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Karolis Didžiulis

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Karolis Didžiulis
Born
Karolis Grosmanas

(1894-08-19)19 August 1894
Mandeikiai[lt],Russian Empire
Died24 May 1958(1958-05-24)(aged 63)
Vilnius,Lithuanian SSR
Burial placeAntakalnis Cemetery
Alma materCommunist University of the National Minorities of the West
Occupation(s)Communist activist, judge
Political partyCommunist Party of Lithuania
AwardsOrders of Lenin
Order of the Red Banner of Labour

Karolis Didžiulis(born Grosmanas; 19 August 1894 – 24 May 1958) was a Lithuanian communist politician and statesman. He was a member of theCentral Committeeof theCommunist Party of Lithuaniain 1927–1958 and chairman of theSupreme Court of the Lithuanian SSRin 1947–1958.[1]

Didžiulis completed just three years of primary education and worked as a farm worker, dockworker and metalworker inRigabefore joining the Communist Party of Lithuania in 1919. The party was illegal ininterwar Lithuaniaand Didžiulis was arrested and imprisoned numerous times, spending a total of about nine years in Lithuanian prisons. After theSoviet occupation of Lithuaniain June 1940, he joined thePeople's Government of Lithuania,was elected to thePeople's Seimas,and was deputy chairman of theSupreme Soviet of the Lithuanian SSR.He was in charge of the Soviet land reform which nationalized landholdings and distributed them to landless peasants.

During World War II, he evacuated to Russia and was party representative and organizer inPenzaandPereslavl-Zalessky.He returned toVilniusin July 1944 and participated in the Sovietization efforts of Lithuania: land nationalization,mass deportations to Siberia,and suppression of theLithuanian partisans.From 1947 to his death in 1958, he was chairman of the Supreme Court of the Lithuanian SSR.

Biography[edit]

Early life[edit]

Didžiulis was born on 19 August 1894 inMandeikiai[lt]north ofŠiauliai.[1]He was of Latvian origin;[2]from about 1940 he used the Lithuanian translation (Didžiulis) of his surname Grosman (transl. big man).[3]His parents owned 37 hectares (91 acres) of land, but struggled financially. Didžiulis completed just three years of primary education.[3]In 1912, he moved toRigato work in the docks and metalworking factory.[4]During a dockworkers' strike in 1913, he was involved in distributing social democratic literature. In October 1914, after the outbreak of World War I, he returned to his family's farm.[5]

In late 1918, after theGerman revolution,Didžiulis joined a local pro-communist group inŽagarė.[6]In January 1919, at the start of theLithuanian–Soviet War,he organized communist soviet and police inŠakyna.These institutions were disbanded by February 1919.[7]

Interwar Lithuania[edit]

In June 1919, Didžiulis established contacts with Lithuanian communists and joined theCommunist Party of Lithuania.At first he worked with local communists inJoniškisandŠiauliai.[7]In September 1921, he was tasked by the party with transport and distribution of illegal communist literature, including the periodicalsTiesaandKomunistas[lt].[8]

In September 1922, Didžiulis was arrested when he transported literature toVilkaviškis.Even though the Lithuanian police found only legal publications, Didžiulis was confined to a camp inAukštoji Freda[lt]and later the Fifth Fort ofKaunas Fortress.[8]He was released in September 1923. The party then sent him to study at theCommunist University of the National Minorities of the Westin Moscow.[8]He returned to Lithuania in August 1925 and organized communist activities in the Šiauliai area.[9]

After thecoup d'état in December 1926,many two members of the Central Committee of theCommunist Party of Lithuaniawere executed while a few others were arrested. As a result, the Central Committee coopted Didžiulis in January 1927.[10]Later that year, he was also elected to thePolitburoand Secretariat.[11]However, he was arrested in January 1928 after the police searched his apartment and found numerous illegal publications.[12]In May 1929, he was sentenced to eight years in prison. He served the sentence inKaunas Prison,Ninth Fort,andŠiauliai Prison[lt].[13]He was released in October 1933, but again arrested and imprisoned for three months in November 1933.[14]

