Lithuanian minority in Poland
Encyclopedia
Lithuanian minority in Poland consists of 5,639 people living chiefly in the Podlaskie Voivodeship
in the north-eastern part of Poland (according to the Polish
census
of 2002). The Lithuania
n embassy in Poland notes that there are about 15,000 people in Poland of Lithuanian ancestry.
in Poland, living there after the merger with the almost extinct of the pre-state Balts neighbours
Yotvingians
around the 13th century. Poland first acquired its Lithuanian minority after the Union of Lublin
in 1569, which transferred the administration of the historical Podlaskie Voivodeship
from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
to the Polish Crown
(both entities then formed a larger, federated state, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
). During the next two centuries, the Lithuanian minority, faced with the dominant Polish culture in the region, was subject to Polonization
. After the partitions of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the late 18th century, the Polish cultural pressure in the region was replaced by that of the Russian Empire
, until the end of the First World War resulted in the restoration of independent Polish and Lithuanian states.
, and the Polish-Lithuanian War
shortly after the First World War, both governments - in the era nationalism was sweeping through Europe - treated their respective minorities harshly.
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 polonized 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".
. When Poles annexed Sejny
town and its surroundings back in 1919, repressions towards local Lithuanian population started, including Lithuanian language
ban in public, Lithuanian organizations (with 1300 members), schools (with approx. 300 pupils) and press closure, confiscation of property and even burning of Lithuanian books. Beginning 1920, after the staged mutiny of Lucjan Żeligowski
Lithuanian cultural activities in Polish controlled territories were limited; closure of newspapers and arrest of editors occurred. One editor - Mykolas Biržiška
- was accused of treason in 1922 and received the death penalty; only direct intervention by the League of Nations
spared him this fate. He was one of 32 Lithuanian and Belarussian cultural activists formally expelled from Vilnius on September 20, 1922 and given to Lithuanian army.
Next wave of Polonisation of Lithuanian minority took place in 1927,
when 48 Lithuanian schools were closed and 11 Lithuanian activist were deported.
In 1931 there were about 80,000 Lithuanians in Poland, majority of them (66,300) in Wilno Voivodeship.
Following Piłsudski's death in 1935, further Polonisation ensued as the government encouraged settlement of Polish army veterans
in disputed regions.
About 400 Lithuanian reading rooms and libraries were closed in Poland in 1936-1938.
Second World War put an end to independent Polish and Lithuanian states. After the war both former states fell under the sphere of influence
of Soviet Union
. Poland was shifted westwards
, thus giving up most of the disputed territories in the Second Polish Republic
, those territories were mostly incorporated into Lithuanian SSR
, itself one of the Soviet republic
. At the same time many Poles from the Kresy
were forced to chose repatriation
west to Recovered Territories
, and Polish minority in Lithuania
(or Lithuanian SSR) was also significantly downsized. Under the eye of the Soviet Union, the various ethnic groups in the Eastern Bloc
were to cooperate peacefully, and that policy, coupled with the population migrations limiting the size of both minorities in respective regions, resulted in lessening of tensions between Poles and Lithuanians. In Sejny and Suwalki districts prohibition to speak Lithuanian in the public lasted until 1950 (on phone in 1990) and it was in the 1950s that teaching of Lithuanian was introduced as a subject in schools.
census
of 2002, with most of them (5,097) living in the Podlaskie Voivodeship
(Suwałki Region), particularly in Gmina Puńsk
where they form a majority (74.4% of population). According to the Lithuania
n embassy there are about 15,000 people of Lithuanian ancestry in Poland.
There are Lithuanian publications (over 80 books have been published, and there are several magazines, of which the largest is "Aušra" (= "Dawn"),http://www.punskas.pl/pl/p1/ausra.htm co-sponsored by Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs). Lithuanian organizations are involved in organizing cultural life of the minority (with libraries, choirs, theatres, etc.). There are also Lithuanian-language programmes on local Radio Białystok and Telewizja Białystok.
