Antanas Smetona

Antanas Smetona
President of Lithuania
In office
19 December 1926 – 15 June 1940
Prime Minister Augustinas Voldemaras
Juozas Tūbelis
Vladas Mironas
Jonas Černius
Antanas Merkys
Preceded by Aleksandras Stulginskis (Acting)
Succeeded by Antanas Merkys (Acting)
In office
4 April 1919 – 19 June 1920
Prime Minister Pranas Dovydaitis
Mykolas Sleževičius
Ernestas Galvanauskas
Succeeded by Aleksandras Stulginskis
Personal details
Born (1874-08-10)August 10, 1874
Užulėnis, Taujėnai, Kovno Governorate, Russian Empire
Died January 9, 1944(1944-01-09) (aged 69)
Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Resting place All Souls Cemetery, Chardon, Ohio
Political party Lithuanian Democratic Party (1902–1907)
Party of National Progress (Before 1924)
Lithuanian Nationalist Union (1924–1940)
Spouse(s) Sofija Chodakauskaitė-Smetonienė (1885–1968)
Children Marija Danutė (1905–1992)
Birutė (1906–1909)
Julius Rimgaudas (1913–1974)
Alma mater University of Saint Petersburg

Antanas Smetona (Lithuanian pronunciation: [ɐn̪ˈt̪äːn̪ɐs̪ s̪ʲmʲɛt̪oːˈn̪ɐ]; 10 August 1874 – 9 January 1944) was one of the most important Lithuanian political figures between World War I and World War II. He served as the first President of Lithuania from 4 April 1919 to 19 June 1920. He again served as the last President of the country from 19 December 1926 to 15 June 1940, before its occupation by the Soviet Union. He was also one of the famous ideologists of nationalism in Lithuania.

Early life and education

Smetona was born on 10 August [O.S. 28 July] 1874 in the village of Užulėnis, Taujėnai volost of Ukmergė uyezd, Russian Empire, to a family of farmers – former serfs of the Taujėnai Manor which belonged to the Radziwiłł family.[1] Researcher Kazimieras Gasparavičius has traced Smetona's patrilineal ancestry to Laurentijus who was born around 1695 and lived near Raguva.[2] Smetona was 8th of nine children.[3] His parents were hardworking people who managed to double their inherited 5 hectares (12 acres).[4] His father was literate and Smetona learned the letters at home.[5]

His father died in 1885 and, despite financial difficulties, a year later Smetona – the only of his siblings – was sent to the primary school in Taujėnai where the instruction was in Russian.[6] His mother hoped that Smetona would become a priest.[7] After graduation in 1889, Smetona wanted to continue his education, but gymnasiums admitted only up to age 12 and he was already 15-year old. Therefore, he had to study privately in Ukmergė to catch up and be able to pass examination to the 4th class of gymnasium.[8] In summer 1891, he attempted to gain admission to the Liepāja Gymnasium as his brother Motiejus worked in a factory in Liepāja.[9] He was refused and instead applied to the Palanga Pre-Gymnasium which had no age restrictions.[10] Smetona was an exemplary student (one of top two students) and received a tuition waiver; as a superintendent of a student dormitory he also received free housing and was able to support himself by providing private lessons.[11] Three other future signatories of the Act of Independence of Lithuania attended the Pro-Gymnasium at the same time: Steponas Kairys, Jurgis Šaulys, and Kazimieras Steponas Šaulys.[12] As Palanga was close to East Prussia, it was easier to obtain Lithuanian press which was banned by Tsarist authorities. Smetona began reading Lithuanian periodicals and books, including a history of Lithuania by Maironis.[13]

After graduation in 1893, per his family's wishes, he passed his entrance examinations for the Samogitian Diocesan Seminary in Kaunas.[14] However, he felt no great calling for priesthood and enrolled into the Jelgava Gymnasium in Latvia. It was a cultural hub of the Lithuanian National Revival and attracted many future leaders in Lithuanian culture and politics, including Juozas Tūbelis and Vladas Mironas who later became Smetona's political companions.[14] In particular, Lithuanian language and culture was openly promoted by linguist Jonas Jablonskis, teacher of Greek, with whom Smetona developed a close professional relationship.[15] Jablonskis visited Smetona's native village collecting data on Lithuanian dialects.[16] Smetona met his future wife Sofija Chodakauskaitė through Jablonskis who recommended him as tutor for her brother.[17]

