Adolfas Ramanauskas

Colonel
Adolfas Ramanauskas
Acting President of Lithuania
As Deputy Chairman of the Presidium of the Council of the Union of Lithuanian Freedom Fighters
Posthumously recognised in 20 November 2018
In office
November 26, 1954 – November 29, 1957
Preceded byJonas Žemaitis
(as Chairman of the Union of Lithuanian Freedom Fighters)
Succeeded byVytautas Landsbergis
(first head of state of independent Lithuania in 1991)
Personal details
Born(1918-03-03)March 3, 1918
New Britain, Connecticut, U.S.
DiedNovember 29, 1957(1957-11-29) (aged 39)
Vilnius, Lithuanian SSR, Soviet Union
Cause of deathExecution by shooting
Resting placeAntakalnis Cemetery
Spouse
Birutė Mažeikaitė
​
(m. 1945)​
ChildrenDaughter Auksutė
ProfessionScout, teacher, journalist, leader of the partisans
Military service
Allegiance Lithuania
Years of service1945–1956 (Lithuanian partisans)
Rank
CommandsUnion of Lithuanian Freedom Fighters
Awards

Adolfas Ramanauskas (March 6, 1918 – November 29, 1957), code name Vanagas (lit. 'The Hawk'), was a prominent Lithuanian partisan and one of the leaders of the Lithuanian resistance. Ramanauskas was working as a teacher under the Nazi administration when Lithuania was re-occupied by the Soviet Union in 1944–45. He joined the anti-Soviet resistance after being pressured by the NKVD to spy on his students, eventually advancing from a platoon commander to the chairman of the Union of Lithuanian Freedom Fighters.[1] Betrayed by a classmate, he was arrested, brutally tortured, and eventually executed.[2] He was the last known partisan commander to be captured.[3][4]

Ramanauskas remains a controversial figure due to his collaboration with the Nazis during the Holocaust, and his memorials have been protested against by the Simon Wiesenthal Center, the World Jewish Congress, and the Jewish Agency.[5][6][7][8][9][10][11]

  1. ^ Juodis, Darius (13 November 2017). "A. Ramanauskas-Vanagas went to the forest after leaving school". Lietuvos sąjūdis.
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  4. ^ Vardys, Stanley (September 1963). "The Partisan Movement in Postwar Lithuania". Slavic Review. 22 (3): 499–522. doi:10.2307/2492495. JSTOR 2492495. S2CID 156519586.
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