There are Lithuanian-exclusive schools in Puńsk, both on primary and secondary level, schools with Lithuanian-language as a teaching language in Sejny, and schools with Lithuanian as a foreign language in the wider region are common. There are 17 Lithuanian schools, attended by over 700 students. The most important of those schools is the liceum (Liceum 11.Marca w Puńsku); there are also three gymnasium
s (Gimnazjum „Žiburys” w Sejnach, II Gimnazjum w Sejnach, I Gimnazjum w Sejnach).
There are several Lithuanian cultural organizations in Poland. The oldest one is the Stowarzyszenie Litwinów w Polsce (Association of Lithuanians in Poland), founded in 1992. Others include Wspólnota Litwinów w Polsce (Lithuanian Community in Poland, 1993), Stowarzyszenie Młodzieży Litewskiej w Polsce (Associations of Lithuanian Youth in Poland), Towarzystwo Kultury Etnicznej Litwinów (Association of Ethnic Culture of Lithuanians, 1997), Towarzystwo Nauczycieli Litewskich (Associations of Lithuanian Teachers). There are several buildings dedicated to Lithuanian minority, including the Lithuanian House and an ethnographic museum in Sejny
. Various Lithuanian cultural activities include the Lithuanian Meeting (Zlot) in Pszczelnik
, and the Lithuanian Musical Festival Sąskrydis. In 2006 the Lithuanian minority received 1.344.912 zlotys (~450,000$) from Polish government in 2006 (22 out of 27 requests were approved).
However local Lithuanian World Community
representatives claim there are problems with Lithuanian culture preservation in Sejny
region. They argue that Lithuanian heritage is ignored, as currently in Sejny there is not even one street name that would signify presence of prominent Lithuanians. They also note that for more than two years there is no accommodation regarding cemetery where Lithuanian soldiers are buried. Another recent issue is the underfunding of the two Lithuanian gymnasiums in Sejny, which receives only 75% of promised funding.
In politics, Lithuanians control the self-government in Gmina Puńsk
, they also have elected several representatives to the Sejny County
.
Lithuanian language is used in Gmina Puńsk as a second language since 2006.
Podlaskie Voivodeship
Podlaskie Voivodeship , is a voivodeship in northeastern Poland. It borders on Masovian Voivodeship to the west, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship to the northwest, Lublin Voivodeship to the south, the Belarusssian Voblasts of Grodno and Brest to the east, the Lithuanian Counties of Alytus and...
in the north-eastern part of Poland (according to the Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2002). The Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
n embassy in Poland notes that there are about 15,000 people in Poland of Lithuanian ancestry.
History
Lithuanians are an indigenous people of the territories of north-eastern Podlaskie VoivodeshipPodlaskie Voivodeship
Podlaskie Voivodeship , is a voivodeship in northeastern Poland. It borders on Masovian Voivodeship to the west, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship to the northwest, Lublin Voivodeship to the south, the Belarusssian Voblasts of Grodno and Brest to the east, the Lithuanian Counties of Alytus and...
in Poland, living there after the merger with the almost extinct of the pre-state Balts neighbours
Balts
The Balts or Baltic peoples , defined as speakers of one of the Baltic languages, a branch of the Indo-European language family, are descended from a group of Indo-European tribes who settled the area between the Jutland peninsula in the west and Moscow, Oka and Volga rivers basins in the east...
Yotvingians
Yotvingians
Yotvingians or Sudovians were a Baltic people with close cultural ties to the Lithuanians and Prussians...
around the 13th century. Poland first acquired its Lithuanian minority after the Union of Lublin
Union of Lublin
The Union of Lublin replaced the personal union of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania with a real union and an elective monarchy, since Sigismund II Augustus, the last of the Jagiellons, remained childless after three marriages. In addition, the autonomy of Royal Prussia was...
in 1569, which transferred the administration of the historical Podlaskie Voivodeship
Podlaskie Voivodeship (1513–1795)
The Podlaskie Voivodeship was formed in 1513 by Sigismund I the Old as a voivodeship in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, from a split off part of the Trakai Voivodeship....
from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...
to the Polish Crown
Crown of the Polish Kingdom
The Crown of the Kingdom of Poland , or simply the Crown , is the name for the unit of administrative division, the territories under direct administration of Polish nobility from middle-ages to late 18th century...