In fall 1896, administration of the Jelgava Gymnasium forced Lithuanian students to recite their prayers in Russian while Latvian and German students were allowed to use their native languages.[18] Smetona and other students refused and were expelled. Most later agreed to pray in Russian and were readmitted, but a handful who refused were prohibited from attending any other school.[19] The students sent petitions to Pope Leo XIII and Ivan Delyanov, Minister of National Education.[20] Smetona and two others, Jurgis Šlapelis and Petras Vaiciuška, managed to get an audience with Delyanov who allowed Lithuanians to pray in Latin and the expelled students to continue their education.[21] Smetona did not return to Jelgava and finished Gymnasium No. 9 in Saint Petersburg.[22]

Upon graduation in 1897, Smetona entered the Faculty of Law of the University of Saint Petersburg. He was more interested in history and languages, but knew that as a Catholic his choices were limited to priest, lawyer, or doctor if he wanted to work in Lithuania.[22] Saint Petersburg, with a direct railway connection to Lithuania, was becoming a Lithuanian cultural center. Smetona joined and chaired a secret Lithuanian student organization; he was later succeeded by Steponas Kairys.[23] He also joined a Lithuanian choir led by Česlovas Sasnauskas, organist at the Church of St. Catherine.[24] Smetona was exposed to socialist ideas and even read Marx's Capital, but resolutely rejected them.[23] He was expelled from the university, imprisoned for two weeks, and deported to Vilnius for participating in the February 1899 student protests.[22] It was the first time Smetona visited the city, the historical capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and it left a deep impression on him.[22] A month later, he was allowed to return to the university.[25]

In 1898, Smetona and his roommate Vladas Sirutavičius using a mimeograph printed about 100 copies of a brief Lithuanian grammar written by Petras Avižonis based on German-language writings of Frydrichas Kuršaitis.[25] This grammar was not sufficient for Lithuanian needs and in summer 1900 Jonas Jablonskis set out to work on his Lithuanian grammar. He was assisted by Avižonis, Žemaitė, and Smetona, though Smetona mostly edited works of Bishop Motiejus Valančius.[17] The grammar was published in 1901 and became a fundamental work in establishing the standard Lithuanian language.[17] In early 1902, he police began investigating a network of Lithuanian book smugglers and raided Smetona's room where they found a couple prohibited Lithuanian publications. He was imprisoned in the Vyborg Castle but managed to get acquitted and graduate that spring.[26]

Early activities

After his graduation from the University in 1902, he moved to Vilnius and worked at the Vilnius Land Bank until 1915. He became active member of Lithuanian cultural life and up until becoming President in December 1926, devoted substantial amounts of time and effort to the Lithuanian press.[27] Two years later he married Sofija Chodakauskaitė.

From his very first days in Vilnius, Smetona became involved in the activities of various Lithuanian nationalist groups, and joined the Lithuanian Democratic Party, which he represented in the Great Seimas of Vilnius. He was later elected into its Presidium. In 1904 and 1907, he was on the staff of the Lithuanian newspapers, Vilniaus žinios (The Vilnius News), and in 1905-1906, edited the weekly Lietuvos ūkininkas (The Lithuanian Farmer). In 1907, Smetona and the Rev. Juozas Tumas-Vaižgantas established a venture to print the newspaper Viltis (The Hope), and started publishing and circulating it. In Viltis, Smetona advocated national unity; he was also one of the incorporators of the Aušra (Dawn) company for the publishing of Lithuanian books, a member of the Lithuanian Mutual Aid Society of Vilnius, the Lithuanian Learned Society, the Vilniaus aušra (The Dawn of Vilnius), and Rytas (The Morning) education societies, the Rūta Art Society and many other societies, taught the Lithuanian language at Vilnius schools. In 1914, he started publishing Vairas (The Rudder), a new bi-weekly magazine.

Politics

Smetona (first right from center) in the Council of Lithuania

During the First World War, he was the 1st Vice-Chairman, and later Chairman, of the Central Committee of the Lithuanian Relief Society for helping victims of the war. In the summer of 1916, Antanas Smetona, together with other Lithuanians from Vilnius, presented a memorandum to the German Chief Commander of the Eastern Front, in which he demanded the right of the Lithuanian nation to have an independent State. On 6 September 1917, he started printing the newspaper Lietuvos Aidas (Lithuania's Echo), worked as its publisher and its editor-in-chief. In the first issue of the newspaper, Smetona wrote that the most important goal of the Lithuanian nation was the re-establishment of an independent Lithuanian state.

Between 18 and 22 September 1917, he participated in the Lithuanian Conference in Vilnius, and was elected Chairman (1917–1919), of the Council of Lithuania (later Council of the State). On 16 February 1918, Antanas Smetona signed the Act of Independence of Lithuania.

