Jonas Žemaitis

Jonas Žemaitis (also known under his codename Vytautas; March 15, 1909 in Palanga – November 26, 1954 in Moscow) was one of the leaders of armed resistance against the Soviet occupation in Lithuania and acknowledged as the Head of State of contemporary occupied Lithuania.

In 1944 he joined the Lithuanian Territorial Defense Force, organized by Povilas Plechavičius. After the force was disbanded by the Nazis, Žemaitis went into hiding. When Red Army reached Lithuania, Žemaitis joined armed resistance and steadily rose to leadership positions. In February 1949 he established Lithuanian Movement for Freedom (Lithuanian: Lietuvos laisvės kovos sąjūdis) and became its chairman; he worked to maintain partisan organizations, legitimize their actions. In December 1951 he suffered from cerebral hemorrhage and became paralyzed. In May 1953 his hiding place was found by Soviet agents, he was arrested, and transported to Moscow. He was executed in the Butyrka prison in 1954. He is the namesake of the General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania. In 1995 a documentary Ketvirtasis Prezidentas (The Fourth President) was released about his life.

Posthumously Jonas Žemaitis-Vytautas was awarded the rank of Brigadier General and was officially named as the fourth President of Lithuania in March 2009.

References

• Template:Lt icon Samogitian Museum ALKA
• Template:Lt icon Lietuvos gyventojų genocido ir rezistencijos tyrimo centras