Erdmonas Simonaitis
Encyclopedia
Erdmonas Simonaitis was a Prussian Lithuanian activist particularly active in the Klaipėda Region
(Memel Territory) and advocating its union with Lithuania
. During the staged Klaipėda Revolt
of 1923 he headed the pro-Lithuanian government of the region. For his anti-German activities, he was persecuted by the Nazis during World War II. He survived the Mauthausen-Gusen
and Dachau concentration camps. After the war he remained in Germany and rejoined various Lithuanian organizations. He was awarded the Order of Vytautas the Great
and Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas
.
) and Tilsit (Sovetsk
) and worked as a court clerk. He joined Lithuanian activists in 1909. In 1912 he was co-founder of the Lithuanian Club of Tilsit , which he chaired for two years. In 1915, Simonaitis was mobilized into the German Army
. He was awarded the Iron Cross
for his military service in France and Galicia. After the war he briefly worked in Vilnius
where he became acquainted with Lithuanian politicians and the Council of Lithuania
. After he returned to Tilsit in 1918, he participated in the activities of National Council of Lithuania Minor , which adopted the Act of Tilsit
but Simonaitis did not sign it. In 1919 he moved to Memel (Klaipėda
).
, the Klaipėda Region
(Memel Territory) was detached from the German Empire
and placed under provisional French administration. French General Dominique Joseph Odry established seven-member Directorate
(local government) in February 1920. Initially all of its members were German. After Lithuanian protests, two Prussian Lithuanians, Simonaitis and Mikelis Reidys, were admitted to the Directorate increasing its size to nine members. Simonaitis resigned in February 1922. He lobbied the League of Nations
and the Conference of Ambassadors
to unite Klaipėda region with Lithuania
. However, it seemed that the region would be turned into a free city, similar to the Free City of Danzig
. Therefore the Lithuanian government decided to organize the Klaipėda Revolt
, take the region by force, and present a fait accompli
. Simonaitis agreed to head the government, which would be installed by the rebels. On January 9, 1923, the Supreme Committee for the Salvation of Lithuania Minor declared that the old Directorate is dissolved and authorized Simonaitis to form a new Directorate within three days. The rebel petition to unite with Lithuania was approved by the First Seimas (parliament of Lithuania) on January 14. To appease the Allies
, Simonaitis was dismissed and replaced by Viktoras Gailius. After the Klaipėda Convention
was signed in May 1924, formalizing the incorporation of the region into Lithuania, Simonaitis was chairman of the Directorate (January–November 1926), governor of Šilutė
(1924–1926) and Klaipėda Counties (1930–1934), mayor of Klaipėda (July 1934 – April 1935).
presented an oral ultimatum to Lithuania
demanding to cede Klaipėda Region. Lithuania accepted and Simonaitis, fearing Nazi persecutions, moved to Kaunas
. After the occupation of Lithuania by Nazi Germany
in June 1941, Simonaitis was arrested by Gestapo
and sent to the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp
in November 1942. In April 1945 he was liberated from the Dachau concentration camp. After the war he remained in West Germany
, rejoining Prussian Lithuanian activities. He chaired the re-established National Council of Lithuania Minor until his death, represented Lithuania Minor in the Supreme Committee for the Liberation of Lithuania
, and was vice-chairman of the German chapter of the Lithuanian World Community
.
and died in 1941 in the Battle of Leningrad. Margaretha and Ana Marija attempted to flee Lithuania after the war, but were stopped by the Soviet police. They changed their names to Elena and Ona in an attempt to hide their German descent and returned to Klaipėda. Birutė Neringa was forcefully taken to Germany as translator. She met her father at Dachau, but returned to Lithuania in 1948. Thus Simonaitis' family still lives in Klaipėda. His remains were reburied in Klaipėda cemetery in 1991.
Klaipėda Region
The Klaipėda Region or Memel Territory was defined by the Treaty of Versailles in 1920 when it was put under the administration of the Council of Ambassadors...