Between December 1918 and March 1919, he lived primarily in Germany and the Scandinavian countries, soliciting loans for the cause of Lithuanian independence. On 4 April 1919, the State Council of Lithuania elected Smetona the first President of the Republic of Lithuania. On 19 April 1920, the Constituent Assembly elected Aleksandras Stulginskis President. Not re-elected to the Seimas, from 1921 throughout 1924 he edited several periodicals, as Lietuvos balsas (Voice of Lithuania), Lietuviškas balsas (Lithuanian Voice) and Vairas.

Smetona (center) with ministers

After the Klaipėda Revolt of January 1923, in the Memelland, which had been separated from Germany, he was made commissioner there on February 20, but due to disagreements with Prime Minister Ernestas Galvanauskas, he resigned from his post.

In November 1923, authorities imprisoned Smetona for several days for publishing an article by Augustinas Voldemaras, in Vairas. Between 1923 and 1927, he was an assistant Professor at the University of Lithuania - at first at the Chair of Art Theory and History and later at the department of Philosophy. He lectured on ethics, antique philosophy, and gave lectures on Lithuanian linguistics. In 1932, he was awarded an honorary Ph.D. at the Vytautas Magnus University.

Smetona participated in the activity of the Lithuanian Riflemen's Union that had staged the Klaipėda Revolt, which gave him greater name-recognition. More than once, he was elected to its central board. Between 1924 and 1940, he was the vice-Chairman of the Board of the International Bank, and one of the members of a number of societies and companies.

Authoritarian president

Bas-relief of Antanas Smetona by sculptor, medalist Juozas Kalinauskas
Interwar 10 litas coin featuring President Smetona by pre-war sculptor Juozas Zikaras

Antanas Smetona was one of the leaders of the coup d'état of 1926, which deposed President Kazys Grinius, and Smetona once again became President on 19 December of that year (two others briefly held the office during the coup, which began on 17 December, before Smetona was formally restored to the Presidency). He designated Augustinas Voldemaras as Prime Minister. One year later he suppressed the parliament, and on May 15, 1928, with the approval of the government, he promulgated a new Constitution of the Lithuanian State with more extensive presidential powers. In 1929, he removed Voldemaras and became authoritarian head of state. He was re-elected President in 1931 and 1938, and remained in office until June 15, 1940, heading a Seimas composed by his adherents.

As a nationalist, Smetona's regime closed many Polish-language schools upon coming to power, and he established a totalitarian state with extensive school indoctrination and mandatory membership of the “Young Lithuanians” movement.[28] The regime repeatedly arrested and imprisoned members of the already-banned Communist Party – as with almost all interwar European dictatorships the threat of Communism was the source of its legitimacy and the regime executed the original leadership five days after coming to power[29] – but despite propaganda that Communists were a “non-Lithuanian force invading the country’, they continued to operate underground with growing membership and it is known today that their leaders were ethnically Lithuanian.[30]

In 1935, Smetona suffered a blow when farmers in southeast Lithuania organised a strike and refused to sell their produce. Reprisals led to five deaths and 456 farmers being arrested, and exacerbated long-standing tensions within his regime between hardliners arguing for a more rigid totalitarian control over Lithuanian life, and moderates who wanted liberalisation.[31] These difficulties, however, were already becoming overshadowed by the threat of Nazi Germany. Smetona’s regime was the first in Europe to trial Nazis: as early as 8 February 1934 action had begun against Nazis in the Memel region which was autonomous within Lithuania.[32] The Smetona regime’s trial of Ernst Neumann and Freiherr von Sass (July 1934 to March 1935) was the first attempt anywhere to bring Nazis to justice, and saw 76 Hitlerites imprisoned and four sentenced to death[32] – though this was commuted to life imprisonment.[33] By 1938, however, Memel was becoming a difficult issue for a regime spending a quarter of its budget of defence and expensive army modernisation,[30] and Nazis were able to win 26 of 29 seats in elections. The following year Smetona surrendered Memel to Hitler and declared a state of emergency[34] – he never lost his distaste for Hitler and Nazism because he valued the independence of his small nation so firmly.

