Last modified: 2023-06-03 by zachary harden
Keywords: lithuanian national socialist party | cross crosslet | hammer and sickle: no star (black) | lithuanian bolshevik party |
Links: FOTW homepage |
search |
disclaimer and copyright |
write us |
mirrors
I described a number of Lithuanian neo-Nazi flags, all of which I have
attributed to the Unified Lithuanian National Workers Movement, the
then neo-Nazi party in Lithuania. That party was recently replaced
with a new one, Lithuanian National Union, whose new site, along with
its current flag, also shows the flags of all of its predecessors,
including those which I have described. Now it is clear that most of
those flags were used by the Unified Lithuanian National Workers
Movement for historical reasons only, to mark the ideological
continuity. For that reason, this contribution will include all flags
described in the previousl contribution, in order to attribute them
correctly.
I need to apologize in advance to everyone who
might find the content of included sources offensive. However, those
Web pages are actually the picture galleries and it is impossible to
view the images directly; the image URL's may be extracted from the
page source and will be given below the page URL's, but the rest of
each page contains the info which proves the attribution of the
presented flag so, contrary to my usual practice, I decided to include
the page URL's as well.
A note on chronology given below
All of the organizations whose flags are described below were founded and led by
the same man, Lithuanian neo-Nazi activist named Mindaugas Murza, alias
Mindaugas Gervaldas, whose biography, given at the site of Lithuanian National
Union, was used to reconstruct the chronology as the most detailed source
currently available on the Web (no page URL included here, because it is too
indirectly used for the vexillological research). Additional sources are given
below where used.
Tomislav Todorović, 15 April 2012
Maybe this is a convention already understood by experienced vexillologists
(I'm inexperienced), but I think we can talk about and look at flags and what
they represent without any implication that we're for or against anything. For
me such a convention is especially important, because many of my favorite flags
are those of fascist-type movements and nations. That so many of those flags are
good (IMO) is no surprise, given the emphasis on symbolism these movements and
nations have. Pete Loeser has an excellent compilation of flags of far-right and
other extremist outfits. I know he's already posted it in his forum, but here it
is again:
http://www.loeser.us/flags/hate.html#top
http://www.loeser.us/flags/hate2.html#top
http://www.loeser.us/flags/hate3.html#top
Howard J. Wilk, 16 April 2012
As a matter of fact, I stopped adding such disclaimers to my contributions
some time ago, however this last one was rather large and made me feel need to
do it again, especially because I have sent quite a number of such contributions
rather recently. I was just worried that I am inadvertently becoming a sort of
expert for such flags and I would not like them to be the first thing that
people would connect with my name - my flag interests are actually far from
being so narrow.
All these flags were sent to Pete Loeser, too (I know his site very well - many
extremist flags images are actually my work) and he has a similar disclaimer
(much longer than mine) at the top of his extremist flags pages, so it is
obvious that he had the same problem with the subject. The problem is, in my
opinion, that discovery of one such flag on the Web quickly leads to the
discovery of another... and another... and another... But such is the nature of
the Web.
Tomislav Todorović, 16 April 2012
Here are several images not featured in the Lithuanian Neo-Nazi flags
section:
-
http://defendinghistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Swastika-at-Seimas-11-March-2015.jpg
(picture taken on March 11, 2012)
-
http://defendinghistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Swastika-flag-March-11-2015-by-G-Vasil.png
(picture taken on March 11, 2012).
- http://defendinghistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/IMG_4658.jpg
(picture taken on March 11, 2012)
Source:
http://defendinghistory.com/category/events-that-celebrate-fascism
Esteban Rivera, 01 April 2015
image by Tomislav Todorović, 15 April 2012
Name in Lithuanian: Lietuvos Nacionaldemokratų Partija (LNDP)
The party was founded in 1999 as an ultra-nationalist party (not neo-Nazi, but
not much distant). After the Lithuanbian National Socialist Party (LNSP) had
merged into it in 2001, a new flag was adopted, based on earlier Lithuanian
neo-Nazi flags: white disc charged with black cross potent, on red field. Flag identification is given
here
(also shown the flag of the LNSP, although it seems not to have been used)
(Image).