(Memel Territory) and advocating its union with Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
. During the staged Klaipėda Revolt
Klaipeda Revolt
The Klaipėda Revolt took place in January 1923 in the Klaipėda Region . The region, located north of the Neman River, was detached from the East Prussia of the German Empire by the Treaty of Versailles and became a mandate of the League of Nations. It was placed under provisional French...
of 1923 he headed the pro-Lithuanian government of the region. For his anti-German activities, he was persecuted by the Nazis during World War II. He survived the Mauthausen-Gusen
Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp
Mauthausen Concentration Camp grew to become a large group of Nazi concentration camps that was built around the villages of Mauthausen and Gusen in Upper Austria, roughly east of the city of Linz.Initially a single camp at Mauthausen, it expanded over time and by the summer of 1940, the...
and Dachau concentration camps. After the war he remained in Germany and rejoined various Lithuanian organizations. He was awarded the Order of Vytautas the Great
Order of Vytautas the Great
The Order of Vytautas the Great is the Lithuanian Presidential Award. It may be conferred on the heads of Lithuania and foreign states, as well as their citizens, for distinguished services to the State of Lithuania.-History:...
and Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas
Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas
The Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas is the Lithuanian Presidential Award which was re-instituted to honour the citizens of Lithuania for outstanding performance in civil and public offices. Foreign nationals may also be awarded this Order. The Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke...
.
Early life
Simonaitis received his education in Heydekrug (ŠilutėŠilute
Šilutė is a city in the south of the Klaipėda County, Lithuania. The city was part of the Klaipėda Region and ethnographic Lithuania Minor. Šilutė was the interwar capital of Šilutė County and is currently the capital of Šilutė district municipality.-Name:...
) and Tilsit (Sovetsk
Sovetsk, Kaliningrad Oblast
Sovetsk , known by its historical German name of Tilsit in East Prussia before 1946, is a town in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the south bank of the Neman River. Population: -History of Tilsit:...
) and worked as a court clerk. He joined Lithuanian activists in 1909. In 1912 he was co-founder of the Lithuanian Club of Tilsit , which he chaired for two years. In 1915, Simonaitis was mobilized into the German Army
German Army (German Empire)
The German Army was the name given the combined land forces of the German Empire, also known as the National Army , Imperial Army or Imperial German Army. The term "Deutsches Heer" is also used for the modern German Army, the land component of the German Bundeswehr...
. He was awarded the Iron Cross
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
for his military service in France and Galicia. After the war he briefly worked in Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
where he became acquainted with Lithuanian politicians and the Council of Lithuania
Council of Lithuania
The Council of Lithuania , after July 11, 1918 The State Council of Lithuania , was convened at the Vilnius Conference that took place between September 18 and 23, 1917. The council was granted the executive authority of the Lithuanian people and was entrusted to establish an independent...
. After he returned to Tilsit in 1918, he participated in the activities of National Council of Lithuania Minor , which adopted the Act of Tilsit
Act of Tilsit
The Act of Tilsit was an act, signed in Tilsit by 24 members of the National Council of Lithuania Minor on November 30, 1918. Signatories demanded unification of Lithuania Minor and Lithuania Proper into a single Lithuanian state...
but Simonaitis did not sign it. In 1919 he moved to Memel (Klaipėda
Klaipeda
Klaipėda is a city in Lithuania situated at the mouth of the Nemunas River where it flows into the Baltic Sea. It is the third largest city in Lithuania and the capital of Klaipėda County....
).
Klaipėda Region
According to the Treaty of VersaillesTreaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
, the Klaipėda Region
Klaipėda Region
The Klaipėda Region or Memel Territory was defined by the Treaty of Versailles in 1920 when it was put under the administration of the Council of Ambassadors...
(Memel Territory) was detached from the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
and placed under provisional French administration. French General Dominique Joseph Odry established seven-member Directorate
Directorate of the Klaipėda Region
The Directorate of the Klaipėda Region was the main governing institution in the Klaipėda Region from February 1920 to March 1939. It was established by local German political parties to govern the region between the signing of the Treaty of Versailles and establishment of French provision...
(local government) in February 1920. Initially all of its members were German. After Lithuanian protests, two Prussian Lithuanians, Simonaitis and Mikelis Reidys, were admitted to the Directorate increasing its size to nine members. Simonaitis resigned in February 1922. He lobbied the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
and the Conference of Ambassadors
Conference of Ambassadors
The Conference of Ambassadors of the Principal Allied and Associated Powers was an inter-allied organization of the Entente in the period following the end of World War I. Formed in Paris in January 1920 it became a successor of the Supreme War Council and was later on de facto incorporated into...
to unite Klaipėda region with Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
. However, it seemed that the region would be turned into a free city, similar to the Free City of Danzig
Free City of Danzig
The Free City of Danzig was a semi-autonomous city-state that existed between 1920 and 1939, consisting of the Baltic Sea port of Danzig and surrounding areas....
. Therefore the Lithuanian government decided to organize the Klaipėda Revolt
Klaipeda Revolt
The Klaipėda Revolt took place in January 1923 in the Klaipėda Region . The region, located north of the Neman River, was detached from the East Prussia of the German Empire by the Treaty of Versailles and became a mandate of the League of Nations. It was placed under provisional French...