Released, Didžiulis continued communist activities. In late 1934, he travelled to Moscow to consult and coordinate with other Lithuanian communists.[14]At the time the Communist Party had two main leaders –Vincas KapsukasandZigmas Angarietis– who competed for influence. Didžiulis andAizikas Lifšicas[lt]allied with Kapsukas who died in February 1935. This allowed Angarietis to promote his man Kazys Sprindys to the Secretariat.[15]With the help ofMikhail Trilisser,leader of theComintern,Lifšicas attempted to remove Angarietis.[16]Sprindis was replaced byIcikas Meskupas-Adomasbut Didžiulis and Lifšicas were demoted to regional (raikom) party work inSuvalkijaandKlaipėda Region.[17]While in Suvalkija, Didžiulis rallied communist forces in support of the1935 Suvalkija farmers' strike.He opposed the party's position of not allying with non-communists and wanted to collaborate with other parties (including theLithuanian Christian Democratic Party) that supported the strike.[18]

Didžiulis was arrested again for three weeks in January 1936 and three months in November 1936.[19]In June 1938, he organized 10-day courses for young communists nearAlytus.After these courses, he was arrested and sent to theDimitravas forced labour campfor a year.[20]He was arrested again in October 1939 and sent back to Dimitravas and later toPabradė.In total, he spent about nine years in Lithuanian prisons.[21]

Lithuanian SSR[edit]

1940–1941[edit]

He was freed from the forced labor camp after theSoviet occupation of Lithuaniain June 1940.[21]ThePeople's Government of Lithuaniaappointed him as its envoy toVilniusandVilnius Region(with rights of a minister).[1]According to memoirs ofVincas Krėvė-Mickevičius,Didžiulis was given this assignment (effective July 1) to give communists a majority over Lithuanian nationalist members of the government.[22]He was elected to thePeople's Seimasas a candidate of theUnion of the Working People of Lithuania.According to early voting results published byDarbo Lietuva[lt],Didžiulis received 93,375 votes out of approximately 178,000 total votes (thus roughly 52%).[23]However, later "official" results claimed that 99.2% of voters voted for the Union of the Working People (no official results by candidate were ever published).[24]

Didžiulis was one of twenty representatives sent to Moscow to request theSoviet Unionto accept the newly establishedLithuanian SSRas one of its constituent republics.[25]People's Seimas reorganized itself as theSupreme Soviet of the Lithuanian SSRand Didžiulis became deputy ofJustas Paleckis,chairman of the presidium of the Supreme Soviet. At the same time, he became the agricultural department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Lithuania.[25]In this capacity, he led the Soviet efforts to nationalize landholdings. In a year, about 600,000 hectares (1,500,000 acres) of land was nationalized. The Soviets did not establishkolkhozsbut distributed land to landless peasants.[26]

1941–1958[edit]

After theGerman invasion of the Soviet Unionin June 1941, Didžiulis evacuated toPenzawhere he became a representative of theCouncil of People's Commissarsin charge of the affairs of evacuated Lithuanians in the Penza region. In June 1943, he became party organizer (partorg) inPereslavl-Zalesskywhere several Lithuanian artist assemblies had gathered.[27]

In July 1944, after Vilnius was retaken by the Soviets as a result of theOperation Bagration,he returned to Vilnius and resumed his pre-war positions: deputy chairman of the presidium of the Supreme Soviet and work in a commission in charge of the land reform.[27]He also taught the history of theCommunist Party of the Soviet Unionat the party school in Vilnius. He was elected three times (in 1947, 1951, and 1955) to theSupreme Soviet of the Lithuanian SSRand twice (in 1955 and 1958) to theSupreme Soviet of the Soviet Union.[28]

Didžiulis participated in Soviet repressions against the Lithuanians. In 1945, he dealt with property confiscated of peopledeported to SiberiafromTrakaiandKretingadistricts.[1]In May 1948, he supervised and instructed party activists on how to carry out theOperation VesnainBiržaidistrict.[29]In October 1951, during theOperation Osen,his sister-in-law Ana and her son were deported from his family's farm in Mandeikiai, but Soviet officials quickly intervened and she was freed from the deportee train inOstashkov.[30]

From 1947 to 1958, Didžiulis was the chairman of theSupreme Court of the Lithuanian SSR.On 25 September 1957, the court handed death sentence toAdolfas Ramanauskas,one of the most prominentLithuanian partisans.[1]

Death and legacy[edit]

For his service to communist causes, Didžiulis was awarded twoOrders of Leninand twoOrders of the Red Banner of Labour.Didžiulis died on 24 May 1958 and was buried at the inAntakalnis Cemetery.[31]