(both entities then formed a larger, federated state, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
). During the next two centuries, the Lithuanian minority, faced with the dominant Polish culture in the region, was subject to Polonization
Polonization
Polonization was the acquisition or imposition of elements of Polish culture, in particular, Polish language, as experienced in some historic periods by non-Polish populations of territories controlled or substantially influenced by Poland...
. After the partitions of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the late 18th century, the Polish cultural pressure in the region was replaced by that of the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, until the end of the First World War resulted in the restoration of independent Polish and Lithuanian states.
20th century
During the interwar period of the 20th century (1920-1939) Lithuanian-Polish relations were characterised by mutual enmity. Starting with the conflict over the city of VilniusVilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
, and the Polish-Lithuanian War
Polish-Lithuanian War
The Polish–Lithuanian War was an armed conflict between newly independent Lithuania and Poland in the aftermath of World War I. The conflict primarily concerned territorial control of the Vilnius Region, including Vilnius , and the Suwałki Region, including the towns of Suwałki, Augustów, and Sejny...
shortly after the First World War, both governments - in the era nationalism was sweeping through Europe - treated their respective minorities harshly.
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 polonized 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".
. When Poles annexed Sejny
Sejny
Sejny is a town in north-eastern Poland, in Podlaskie Voivodeship, close to the border with Lithuania and Belarus. It is located in the eastern part of the Suwałki Lake Area , on the Marycha river, being a tributary of Czarna Hańcza...
town and its surroundings back in 1919, repressions towards local Lithuanian population started, including Lithuanian language
Lithuanian language
Lithuanian is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognized as one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 2.96 million native Lithuanian speakers in Lithuania and about 170,000 abroad. Lithuanian is a Baltic language, closely related to Latvian, although they...
ban in public, Lithuanian organizations (with 1300 members), schools (with approx. 300 pupils) and press closure, confiscation of property and even burning of Lithuanian books. Beginning 1920, after the staged mutiny of Lucjan Żeligowski
Lucjan Zeligowski
Lucjan Żeligowski , was a Polish general, and veteran of World War I, the Polish-Soviet War and World War II. He is mostly remembered for his role in Żeligowski's Mutiny and as head of a short-lived Republic of Central Lithuania.-Biography:...
Lithuanian cultural activities in Polish controlled territories were limited; closure of newspapers and arrest of editors occurred. One editor - Mykolas Biržiška
Mykolas Biržiška
Mykolas Biržiška , a Lithuanian editor, historian, professor of literature, diplomat, and politician, was one of the twenty signatories of the Act of Independence of Lithuania....
- was accused of treason in 1922 and received the death penalty; only direct intervention by the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
spared him this fate. He was one of 32 Lithuanian and Belarussian cultural activists formally expelled from Vilnius on September 20, 1922 and given to Lithuanian army.
Next wave of Polonisation of Lithuanian minority took place in 1927,
when 48 Lithuanian schools were closed and 11 Lithuanian activist were deported.
In 1931 there were about 80,000 Lithuanians in Poland, majority of them (66,300) in Wilno Voivodeship.
Following Piłsudski's death in 1935, further Polonisation ensued as the government encouraged settlement of Polish army veterans
Osadnik
Osadniks was the Polish loanword used in Soviet Union for veterans of the Polish Army that were given land in the Kresy territory ceded to Poland by Polish-Soviet Riga Peace Treaty of 1921 .-Colonization process:Shortly before the battle of Warsaw on August 7, 1920, the Premier of Poland,...
in disputed regions.
About 400 Lithuanian reading rooms and libraries were closed in Poland in 1936-1938.
Second World War put an end to independent Polish and Lithuanian states. After the war both former states fell under the sphere of influence
Sphere of influence
In the field of international relations, a sphere of influence is a spatial region or conceptual division over which a state or organization has significant cultural, economic, military or political influence....
of Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. Poland was shifted westwards
Territorial changes of Poland after World War II
The territorial changes of Poland after World War II were very extensive. In 1945, following the Second World War, Poland's borders were redrawn following the decisions made at the Potsdam Conference of 1945 at the insistence of the Soviet Union...
, thus giving up most of the disputed territories in the Second Polish Republic
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
, those territories were mostly incorporated into Lithuanian SSR
Lithuanian SSR
The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic , also known as the Lithuanian SSR, was one of the republics that made up the former Soviet Union...
