George Matulaitis Journal

163 4) I asked the priests that if they had any questions or topics they wished to discuss at these meetings, to present them to me in writing or drop them into my mailbox. 5) I reminded the priests to put their bank deposits in order as quickly as possible and also any cash they might have on hand. In the city, unrest keeps growing. The Germans are getting ready to leave: I learned that by the second or fifth of January 1919 there would be no more Germans in Vilnius. Various factions in the city have begun to compete for power. Many newspapers in various languages have appeared. It seems that six different groups are trying to get control of the city: the Lithuanian Council, the German Military Council, the Polish Committee, the Bolshevik Workers’ Council, another Bolshevik committee, headed by Kapsukas 1 in the Vileika district, and the old municipal administration left by the Russians. The Germans did not support any of these, nor were they handing out weapons. Finally, they turned the public buildings over to the Lithuanian Council, but it was unable to hold or defend them. The city itself they handed over to the old municipal administration, while at the same time expressing approval of the Bolshevik Council. Later, it became clear that the Germans had actually turned the city over to the Polish Legionnaires. The German policy was quite incredible: they managed to turn everyone against each other and then they took everything with them and left. My own position was extremely difficult. Whatever one side approved of, the other opposed. It was impossible to please them. The cauldron was boiling over. I kept to the teaching of Christ and of the Church. It was obvious that the Poles and the Lithuanians were going their own way without much consideration for the needs of the Church. The Bolsheviks organized workers’ demonstrations directed particularly against the Germans, demanding that power be transferred to the Bolshevik Workers’ Council. 1 Vincas Mickevicius (Kapsukas): a leading Lithuanian Communist activist. On December 24, Moscow approved his Provisional Lithuanian Revolutionary Workers’ Council designed to take over the city govern- ment.