lithuanians

• LITHUANIANS : POSITIVES

  • Once settled, the Lithuanian miners began to join with their fellow Scottish miners in fighting to improve conditions in the mining industry and as such were accepted into the Lanarkshire Miners’ Union. They also won respect from locals for their community spirit.
  • Lithuanians had their own clergy, two newspapers, insurance societies, shops and other recreational groups.
• LITHUANIANS : POSITIVE

  • Many Lithuanians changed their names to integrate more easily into Scottish society.
  • By 1930s Lithuanian immigrants were fully integrated into Scottish life.
• LITHUANIANS : NEGATIVE

  • Immigration from Lithuania was met initially with hostility as it was believed that foreigners had been brought into the Ayrshire coalfields to break strikes and dilute the power of the Unions.
  • The local media took up the anti-immigrant protest. Like the Jews, the Lithuanians were accused of being the ‘most filthy in their habits of life’ and a danger to the health of the local community.
• LITHUANIANS : NEGATIVE

  • The majority of Lithuanians were Catholic and this often led to discrimination.
  • Friction further intensified after 1900 as depression in the coal trade caused successive reductions in miners’ wages while Lithuanian immigration into the labour market continued.