, itself one of the Soviet republic
Republics of the Soviet Union
The Republics of the Soviet Union or the Union Republics of the Soviet Union were ethnically-based administrative units that were subordinated directly to the Government of the Soviet Union...
. At the same time many Poles from the Kresy
Kresy
The Polish term Kresy refers to a land considered by Poles as historical eastern provinces of their country. Today, it makes western Ukraine, western Belarus, as well as eastern Lithuania, with such major cities, as Lviv, Vilnius, and Hrodna. This territory belonged to the Polish-Lithuanian...
were forced to chose repatriation
Repatriation
Repatriation is the process of returning a person back to one's place of origin or citizenship. This includes the process of returning refugees or soldiers to their place of origin following a war...
west to Recovered Territories
Recovered Territories
Recovered or Regained Territories was an official term used by the People's Republic of Poland to describe those parts of pre-war Germany that became part of Poland after World War II...
, and Polish minority in Lithuania
Polish minority in Lithuania
The Polish minority in Lithuania numbered 234,989 persons, according to the Lithuanian census of 2001, or 6.74% of the total population of Lithuania. It is the largest ethnic minority in the country and the second largest Polish diaspora group among the post-Soviet states...
(or Lithuanian SSR) was also significantly downsized. Under the eye of the Soviet Union, the various ethnic groups in the Eastern Bloc
Eastern bloc
The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...
were to cooperate peacefully, and that policy, coupled with the population migrations limiting the size of both minorities in respective regions, resulted in lessening of tensions between Poles and Lithuanians. In Sejny and Suwalki districts prohibition to speak Lithuanian in the public lasted until 1950 (on phone in 1990) and it was in the 1950s that teaching of Lithuanian was introduced as a subject in schools.
Modern times
Modern Lithuanian minority in Poland is composed of 5,639 people according to the PolishPoland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2002, with most of them (5,097) living in the Podlaskie Voivodeship
Podlaskie Voivodeship
Podlaskie Voivodeship , is a voivodeship in northeastern Poland. It borders on Masovian Voivodeship to the west, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship to the northwest, Lublin Voivodeship to the south, the Belarusssian Voblasts of Grodno and Brest to the east, the Lithuanian Counties of Alytus and...
(Suwałki Region), particularly in Gmina Puńsk
Gmina Punsk
Gmina Puńsk is a rural gmina in Sejny County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland, on the Lithuanian border. Its seat is the village of Puńsk, which lies approximately north-west of Sejny and north of the regional capital Białystok...
where they form a majority (74.4% of population). According to the Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
n embassy there are about 15,000 people of Lithuanian ancestry in Poland.
There are Lithuanian publications (over 80 books have been published, and there are several magazines, of which the largest is "Aušra" (= "Dawn"),http://www.punskas.pl/pl/p1/ausra.htm co-sponsored by Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs). Lithuanian organizations are involved in organizing cultural life of the minority (with libraries, choirs, theatres, etc.). There are also Lithuanian-language programmes on local Radio Białystok and Telewizja Białystok.
There are Lithuanian-exclusive schools in Puńsk, both on primary and secondary level, schools with Lithuanian-language as a teaching language in Sejny, and schools with Lithuanian as a foreign language in the wider region are common. There are 17 Lithuanian schools, attended by over 700 students. The most important of those schools is the liceum (Liceum 11.Marca w Puńsku); there are also three gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
s (Gimnazjum „Žiburys” w Sejnach, II Gimnazjum w Sejnach, I Gimnazjum w Sejnach).
There are several Lithuanian cultural organizations in Poland. The oldest one is the Stowarzyszenie Litwinów w Polsce (Association of Lithuanians in Poland), founded in 1992. Others include Wspólnota Litwinów w Polsce (Lithuanian Community in Poland, 1993), Stowarzyszenie Młodzieży Litewskiej w Polsce (Associations of Lithuanian Youth in Poland), Towarzystwo Kultury Etnicznej Litwinów (Association of Ethnic Culture of Lithuanians, 1997), Towarzystwo Nauczycieli Litewskich (Associations of Lithuanian Teachers). There are several buildings dedicated to Lithuanian minority, including the Lithuanian House and an ethnographic museum in Sejny
Sejny
Sejny is a town in north-eastern Poland, in Podlaskie Voivodeship, close to the border with Lithuania and Belarus. It is located in the eastern part of the Suwałki Lake Area , on the Marycha river, being a tributary of Czarna Hańcza...
