Udzielna prałatura kłajpedzka po wcieleniu Okręgu Kłajpedy do Rzeszy Niemieckiej w 1939 roku
The sovereign prelature of Klaipeda after annexing the Klaipeda Region by the Third Reich in 1939

Summary/Abstract: In the year 1925 the Kleipeda Region was incorporated into Lithuania. A year later, Pope Pius XI erected in this region the sovereign prelature of Klaipeda with the Telšiai bishop at its helm. In March 1939 Germany coerced Lithuania into signing a pact according to which the Klaipeda Region became a part of the Third Reich. Quite promptly, the bishop of Telšiai handed the administrative matters of the prelature to Fr. Dean Albert Dannelautzki of Kleipeda. However, on 10 June 1939 the Holy See entrusted the prelature to the Bishop of Warmia Maksymilian Kaller, who was nominated as an apostolic administrator. The lack of material resources was detrimental for the prelature’s activity. For instance, no renovations in churches and adjacent building were carried out in that time. Local pastoral facilities took advantage of financial aid offered by the diocese of Warmia and organizations supporting pastoral activity of diaspora, mainly Bonifatiuswerk (Das Bonifatiuswerk der deutschen Katholiken) in Paderborn.

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