Juozas Lukša
Encyclopedia
Juozas Lukša also known by the pseudonym
Daumantas or Skirmantas (August 10, 1921 in Juodbūdis village, Marijampolė district
– September 4, 1951 in Pabartupis village, Kaunas district) was one of the most prominent post-World War II
leaders of the Lithuanian partisans
, the anti-Soviet armed resistance. In 2003, director Jonas Vaitkus
released a movie based on his life, Utterly Alone
.
During the first occupation by the Soviet Union
in 1940–41, Lukša was a member of the Lithuanian Activist Front
. Opposing the Soviets, he was caught and imprisoned in Kaunas
. After the war started in the Eastern Front
and Nazi Germany
invaded Lithuania, Lukša was released. Soon he joined the anti-German resistance. From 1944, after the return of the Red Army
, he engaged in the underground movement. At first he participated as a student, helping out with clandestine matters and unarmed resistance in Kaunas. In 1946, after the arrests of many activists, he left the city and joined the armed resistance
. Within a year he commanded Birutė brigade of Tauras district that was active in Kaunas area.
At the end of 1947, he escaped through the Iron Curtain
as a messenger to the West in hopes to attract support for the fighters and to establish contacts with Lithuanians in exile. He first came to Sweden. Later he was engaged by the French intelligence and thereafter transferred to CIA, where he received training as an intelligence agent in West Germany
. While in Paris he met Nijolė Bražėnaitė, fell in love and got married. During the stay in the western countries, he wrote a book Fighters for Freedom about the actual situation in the Soviet Union. He was parachuted back to Lithuania in 1950. For a year he was intensively searched for by the Soviet counterintelligence. Finally he was betrayed by fellow fighter Jonas Kukauskas and killed in fall 1951.
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
Daumantas or Skirmantas (August 10, 1921 in Juodbūdis village, Marijampolė district
Marijampole municipality
Marijampolė municipality is one of 60 municipalities in Lithuania....
– September 4, 1951 in Pabartupis village, Kaunas district) was one of the most prominent post-World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
leaders of the Lithuanian partisans
Lithuanian partisans
The Lithuanian partisans can refer to various irregular military units in different historical periods active in Lithuania against foreign invaders and occupiers:...
, the anti-Soviet armed resistance. In 2003, director Jonas Vaitkus
Jonas Vaitkus
Jonas Vaitkus is a lecturer, theatre and film director well known in Lithuania and throughout Europe. From 1969 to 1974 Jonas Vaitkus studied at the State Theatre, Music and Cinematography Institute of Leningrad...
released a movie based on his life, Utterly Alone
Utterly Alone
Utterly Alone is a 2003 film directed by Jonas Vaitkus, based on real events, about Juozas Lukša , a Lithuanian partisan who fought against the Soviet occupation of Lithuania in the years immediately following World War II...
.
During the first occupation by the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in 1940–41, Lukša was a member of the Lithuanian Activist Front
Lithuanian Activist Front
Lithuanian Activist Front or LAF was a short-lived resistance organization established in 1940 after Lithuania was occupied by the Soviet Union. The goal of the organization was to liberate Lithuania and re-establish its independence...
. Opposing the Soviets, he was caught and imprisoned in 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 war started in the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
and Nazi Germany
Nazi 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...
invaded Lithuania, Lukša was released. Soon he joined the anti-German resistance. From 1944, after the return of the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
, he engaged in the underground movement. At first he participated as a student, helping out with clandestine matters and unarmed resistance in Kaunas. In 1946, after the arrests of many activists, he left the city and joined the armed resistance
Lithuanian partisans
The Lithuanian partisans can refer to various irregular military units in different historical periods active in Lithuania against foreign invaders and occupiers:...
. Within a year he commanded Birutė brigade of Tauras district that was active in Kaunas area.
At the end of 1947, he escaped through the Iron Curtain
Iron Curtain
The concept of the Iron Curtain symbolized the ideological fighting and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1989...
as a messenger to the West in hopes to attract support for the fighters and to establish contacts with Lithuanians in exile. He first came to Sweden. Later he was engaged by the French intelligence and thereafter transferred to CIA, where he received training as an intelligence agent 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....
. While in Paris he met Nijolė Bražėnaitė, fell in love and got married. During the stay in the western countries, he wrote a book Fighters for Freedom about the actual situation in the Soviet Union. He was parachuted back to Lithuania in 1950. For a year he was intensively searched for by the Soviet counterintelligence. Finally he was betrayed by fellow fighter Jonas Kukauskas and killed in fall 1951.
Further reading
- Juozas L. Daumantas (1975). Fighters for Freedom, New York: Manyland Books. ISBN 0871410494
- Juozas Lukša (2009). Forest Brothers: The Account of an Anti-Soviet Lithuanian Freedom Fighter, 1944–1948, translated by Laima Vincė, Budapest: Central European University Press. ISBN 978-963-9776-37-1