. Various Lithuanian cultural activities include the Lithuanian Meeting (Zlot) in Pszczelnik
Pszczelnik
Pszczelnik is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Myślibórz, within Myślibórz County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-western Poland. It lies approximately south of Myślibórz and south of the regional capital Szczecin....
, and the Lithuanian Musical Festival Sąskrydis. In 2006 the Lithuanian minority received 1.344.912 zlotys (~450,000$) from Polish government in 2006 (22 out of 27 requests were approved).
However local Lithuanian World Community
Lithuanian World Community
The Lithuanian World Community is a non-governmental and non-profit organization established in 1949 that unifies Lithuanian communities abroad. The Constitution of the Lithuanian World Community declares that it consists of all Lithuanians living abroad...
representatives claim there are problems with Lithuanian culture preservation in Sejny
Sejny
Sejny is a town in north-eastern Poland, in Podlaskie Voivodeship, close to the border with Lithuania and Belarus. It is located in the eastern part of the Suwałki Lake Area , on the Marycha river, being a tributary of Czarna Hańcza...
region. They argue that Lithuanian heritage is ignored, as currently in Sejny there is not even one street name that would signify presence of prominent Lithuanians. They also note that for more than two years there is no accommodation regarding cemetery where Lithuanian soldiers are buried. Another recent issue is the underfunding of the two Lithuanian gymnasiums in Sejny, which receives only 75% of promised funding.
In politics, Lithuanians control the self-government in Gmina Puńsk
Gmina Punsk
Gmina Puńsk is a rural gmina in Sejny County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland, on the Lithuanian border. Its seat is the village of Puńsk, which lies approximately north-west of Sejny and north of the regional capital Białystok...
, they also have elected several representatives to the Sejny County
Sejny County
Sejny County a unit of territorial administration and local government in Podlaskie Voivodeship, in the extreme north-east of Poland, on the border with Lithuania and Belarus. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998...
.
Lithuanian language is used in Gmina Puńsk as a second language since 2006.
See also
- KresyKresyThe Polish term Kresy refers to a land considered by Poles as historical eastern provinces of their country. Today, it makes western Ukraine, western Belarus, as well as eastern Lithuania, with such major cities, as Lviv, Vilnius, and Hrodna. This territory belonged to the Polish-Lithuanian...
- Polish minority in LithuaniaPolish minority in LithuaniaThe Polish minority in Lithuania numbered 234,989 persons, according to the Lithuanian census of 2001, or 6.74% of the total population of Lithuania. It is the largest ethnic minority in the country and the second largest Polish diaspora group among the post-Soviet states...
- Belarusian minority in PolandBelarusian minority in PolandBelarusian minority in Poland is composed of 48,700 people according to the Polish census of 2002. This number decreased in the last decades from over 300,000 due to an active process of assimilation. Most of them live in the Podlaskie Voivodeship....
- Ukrainian minority in PolandUkrainian minority in PolandThe Ukrainian minority in Poland is composed of 27,172 people according to the Polish census of 2002. Most of them live in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship , followed by West Pomeranian , Podkarpackie and Pomeranian Voivodeship ....
- German minority in PolandGerman minority in PolandThe registered German minority in Poland consists of 152,900 people, according to a 2002 census.The German language is used in certain areas in Opole Voivodeship , where most of the minority resides...
External links
- The Lithuanian Language in education in Poland połeczność litewska w Polsce, Konsulat Republiki Litewskiej w Szczecinie Łukasz Kaźmierczak, Trzy procent odmienności (Three percent of different) - article describing results of Polish census 2002 and minorities in Poland, citing census data Liczebność i rozmieszczenie społeczności litewskiej w Polsce "Aušra" informacinis, kultūrinis Lenkijos lietuvių leidinys. and Lithuanian House in Sejny