The use of the flag is shown
here
(Image)
and
here (Image)
and, together with the flag of the Lithuanian Union of National
Socialist Unity,
here
(Image)
After the Unified Lithuanian National Workers Movement (VLNDS) broke
away in 2007 (see below), the party seems to have been trying to
distance itself from the Nazi appearance and quietly abandoned this
flag, for only its original logo in national colors could be seen at
the party website.
Still, the ideological gap between two organizations never widened
much and in 2009, most party members supported the merging into the
VLNDS.
Short party history and its logo are given at
Wikipedia.
Tomislav Todorović, 15 April 2012
image by Tomislav Todorović, 15 April 2012
Name in Lithuanian: Lietuvių Tautinio Darbo Sąjunga (LTDS)
Founded by re-organization of the Lithuanian Union of National
Socialist Unity and replaced by the Lithuanian National
Socialist Party next year (see below). The flag, whose identification is
given
here (Image)
has had a red cross crosslet on white field, the design which differed the most
among the neo-Nazi flags in Lithuania. Its
use was not confirmed by any photos available on the Web so far, so the
Lithuanian National Union website remains the only source describing it. Still
it is quite possible that it did exist, considering the similarity of its design
and that of its predecessor, which parallels the similarity of the designs of
flags of Lithuanian National Democratic Party and
Unified Lithuanian National Workers Movement.
Tomislav Todorović, 15 April 2012
Name in Lithuanian: Lietuvių Nacionalsocialinę Partija (LNSP)
Founded in by members of Lithuanian National Labour Union
and merged into the Lithuanian National Democratic Party
next year. Used a red flag with a white cross crosslet on a red disc fimbriated
white. The flag identification, given
here (Image)
shows FOTW color R. However, the
photo of flag in use (Image)
confirms the fotw color R+, visibly darker than the armbands worn by the flag's
users, which show the same pattern in color R.
Tomislav Todorović, 15 April 2012
image by Tomislav Todorović, 15 April 2012
Name in Lithuanian: Lietuvių Tautos Sąjunga (LITAS)
Created by former members of the Unified Lithuanian National Workers Movement. The flag is red, charged with black double cross bordered white. Flag identification is given
here (Image)
and one of many photos which show it,
here (Image).
Tomislav Todorović, 15 April 2012
image by Tomislav Todorović, 15 April 2012
Name in Lithuanian: Lietuvių Nacionalsocialinęs Vienybęs Sąjunga (LNSVS)
The flag of this organization has had a white disc, charged with a black cross
crosslet, on red field. The flag
identification is given
here (Image)
and a photo of its use
here (Image).
image by Tomislav Todorović, 15 April 2012
Another flag which is also identified as that of the same organization (Image)
has had a white swastika on a red disc fimbriated white, all on red field, but there are no photos to verify its use.
However, the similarity of its design with that of the flag of Lithuanian
National Socialist Party, suggests that it might be the flag of some
earlier neo-Nazi group, because this does not seem to have been the first such
organization in Lithuania.
Tomislav Todorović, 15 April 2012
image by Tomislav Todorović, 15 October 2010
Here follows my contribution about the flags of Unified Lithuanian National
Workers Movement, the current neo-Nazi party in Lithuania.
Unified Lithuanian National Workers Movement (Lithuanian: Vieningasis
Lietuvių Nacionaldarbininkų Sąjūdis) is the successor of the
Lithuanian
National Socialist Party. It uses a range of flags, some of which are derived
from that of its predecessor.
The flag which is the most frequently used is not described as the party flag,
but as the "national flag": red flag with a black cross potent fimbriated white
[1, 2, 3].
