Vytautas Alantas

Vytautas Alantas
Photo of Alantas in 1931 with his signature
Born
Vytautas Benjaminas Jakševičius

(1902-06-18)18 June 1902
Sidabravas, Kovno Governorate, Russian Empire
Died24 April 1990(1990-04-24) (aged 87)
Detroit, United States
Resting placePetrašiūnai Cemetery (urn with ashes reburied in 1992)[1]
NationalityLithuanian
Alma materUniversity of Lithuania
University of Montpellier
Occupation(s)Writer, journalist
Notable work
  • Žygiuojanti tauta (The Marching Nation)
  • Amžinasis lietuvis (The Eternal Lithuanian)
  • Tauta istorijos vingiais (The Nation Along the Twists of History)
Political partyLithuanian Nationalist Union
Board member ofLithuanian Journalists Association [lt]
Spouses
  • Elena Petrikaitė-Alantienė
  • Irena Baleišytė-Alantienė[2]
AwardsOrder of Vytautas the Great (1936)
Order of the Three Stars (1939)

Vytautas Alantas (born Vytautas Benjaminas Jakševičius, 18 June 1902 – 24 April 1990) was a Lithuanian writer, journalist, and political ideologue. Educated in France, Alantas worked as a journalist of the Lithuanian news agency ELTA and chief editor of the official daily Lietuvos aidas. Alantas was one of the leaders of Young Tautininkai, an organization of radical young members of the Lithuanian Nationalist Union in the late 1930s – this movement is also known as Vairininkai after the political magazine Vairas. A sympathizer with national socialism, Alantas is considered to be one of the chief ideologues of totalitarian nationalism in interwar Lithuania.[3] During the Nazi occupation of Lithuania, he participated in the Lithuanian Activist Front (LAF) and later emigrated to the United States where he dedicated his life to literary work. He was a prolific writer and published seven collections of short stories, six novels, fifteen plays, four non-fiction books, and one poetry collection. His writings primarily deal with patriotic themes and topics.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference lmenas was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference jastr was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference saldz was invoked but never defined (see the help page).