During the Soviet era, the polytechnic institute inŠiauliai(present-dayŠiauliai State College[lt]) as well as the secondary school inŽagarėwere named in his honor. Streets inVilnius,Šiauliai, andPanevėžysbore his name. His memoir and selected writings were published in 1963.[31]

References[edit]

  1. ^abcdeTininis 2022.
  2. ^Truska 2004,p. 11.
  3. ^abŠarmaitis 1988,p. 119.
  4. ^Šarmaitis 1988,pp. 119–120.
  5. ^Šarmaitis 1988,p. 120.
  6. ^Šarmaitis 1988,pp. 120–121.
  7. ^abŠarmaitis 1988,p. 121.
  8. ^abcŠarmaitis 1988,p. 122.
  9. ^Šarmaitis 1988,p. 123.
  10. ^Šarmaitis 1988,pp. 122–123.
  11. ^Šarmaitis 1988,p. 125.
  12. ^Šarmaitis 1988,p. 126.
  13. ^Šarmaitis 1988,p. 128.
  14. ^abŠarmaitis 1988,p. 129.
  15. ^Ėmužis 2016,p. 93.
  16. ^Raškauskas 2014,p. 145.
  17. ^Raškauskas 2014,p. 146.
  18. ^Labanauskas 2010,p. 206.
  19. ^Šarmaitis 1988,p. 130.
  20. ^Šarmaitis 1988,p. 131.
  21. ^abŠarmaitis 1988,p. 132.
  22. ^Senn 2007,p. 174.
  23. ^Senn 2013,p. 498.
  24. ^Senn 2007,p. 220.
  25. ^abŠarmaitis 1988,p. 133.
  26. ^Šarmaitis 1988,pp. 133–134.
  27. ^abŠarmaitis 1988,p. 134.
  28. ^Šarmaitis 1988,pp. 134–135.
  29. ^Starkauskas 2007,p. 417.
  30. ^Tyla 1995,p. 86.
  31. ^abŠarmaitis 1988,p. 135.

Bibliography[edit]

  • Ėmužis, Marius (2016).Sovietų Lietuvos valdantysis elitas 1944-1974 metais: tarpusavio ryšiai ir jų raiška(PhD thesis) (in Lithuanian). Vilnius: Vilnius University.
  • Labanauskas, Ramūnas (2010)."Jaunųjų katalikų sąjūdžio santykis su komunizmo doktrina ir praktika (1936–1940)"(PDF).LKMA Metraštis. Serija B: Bažnyčios istorijos studijos(in Lithuanian).XXXII.ISSN1392-0502.
  • Raškauskas, Kęstutis (2014).Revoliucinės kultūros eksperimentas Lietuvoje (1927–1935 m.)(PhD thesis) (in Lithuanian). Kaunas: Vytautas Magnus University.ISBN978-9955-12-982-0.
  • Šarmaitis, Romas (1988).Lietuvos revoliucionieriai(PDF)(in Lithuanian). Mintis. pp. 119–137.ISBN5-417-00071-X.
  • Senn, Alfred Erich (2007).Lithuania 1940: Revolution from Above.On the Boundary of Two Worlds. Identity, Freedom, and Moral Imagination of the Baltics. Rodopi.ISBN978-90-420-2225-6.
  • Senn, Alfred Erich (2013). "Problems of Baltic Historiography, 1939–41". In Clemmesen, Michael H.; Faulkner, Marcus S. (eds.).Northern European Overture to War, 1939-1941: From Memel to Barbarossa.Brill.ISBN9789004249097.
  • Starkauskas, Juozas (2007).Represinių struktūrų ir komunistų partijos bendradarbiavimas įtvirtinant okupacinį režimą Lietuvoje 1944–1953 m.(in Lithuanian). Lietuvos gyventojų genocido ir rezistencijos tyrimo centras.ISBN978-9986757764.
  • Tininis, Vytautas (4 November 2022) [2018]."Karolis Didžiulis".Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija(in Lithuanian). Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos centras.Retrieved11 October2023.
  • Truska, Liudas (2004).Preconditions of The Holocaust: The Upsurge of Anti-Semitism in Lithuania in the years of the Soviet Occupation (1940–1941)(PDF).International Commission for the Evaluation of the Nazi and Soviet Occupation Regimes in Lithuania.
  • Tyla, Antanas, ed. (1995).Lietuvos gyventojų trėmimai 1940–1941, 1944–1953 metais sovietinės okupacinės valdžios dokumentuose(in Lithuanian). Lietuvos istorijos institutas.ISBN9986-577-11-X.
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