The party itself describes the cross as the combination of two swastikas, one
right-facing and one left-facing [3].
The party flag [1], as was once shown at the party website (which may be reached
from here [4]), also has red field and is charged with a small white disc
charged with a black cross potent and superimposed on large "Black Sun" symbol
in gold.
image by Tomislav Todorović, 15 October 2010
The use of this flag seems not to have been recorded yet. A simpler flag, with larger disc and cross on red field, was recorded on several occasions [5, 6, 7]. the party website contains, among its current pages about the party symbols, those about the "VLNDS Honor flag" and the "VLNDS flag" (none of them showing the images of the said flags, though), so it is possible that the "Honor flag" is the one with the "Black Sun" symbol and that very few copies of it, if any, are made.
image by Tomislav Todorović, 15 October 2010
Another party flag has a white disc charged with a black cross crosslet, instead of the cross potent, on the red field. This one seems to be the least frequently used, considering the number of recordings of its use [2] and might have been directly derived from the flag of the Lithuanian National Socialist Party.
image by Tomislav Todorović, 15 October 2010
The party website may be reached via the Wikipedia page about the party:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unified_Lithuanian_National_Workers_Movement
All the described flags may be seen in the video clips created of the photos
from different events and available at the YouTube:
www.youtube.com/user/NacionalinisSajudis#p/u/7/lE0xtJlWDso
www.youtube.com/user/NacionalinisSajudis#p/u/7/sObdmZfEQn4
(I do not speak Lithuanian, so I apologize in advance if the inscriptions added
over the photos or the lyrics of the song - possibly the party anthem - might
offend anyone.)
The clips also show the flag which was used by the Lithuanian National Socialist
Party, sometimes with the current party flags.
Sources:
[1] Krantai.lt
website
[2] Lrytas.lt
newsportal
[3] Holocaust in the Baltics
website
[4]
Wikipedia page about the Unified Lithuanian National Workers Movement
[5] Lrytas.lt
newsportal
[6] Anarchija.lt
website
[7] Lithchat.com
website
I hope that all this will be useful. I did my best to include all
the necessary informations, but the party website is cited indirectly, via the
Wikipedia, because I consider it the way which is more politically neutral than
including a direct link to it: although I do not speak Lithuanian, it was easy
to understand (from the page about the party history) that the party is the
successor of the Lithuanian National Socialist Party, and I am trying to avoid
sending links to such sites whenever possible.
Tomislav Todorović, 15 October 2010
Name in Lithuanian: Vieningasis Lietuvių Nacionaldarbininkų Sąjūdis
(VLNDS)
Founded as the breakaway group of the National Democratic Party
and dissolved in 2011, its members founding the Lithuanian
National Union. The flag was red, charged with a black cross potent
fimbriated white. Flag identification is given
here (Image).
Although the party had used this flag almost exclusively, its website (no longer
online) was not describing it as the party flag, but as the "national flag". The
site content regarding the party symbols, which is partly reproduced
here
while denoting the flag as such, also shows the party flag ("organizational
flag"), which also has red field and is charged with a small white disc charged
with a black cross potent and superimposed on large "Black Sun" symbol in
gold. However, the use of this flag was not verified by any photo available on
the Web so far. The party website contained, among its current pages about the
party symbols, those about the "VLNDS Honor flag" and the "VLNDS flag"; none of
them was showing the images of the said flags, though, so their actual design is
still unknown.
According to the
Holocaust in the Baltics website the party was describing the cross potent
as the combination of two swastikas, one right-facing and one left-facing.
After its founding, the party used the previous flag of the Lithuanian National
Democratic Party, sometimes together with that of the Lithuanian National
Socialist Party, as shown
here (Image)
but quickly replaced it with its later flag, which was sometimes accompanied
with that of the Lithuanian Union of National Socialist Unity,
like
here (Image).
Tomislav Todorović, 15 April 2012