Smetona’s government was cautious about industrialisation, as its support base lay in the dominant rural population, and as dictator Smetona did nothing to encourage direct foreign investment, which remained extremely limited throughout his rule.[35] Nonetheless, during Smetona‘s dictatorship Lithuania did advance economically: industrial output – mainly directed to domestic demand – when he was overthrown by the Soviet invasion was twice what it had been before the coup that brought him to power, and the country’s transport network had been greatly improved by the construction of railways from Šiauliai to Klaipėda and from Kaunas to the south and northeast. In contrast, Smetona was more generous in support for the agricultural sector, which at the time provided almost all of Lithuania’s exports despite occasionally protesting the regime.[35]

Soviet occupation

Lithuania was occupied by Soviet troops in 1940, as a consequence of the 1939 Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. After the USSR presented an ultimatum to Lithuania in June of that year, Smetona proposed armed resistance against the Soviets.[36] The majority of the government and the commanders of the army did not concur with this proposal. On 15 June, Smetona turned over the duties of President to Prime Minister Antanas Merkys on an interim basis as per the constitution, and fled to Germany with his family. Shortly afterward, the Smetonas fled to Switzerland.

A day after Smetona left the country, Merkys announced he had deposed Smetona and was now president in his own right. Two days later, Merkys was pressured into appointing the more pliant Justas Paleckis as prime minister and resigning himself. Paleckis then became acting president, and was used as a puppet to oversee the final stages of Lithuania being incorporated into the Soviet Union a month later. Lithuania’s current official position on the matter is that Merkys’ takeover of the presidency was illegal, since Smetona never formally resigned. Therefore, Lithuanian officials argue, all subsequent actions leading up to the Soviet annexation were ipso facto void.

Flight abroad

In the morning of 15 June, just after the government decided to accept the Soviet ultimatum, Smetona began making hasty preparations for fleeing the country. He was accompanied by his wife, his son and daughter and their spouses and children, Kazys Musteikis, former Minister of Defense, and two presidential adjutants. Smetona departed Kaunas at about 3 pm that day.[37] They stopped in Kybartai on the border with Nazi Germany. Smetona and Musteikis attempted to summon the 9th Infantry Regiment from Marijampolė to protect them and to offer at least symbolic resistance to the Red Army, but the regiment was stopped by a delegation sent from Kaunas to retrieve the president.[38] Smetona decided to cross the border without delay but Lithuanian border guards would not allow him to pass. Around midnight, a local man led Smetona, his bodyguard and adjutant across the shallow Liepona stream.[39] With Smetona already on the other side, his family managed to convince border guards to let them through at about 6 am.[40]

On the German side, Smetona was met by Heinz Gräfe, a Gestapo officer. Via Königsberg, the refugees were moved to a hunting loge near the Święcajty (Schwenzait) lake in the Masurian Lake District.[41] On 17 August, Smetona received a permission to relocate to Berlin where he settled on the Rankestraße. There, he was carefully supervised and allowed to communicate only with Lithuanian representative Kazys Škirpa.[42] Germans did not allow him to make any political moves as not to upset Soviet Union which was, at the time, an ally of Germany. It was clear that Smetona's presence was not desirable.[43] On 4 September, Smetona officially petitioned the Embassy of the United States in Berlin for U.S. visas.[44] The request was granted but only on a condition that while Smetona was in the U.S. he would not be considered leader or representative of any state or government.[44] It was a humiliating condition, but Smetona accepted and departed to Bern, Switzerland on 18 September.[45] Musteikis stayed in Berlin.[46]

In Bern, Smetona met with members of the Lithuanian Diplomatic Service, ambassadors and diplomats who continued to represent pre-occupation Lithuania. They hoped to establish a government-in-exile via the National Committee chaired by former Prime Minister Ernestas Galvanauskas. Smetona saw no need for such a committee and criticized the choice of Galvanauskas. The diplomats were also not receptive to Smetona – he had no funds, authority, or political influence.[47] Nevertheless, Smetona signed the so-called Kybartai Act – a backdated document supposedly written in Kybartai before his exile. The Act dismissed Antanas Merkys and appointed Stasys Lozoraitis as both Prime Minister and acting President. This controversial document was never used in practice.

