Klaipėda Convention

The Klaipėda Convention (or Convention concerning the Territory of Memel) was an international agreement between Lithuania and the countries of the Conference of Ambassadors (United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Japan) signed in Paris on May 8, 1924. According to the Convention, the Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory) became an autonomous region under unconditional sovereignty of Lithuania.

The region was detached from East Prussia by the Treaty of Versailles and placed under a provisional French administration. During the staged Klaipėda Revolt of January 1923, the Lithuanians seized control of the region and attached it to Lithuania. The Conference of Ambassadors accepted this fait accompli and set out to formalize the territorial changes. The inhabitants of the area were not given a choice on the ballot whether they wanted to be part of the Lithuanian state or part of Germany. After difficult negotiations, the Convention was agreed upon in spring 1924. The region was granted extensive legislative, judicial, administrative, and financial autonomy. It had its own democratically elected parliament (Klaipėda Diet) and appointed executive branch (the Klaipėda Directorate). The administration and operation of the port of Klaipėda was entrusted to a three-member Harbor Board. The Neman River, particularly its timber traffic, was internationalized granting freedom of transit to all nations. The Convention became obsolete when the Klaipėda Region was attached to Nazi Germany as a result of the ultimatum of 1939.

Klaipėda

Klaipėda (pronounced: [ˈkɫɐɪˑpʲeːd̪ɐ]), historically also known as Memel, is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. It is the third largest city in Lithuania and the capital of Klaipėda County.

The city has a complex recorded history, partially due to the combined regional importance of the usually ice-free Port of Klaipėda at the mouth of the Akmena-Danė River. It was controlled by successive German states until the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. As a result of the 1923 Klaipėda Revolt it was added to Lithuania and has remained with Lithuania to this day, except for the period between 1939 and 1945 when it returned to the Third Reich following the 1939 German ultimatum to Lithuania.

The population shrank from 207,100 in 1992 to 157,350 in 2014. Popular seaside resorts found close to Klaipėda are Nida to the south on the Curonian Spit, and Palanga to the north.

Names

The Teutonic Knights built a castle in the *Pilsāts Land of the Curonians and named it Memelburg; later the name was shortened to Memel. From 1252–1923 and from 1939–1945, the town and city was officially named Memel. Due to political changes between 1923 and 1939, both names were in official use; since 1945 the Lithuanian name of Klaipėda is used.