Wars of Independence. Initially prior to World War II, Lithuania declared neutrality and its Seimas passed the neutrality laws. Though, on the eve of World War II, as the geopolitical situation in the region started to change, Lithuania was forced to accept the ultimatums of the neighboring countries. On 17 March 1938, Poland delivered an ultimatum calling for diplomatic relations. Although practically it meant Poland's "refusal" of Vilnius, Lithuania had also sought to restore relations with its neighbor, and accepted the ultimatum. On 20 March 1939, Lithuania was handed an ultimatum by Nazi Germany. A request was made to transfer the Klaipėda Region to Nazi Germany. Two days later, without seeing the way out, the Lithuanian government signed the agreement.
  Just after the beginning of the World War II, on September 2, 1939, the Lithuanian Consulate was opened in Vilnius. The consulate was the first in the world to grant Visas For Life for the Jews and also saved many Polish war refugees. By doing so, Lithuania continued to actively protect its Jewish citizens from the Holocaust. Back in 1934 it sent an official note to Nazi Germany warning not to take action against the Jews who resided in the country that were citizens of Lithuania.
  Another large neighbor — the Soviet Union also began preparing for the occupation of the Lithuania's territory. On 7 October 1939 the Lithuanian delegation departed to Moscow where they later had to sign the Soviet–Lithuanian Mutual Assistance Treaty due to the unfavorable situation. The treaty resulted in five Soviet military bases with 20,000 troops established across Lithuania in exchange for the Lithuania's historical capital Vilnius. According to the Lithuanian Minister of National Defence Kazys Musteikis, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Juozas Urbšys initially told that Lithuanians refuses Vilnius Region as well as the Russian garrisons, however then nervous Joseph Stalin replied that "No matter if you take Vilnius or not, the Russian garrisons will enter Lithuania anyway". He also informed Juozas Urbšys about the Soviet–German secret protocols and showed maps of the spheres of influence. Two of the military bases with thousands of Soviet soldiers were established close to Kaunas in Prienai and Gaižiūnai. Despite regaining the beloved historical capital, the Presidency and the Government remained in Kaunas.
  The next step made by the USSR was accusations of the abduction of the Red Army soldiers in Lithuania. Although the Lithuanian government denied such allegations, the tensions became heightened on both sides. On 14 June 1940, the USSR issued an ultimatum to Lithuania, demanding to replace the government and allow Red Army's units to enter the territory of Lithuania without any prior agreements, which would mean the occupation of the country. On 14 June 1940 just before midnight, the last meeting of the Lithuanian Government was held in the Presidential Palace, in Kaunas. During it, the Soviet's ultimatum was debated. President Antanas Smetona categorically declined to accept most of the ultimatum demands, argued for military resistance and was supported by Kazys Musteikis, Konstantinas Šakenis, Kazimieras Jokantas, however the Commander of the Armed Forces Vincas Vitkauskas, Divisional general Stasys Raštikis, Kazys Bizauskas, Antanas Merkys and most of the Lithuanian Government members decided that it would be impossible, especially due to the previously stationed Soviet soldiers, and accepted the ultimatum. On that night, the Soviet forces executed Lithuanian border guard Aleksandras Barauskas near the Byelorussian SSR border. In the morning, the Lithuanian Government resigned while the president left the country to avoid the fate of the Soviet's puppet and hoping to form the Government in exile. Soon the Red Army flooded Lithuania through the Belarus–Lithuania border with more than 200,000 soldiers and took control of 
caption: Presidential Palace in Kaunas, where the last meeting of the independent Government of Lithuania took place on the night of 14 June 1940
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