Post in Lithuania
A Little Regional History, Not Just for the German Armed Forces
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
The German Armed Forces have been present in Lithuania since 2017. Germany is the framework nation in NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence, which includes 1,700 soldiers from Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, and the Czech Republic. It is stationed in Rukla, near the county seat of Jonava. The historical background behind this military presence includes the German attack on the Soviet Union, during which Jonava was largely destroyed in June 1941. A few weeks later, the Wehrmacht enabled the murder of over 2,100 members of the Jewish community. Jews from the Kaunas Ghetto were still providing forced labour on the military training grounds in Gaižiūnai in 1942-1943. Two other disasters shaped the history of Jonava in the 20th century: Soviet deportations and the environmental disaster at the Azotas chemical plant.
(Osteuropa 10-11/2023, pp. 163–192)