The border region in the Baltics is generally a very unusual one: over the decades, states have broken up and been re-established, and national borders have been shifted in one direction or the other. However, one place stands out from this confusion: the so-called Dieveniškės appendix. This is a small piece of Lithuania that extends like an island into the neighboring country of Belarus. How did this unusual border come about? The alleged reason, at least, is quite entertaining...
A film by Matthias Schwarzer.
------------------------------
The comment section of this video is moderated. More about that here:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/community-for-my-115691036
-----------------------------
Corrections:
▪️ At 12:04 in the video I correctly explain that Lithuania was annexed by the Soviet Union. However, a few minutes later I use the word "joined", which is at least misleading. I should have formulated it more precisely here.
▪️ The section from 10:42 suggests that Polish has only been spoken in the region since the Polish invasion of Vilnius in 1920. In fact, the history of the Polish minority in Lithuania is much older. You can find out more about it here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poles_in_Lithuania
-----------------------------
Sources for the video:
The 15min article:
https://www.15min.lt/en/article/society/lithuanian-belarusian-border-divided-villages-divided-lives-528-265884
More information about the Appendix (German):
https://www.nzz.ch/international/stalins-pfeife-im-litauisch-weissrussischen-grenzgebiet-ld.1595773
War between Poland and Lithuania from 1920 - Context of the Suwalki Treaty (German):
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vertrag_von_Suwa%C5%82ki
Historical context of the Vilnius region between 1939 and 1940 (Polish):
https://muzeum1939.pl/wojennydzien-zwiazek-sowiecki-przekazuje-wilenszczyzne-litwie/aktualnosci/4878.html
More on this at Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vilnius_Region_under_Lithuanian_administration_(1939%E2%80%931940)
Current situation on the Border between Lithuania and Belarus (German):
https://de.euronews.com/2024/03/02/litauen-schliesst-weitere-grenzubergange-zu-weissrussland
------------------------------
Did you like this video? Support my work on Patreon:
http://patreon.com/MatthiasSchwarzerEnglish
Or become a channel member on YouTube!
------------------------------
▪️INSTAGRAM:
http://instagram.com/MatthiasSchwarzer
▪️FACEBOOK:
http://facebook.com/MatthiasSchwarzerTravelVlogs
▪️TIKTOK:
https://www.tiktok.com/@matthiasschwarzerenglish
▪️CONTACT:
english@matthias-schwarzer.de
------------------------------
Intro song:
MÆT - Start Again
Music:
Epidemic Sound
#lithuania #Belarus #exclave #enclave #Dieveniškės