Act of Tilsit

The act of Tilsit ( Lithuanian: ' Tilžės aktas ') was a manifesto on 30 November 1918 in Tilsit of two dozen Prussian- Lithuanian intellectuals on behalf of the National Council Kleinlitauischen ( Lithuanian: ' Mažosios Lietuvos Tautinė Taryba '), for submission to the Conference of Versailles was signed.

Herein, a separation of Lithuania Minor or Prussian Lithuania by the German Reich and annexation to the then recent emerging state of Lithuania was demanded. The reason given was "that we Lithuanians who live here in Prussian Lithuania, form the majority of the inhabitants of this country, and according to Wilson's self -determination of peoples " require this affiliation.

After it was only Memel in 1920 by Germany separated by the Treaty of Versailles and placed under international administration, served this manifesto Lithuania, or emitted by the Lithuanian government insurgents, as justification for the assumption of control in the mandated territory in January 1923 and for the annexation of Memel 1924.

The signatories of the Act, however, represented only a minority opinion. In all elections to the Memel Landtag from 1924 showed that the pro- German parties were against the per -Lithuanian parties claiming a majority of more than 80 % of the vote, although almost half of the population spoke Lithuanian. This was the one in the very long (more than 600 years ) state belonging to Prussia or its predecessor states ( German Order ) and on the other in a cultural and justified confession of opposites: the Prussian " Lithuanians " were Protestant, over 95 %, the residents of Central Lithuanian - catholic but over 95 %.

The signatories

The signatories were citizens of Germany, which was granted as a romantic dreamer, the Prussian state, because he meted out to them no political significance.