Smetona departed Bern to Lisbon in January 1941. Aboard Serpa Pinto, he reached Rio de Janeiro on 14 February.[45] He was met by local officials, Lithuanian emigrants, and had a meeting with Getúlio Vargas, President of Brazil.[45] Smetona departed Brazil on 26 February. On 9 or 10 March 1941, Smetona with his wife arrived to New York aboard SS Argentina.[45] He was greeted by about 30 American journalists and photographers as well as Lithuanian American representatives. He was escorted to The Pierre hotel where an evening with about 400 guests was held on 13 March.[48] Since Smetona was a private individual in United States, the evening did not include any members of U.S. organizations.[49]

They temporarily lived at the Embassy of Lithuania in Washington, D.C. but their relationship with representative Povilas Žadeikis was tense. Smetona lived in Pittsburgh and Chicago before settling in Cleveland, Ohio in May 1942 with his son's family. While in exile, he began work on a history of Lithuania and on his memoirs. Smetona died in a fire at his son’s house in Cleveland, on January 9, 1944,[50] and was buried there. His wife Sofija died in Cleveland, on December 28, 1968, and he also had a daughter, Birutė. In 1975, his remains were moved from Cleveland's Knollwood Cemetery mausoleum to All Souls Cemetery in Chardon, Ohio.[51]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Antanas Smetona.

Notes

  1. ↑ Merkelis 1964, p. 5
  2. ↑ Smetona & Smetonienė 2016, p. 94
  3. ↑ Smetona & Smetonienė 2016, p. 96
  4. ↑ Merkelis 1964, p. 10
  5. ↑ Merkelis 1964, p. 13
  6. ↑ Merkelis 1964, p. 17
  7. ↑ Merkelis 1964, p. 15
  8. ↑ Merkelis 1964, p. 18
  9. ↑ Merkelis 1964, p. 19
  10. ↑ Merkelis 1964, p. 21
  11. ↑ Merkelis 1964, pp. 20–21
  12. ↑ Merkelis 1964, p. 27
  13. ↑ Merkelis 1964, pp. 22–23
  14. 1 2 Eidintas 2015, p. 16
  15. ↑ Eidintas 2015, pp. 17–18
  16. ↑ Merkelis 1964, p. 32
  17. 1 2 3 Eidintas 2015, p. 19
  18. ↑ Merkelis 1964, p. 35
  19. ↑ Žukas 2000, p. 24
  20. ↑ Merkelis 1964, p. 38
  21. ↑ Merkelis 1964, p. 39
  22. 1 2 3 4 Eidintas 2015, p. 20
  23. 1 2 Merkelis 1964, p. 43
  24. ↑ Truska 1995, pp. 18–19
  25. 1 2 Merkelis 1964, p. 44
  26. ↑ Merkelis 1964, p. 46
  27. ↑ Merkelis 1964, p. 49
  28. ↑ Hiden, John and Salmon, Patrick; The Baltic Nations and Europe: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in the Twentieth Century; p. 56 ISBN 0582082463
  29. ↑ Eidintas 2015, p. 149
  30. 1 2 Eidintas, Žalys & Senn 1999, p. 125
  31. ↑ Eidintas, Žalys & Senn 1999, pp. 121–123
  32. 1 2 Eidintas 2015, p. 301
  33. ↑ ‘Nazis Escape Death Sentence in Lithuania: President Smetona Changes Sentence to Ward Off Trouble with Germans’; Reading Eagle, 18 May 1935, p. 1
  34. ↑ ‘Nazis Celebrate Return of Memel: Germans Sing and Dance While Lithuanians Weep Openly; Refugees Halted’; The Free-Lance Star (Fredericksburg, Virginia); 22 March 1939, p. 1
  35. 1 2 Eidintas, Žalys & Senn 1999, pp. 117–119
  36. ↑ Eidintas, Žalys & Senn 1999, p. 182
  37. ↑ Eidintas 2015, p. 387
  38. ↑ Eidintas 2015, pp. 388–389
  39. ↑ Eidintas 2015, p. 390
  40. ↑ Eidintas 2015, pp. 391–392
  41. ↑ Eidintas 2015, p. 392
  42. ↑ Eidintas 2015, p. 396
  43. ↑ Eidintas 2015, p. 399
  44. 1 2 Skirius 2010, p. 80
  45. 1 2 3 4 Skirius 2010, p. 79
  46. ↑ Eidintas 2015, p. 397
  47. ↑ Eidintas 2015, p. 400
  48. ↑ Skirius 2010, p. 88
  49. ↑ Skirius 2010, p. 87
  50. ↑ ‘Antanas Smetona Dies in Fire: President of Lithuania Dies in Cleveland; Fled Country on Russian Occupation’; The Montreal Gazette; 10 January 1944, p. 19
  51. ↑ “Antanas Smetona”. Find-A-Grave. URL accessed 2006-09-26.

References

Political offices
Preceded by
none		 President of Lithuania
4 April 1919 – 19 June 1920 		Succeeded by
Aleksandras Stulginskis
Preceded by
Aleksandras Stulginskis		 President of Lithuania
19 December 1926 – 15 June 1940 		Succeeded by
Antanas Merkys
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