Act of Independence of Lithuania 22 December 2017, yet another version of the Act of Independence of Lithuania was found by historian Darius Antanavičius in the Vatican Secret Archives that was sent to the Holy See. This version of the Act was printed in German language and signed by Antanas Smetona, Jonas Vileišis, Jurgis Šaulys and Justinas Staugaitis. Most of the signatories of the Act remained active in the cultural and political life of independent Lithuania. Jonas Vileišis served in the Seimas and as mayor of Kaunas, temporary capital of Lithuania; Saliamonas Banaitis was involved in finance, opening several banks. Among the signatories were two
1922 Republic of Central Lithuania general election a mere fraction of the total population (about 2–3% of the population, according to Russian 1897 and German 1916 censuses). The Lithuanians nonetheless believed that their historical claim to the city (former capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania) had precedence and refused to recognize any Polish claims to the city and the surrounding area. The League of Nations mediated the dispute and strongly advocated a plebiscite where the local population would vote to be incorporated either into Poland or Lithuania. However, neither Poland nor Lithuania wanted the vote. Poland had control of the territory and saw no reason to