How did German occupation affect Lithuania during World War I?

By late 1915, Lithuania had come under German military occupation during World War I. The German administration aimed to establish a Lithuanian state that would function as a satellite of Germany following a final peace treaty.1

In pursuit of this goal, the German authorities authorized a congress of 214 Lithuanian delegates in Vilnius in September 1917. This assembly called for an independent state within ethnic frontiers and elected a 20-member council, known as the Taryba. On February 16, 1918, the Taryba proclaimed the independence of Lithuania. Despite this proclamation, the country remained under German occupation until the Germans began to withdraw following the armistice of November 11, 1918.1