George Matulaitis Journal

275 Mr. Jonas Vailokaitis, 1 a member of the Lithuanian Council, came to see me and brought a letter from Father Staugaitis urging me to flee if the Bolsheviks approach the city again. From Vailokaitis I learned that the Lithuanians do not intend to fight the Poles over Vilnius, but are leaving the matter to the Paris Peace Conference. That the Poles have taken Vilnius has not proved detrimental to the Lithuanian cause. The Lithuanians were prevented from entering Vilnius by the German Spartacists. 2 The Lithuanian Army is still fighting the Bolsheviks. It was not possible to come to an agreement with the Poles. May 9 At 11:30 I called the Chapter together. The Jewish Rabbi had written to me asking me to calm the people who were furious with the Jews. They do not even want to sell food to the Jews. I have looked into this matter. It is not so much the people, but rather the Polish military who are at fault. They block the roads and either prevent the farmers from bringing food into Vilnius or warn them not to sell food to the Jews. The Polish Army considers the Jews as an enemy with whom they are at war. Any intervention on my part would be regarded as interference in the affairs of the Polish Army. I interceded wherever I could because I felt great compassion for the suffering of so many innocent people. In my first pastoral letter I had tried to restrain the people and urged them to live in harmony. But now, I am aware that I cannot write anything or even raise my voice. No one would listen, and it would be considered as interference in military matters. Consequently, I advised the Jews to negotiate with the military authorities. If only the soldiers took no action [against the Jews], the people would calm down and life would continue as usual. When the Bolsheviks were here, with the help of the priests I stopped the massacre of the Jews. 1 Brother of the above-mentioned Father Juozas (Joseph) Vailokaitis; a prominent economist and indus- trialist who did a great deal to revitalize the economy of independent Lithuania. 2 German soldiers who supported the Bolsheviks.