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Germany demanded that Lithuania give up the Klaipėda Region (also known as the Memel Territory) which had been detached from Germany after World War I, or the Wehrmacht would invade Lithuania and the de facto Lithuanian capital Kaunas would be bombed. The Lithuanians had been expecting the demand after years of rising tension between Lithuania ...
Adolf Hitler greeted by cheering crowds in Vienna, following the annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany, 15 March 1938 Execution of local Polish people in the town of Kórnik, after the German invasion of Poland, 20 October 1939 Clockwise from the north: Memel, Danzig, Polish territories, General Government, Sudetenland, Bohemia-Moravia, Ostmark (), Northern Slovenia, Adriatic littoral ...
By October 1944, the inhabitants of the area, without ethnic distinction, had to make a decision whether to stay or leave. Nearly all of the population was evacuated from the approaching Red Army, but the city itself was defended by the German army during the Battle of Memel until 28 January 1945. After its capture, only six people were found ...
The Battle of Memel or the siege of Memel (German: Erste Kurlandschlacht) was a battle which took place on the Eastern Front during World War II. The battle began when the Red Army launched its Memel offensive operation ( Russian : Мемельская наступательная операция ) in late 1944.
The military occupation of Lithuania by Nazi Germany lasted from the German invasion of the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, to the end of the Battle of Memel on January 28, 1945. At first the Germans were welcomed as liberators from the repressive Soviet regime which had occupied Lithuania .
On 23 March the occupation of the city and district was carried out by German Army troops. This area of East Prussia, with 160,000 inhabitants, had been turned over to Lithuania in the aftermath of World War I. [1] To commemorate the occupation, the "Memel Medal" was authorized on 1 May 1939. It was awarded until 31 December 1940.
The city was defended by 250 French soldiers, 350 German policemen, and 300 civilian volunteers. [56] After a brief gunfight, a ceasefire was signed by Pestiné and Budrys and the French soldiers were interned in their barracks. [57] During the fighting, 12 insurgents, two French soldiers, and one German policeman were killed. [9]
From 1923, the city was part of Lithuania until its annexation by Nazi Germany in 1939, and after World War II it was part of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic. Klaipėda has remained within Lithuania since 1944. The city continues to experience sustained demographic decline due to flight towards the suburbs and other cities.