The Memel Land assigned by the German Reich in accordance with the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles and attached to Lithuania in 1923, became the focus of Nazi expansion policy in 1938. After the Anschluss of Austria and the occupation of the Sudetenland, Germany appealed to the Memelland, relying on the right of peoples to self-determination, which was meanwhile under the influence of local parties and groups similar to cause. Already in the spring of 1938, the German leadership had begun to interfere in the internal affairs of Lithuania by sending a note of protest to the Lithuanian government about the conditions in Memel Land.
A Historic German World War Two Press Photo Featuring Important Figures! |