, take the region by force, and present a fait accompli
Fait Accompli
Fait accompli is a French phrase which means literally "an accomplished deed". It is commonly used to describe an action which is completed before those affected by it are in a position to query or reverse it...
. Simonaitis agreed to head the government, which would be installed by the rebels. On January 9, 1923, the Supreme Committee for the Salvation of Lithuania Minor declared that the old Directorate is dissolved and authorized Simonaitis to form a new Directorate within three days. The rebel petition to unite with Lithuania was approved by the First Seimas (parliament of Lithuania) on January 14. To appease the Allies
Allies of World War I
The Entente Powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The members of the Triple Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire; Italy entered the war on their side in 1915...
, Simonaitis was dismissed and replaced by Viktoras Gailius. After the Klaipėda Convention
Klaipėda Convention
Klaipėda Convention was an international agreement between Lithuania and the countries of the Conference of Ambassadors signed in Paris on May 8, 1924. According to the Convention, the Klaipėda Region became an autonomous region under unconditional sovereignty of Lithuania...
was signed in May 1924, formalizing the incorporation of the region into Lithuania, Simonaitis was chairman of the Directorate (January–November 1926), governor of Šilutė
Šilute
Šilutė is a city in the south of the Klaipėda County, Lithuania. The city was part of the Klaipėda Region and ethnographic Lithuania Minor. Šilutė was the interwar capital of Šilutė County and is currently the capital of Šilutė district municipality.-Name:...
(1924–1926) and Klaipėda Counties (1930–1934), mayor of Klaipėda (July 1934 – April 1935).
World War II and after
In March 1939, Nazi GermanyNazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
presented an oral ultimatum to Lithuania
1939 German ultimatum to Lithuania
1939 German ultimatum to Lithuania was an oral ultimatum presented to Juozas Urbšys, Foreign Minister of Lithuania, by Joachim von Ribbentrop, Foreign Minister of Nazi Germany, on March 20, 1939...
demanding to cede Klaipėda Region. Lithuania accepted and Simonaitis, fearing Nazi persecutions, moved to Kaunas
Kaunas
Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation...
. After the occupation of Lithuania by Nazi Germany
Occupation of Lithuania by Nazi Germany
The occupation of Lithuania by Nazi Germany refers to the occupation of Lithuania by Nazi Germany from the start of the German invasion of Soviet Union to the end of the Battle of Memel . At first the Germans were welcomed as "liberators" from the repressive Soviet regime which occupied Lithuania...
in June 1941, Simonaitis was arrested by Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
and sent to the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp
Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp
Mauthausen Concentration Camp grew to become a large group of Nazi concentration camps that was built around the villages of Mauthausen and Gusen in Upper Austria, roughly east of the city of Linz.Initially a single camp at Mauthausen, it expanded over time and by the summer of 1940, the...
in November 1942. In April 1945 he was liberated from the Dachau concentration camp. After the war he remained in West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
, rejoining Prussian Lithuanian activities. He chaired the re-established National Council of Lithuania Minor until his death, represented Lithuania Minor in the Supreme Committee for the Liberation of Lithuania
Supreme Committee for the Liberation of Lithuania
The Supreme Committee for the Liberation of Lithuania or VLIK was an organization seeking independence of Lithuania. It was established on October 25, 1943 during the Nazi occupation. After World War II it moved abroad and continued its operations in Germany and the United States...
, and was vice-chairman of the German chapter of the Lithuanian World Community
Lithuanian World Community
The Lithuanian World Community is a non-governmental and non-profit organization established in 1949 that unifies Lithuanian communities abroad. The Constitution of the Lithuanian World Community declares that it consists of all Lithuanians living abroad...
.
Personal life and children
In 1911 he married German woman Margaretha Plaumann. They had four children: daughters Ana Marija and Birutė Neringa, sons Vitold-Vytautas and George-Jurgis. Vitoldas-Vytautas was mobilized into WehrmachtWehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
and died in 1941 in the Battle of Leningrad. Margaretha and Ana Marija attempted to flee Lithuania after the war, but were stopped by the Soviet police. They changed their names to Elena and Ona in an attempt to hide their German descent and returned to Klaipėda. Birutė Neringa was forcefully taken to Germany as translator. She met her father at Dachau, but returned to Lithuania in 1948. Thus Simonaitis' family still lives in Klaipėda. His remains were reburied in Klaipėda cemetery in 1991.