Acknowledgements
This monograph is dedicated to the dynamics of the ethnic communities between the two World Wars in the comparatively distant neighbours of the Eastern Baltic Sea region â Finland and Lithuania. The assessment of different experiences and challenges facing these ethnic communities in the interwar period seems to have escaped the greater attention of researchers. This attempt to study these ethnic communities is therefore a partial response to this lack of attention.
The authors examine the differences and similarities in the life of these ethnic communities in both countries, and their successes and failures to coexist with the dominant majority. The exploration of the individual characteristics of the ethnic communitiesâ existence testifies both to the extent of the national groupsâ expectations and to the specificity of the communitiesâ dialogue with the dominant majority. The stories of their coexistence reveal both openness and hostility, which were the inevitable signs of the period.
The authors present the parameters of the historical metrics of the national communities in Lithuania and Finland. However, there are undoubtedly still opportunities for further refinement of the indicators of expression of the individual groups discussed in the study. This may also have been determined by the specificity of the situation in the period under consideration. The monograph does not aim to explore the development of national minorities in the region of KlaipÄda, which was annexed to Lithuania in 1923 (it was separated from Lithuania again in 1939). The regulatory processes in the development of national minorities in this autonomous region had different characteristics. The fate of national minorities in the Vilnius Region was not within the scope of the study, either, because in 1920â1939 it was part of Poland.
Saulius Kaubrys is grateful to the Juozas Sidas Foundation (Faculty of History of Vilnius University) for support and material assistance in translating the text and to colleagues Prof. R. Petrauskas, Dr L. SkurvydaitÄ, and Dr S. ÄerneviÄiÅ«tÄ for advice and encouragement in preparing the monograph. My special thanks go to my daughters Sofija SaulÄ, ViltÄ GabrielÄ and my spouse Dalia for their patience.
Kari Alenius would like to thank the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Oulu for its positive attitude towards this research project. I also thank my colleagues who work at the Department of History; discussions with them have highlighted many valuable aspects that have helped complete the book. Special thanks also go to my family â my wife Mari-Anna and my adult children Heini, Otso, Kerttu and Siiri â who have always supported me in every way.
Finally, both authors warmly thank the publishers â Ferdinand Schöningh / Brill Deutschland â for accepting the manuscript into the publication series and for their patience. The contributions of Dr. Diethard Sawicki and Dr. Martyn Housden deserve special mention here. We hope the book finds a wide readership, and we welcome feedback that will help us move forward in future research projects.
Oulu and Vilnius, 6 October 2021