ABSTRACT
On October 10, the Polish government in exile ordered its minister in Kaunas, Franciszek Charwat, to protest formally "the acceptance by the Government of any territory ceded by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics which does not belong to the said Union." The Latvians appeared to be least affected by the conflicts around them, whereas the Lithuanians discovered their recent acquisition of Vilnius to be quite costly and destabilizing, particularly in light of international and domestic Polish disquiet over this acquisition. Equally troubling for the Baltic countries during the period were Lithuania's difficulties with Polish refugees and the absorption of Vilnius. The first refugees from Poland in September 1939 had Lithuanian connections, but they were soon joined by Polish soldiers and others. Equally troubling to the Baltic states were the economic and trade losses suffered as a result of the dislocation caused by the outbreak of war in Europe and the Winter War.
