Dovas Zaunius (; 1845–1921) was a

Prussian Lithuanian The Prussian Lithuanians, or Lietuvininkai (singular: ''Lietuvininkas'', plural: ''Lietuvininkai''), are Lithuanians, originally Lithuanian language speakers, who formerly inhabited a territory in northeastern East Prussia called Prussian Lithuan ...

cultural and political activist. He supported

Lithuanian book smugglers Lithuanian book smugglers or Lithuanian book carriers (, singular: ) smuggled Lithuanian language books printed in the Latin alphabet into Lithuanian-speaking areas of the Russian Empire, defying a ban on such materials in force from 1864 to 1 ...

and sheltered Lithuanian activist fleeing the Tsarist police. He was chairman of

Birutė Society The Birutė Society was the first cultural non-religious society of Prussian Lithuanians. Established in 1885 in Tilsit, East Prussia (present-day Sovetsk), the society was intermittently active until the outbreak of World War I. The society soug ...

which organized Lithuanian cultural events and managed the budget of the Lithuanian newspaper ''

Varpas ''Varpas'' (literally: ''The Bell'') was a monthly Lithuanian-language newspaper published during the Lithuanian press ban from January 1889 to December 1905. Because its publication was illegal in Lithuania, then part of the Russian Empire, it w ...

'' from 1900 to 1905. In 1890, Zaunius co-founded the first of the Lithuanian Conservative Election Societies that sought to elect Prussian Lithuanians to the

German Reichstag The Reichstag (; ) is a historic legislative government building on Platz der Republik in Berlin that is the seat of the German Bundestag. It is also the meeting place of the Federal Convention, which elects the President of Germany. The Ne ...

and

Prussian Landtag The Landtag of Prussia () was the representative assembly of the Kingdom of Prussia implemented in 1849, a bicameral legislature consisting of the upper House of Lords (''Herrenhaus'') and the lower House of Representatives (''Abgeordnetenhaus'') ...

. Zaunius unsuccessfully ran in the Reichstag elections three times.

Biography

Book smuggling

Zaunius received only primary education and earned a living off his farm in Rokaiten. He supported publication of Lithuanian books and their smuggling across the Prussian–Russian border. Lithuanian-language books printed in the

Latin alphabet The Latin alphabet, also known as the Roman alphabet, is the collection of letters originally used by the Ancient Rome, ancient Romans to write the Latin language. Largely unaltered except several letters splitting—i.e. from , and from � ...

were banned in Lithuania which was then part of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

(see the

Lithuanian press ban The Lithuanian press ban () was a ban on all Lithuanian language publications printed in the Latin alphabet, in force from 1865 to 1904, within the Russian Empire, which controlled Lithuania proper at the time. Lithuanian-language publications t ...

). His farm welcomed various Lithuanian activists who were persecuted by the Tsarist authorities for violations of the ban or other political activities, including

Vincas Kapsukas Vincas is a Lithuanian masculine given name. People named Vincas include: *Vincas Grybas (1890–1941), Lithuanian sculptor *Vincas Kudirka (1858-1899), Lithuanian poet and physician, author of the Lithuanian National Anthem *Vincas Mykolaitis-P ...

, , and . Linguist

Georg Sauerwein Georg Julius Justus Sauerwein (15 January 1831 in Hanover – 16 December 1904 in Kristiania) was a German publisher, polyglot, poet, and linguist. He is buried at Gronau. Sauerwein was the greatest linguistic prodigy of his time and mastered ...

lived on the farm for a year and composed the poem ''

Lietuvininkai we are born ''Lietuvininkai we are born'' (, ) is a Lithuanian-language patriotic and sentimental poem written by the German linguist Georg Sauerwein in 1879. It is a passionate defense of Prussian Lithuanian (Lietuvininkai) language and culture, rallying peo ...

''.

Cultural activities

Between 1887 and 1903, Zaunius was elected as chairman of the

several times. However, his tenure marked periods of low activity and the society came close to being liquidated in 1903. In 1900, Zaunius and his daughter

Morta Zauniūtė Morta may refer to: People * Morta of Lithuania, Queen of Lithuania (1253–1262) * Morta Zauniūtė (1875-1945), Lithuanian culture activist in Lithuania Minor * Piotr Paweł Morta (born 1959), Polish political activist Other * Morta (mythology) ...

were entrusted with managing the budget for the Lithuanian exposition at the world's fair in Paris. He managed the budget of the Lithuanian newspaper ''

'' from 1900 to 1905. Zaunius also organized a library at his farm. It sought to collect all Lithuanian publications. Some of this collection was donated to the

Lithuanian Scientific Society The Lithuanian Scientific Society () was a scientific, cultural, and educational organization that was active between 1907 and 1940 in Vilnius, Lithuania. It was founded in 1907 on the initiative of Jonas Basanavičius. The founding assembly of ...

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

, the rest was lost during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Political activities

In 1890, together with

Martynas Jankus Martynas Jankus or Martin Jankus (7 August 1858 in Bittehnen (Lit.: Bitėnai), near Ragnit – 23 May 1946 in Flensburg, Germany, reburied in Bitėnai cemetery on 30 May 1993) was a Prussian-Lithuanian printer, social activist and publisher in ...

, Jonas Smalakys, and others, Zaunius established the first of the Lithuanian Conservative Election Societies. The goal of such societies was to elect Prussian Lithuanians to the

and

. When the society broke up based on the electoral districts, Zaunius chaired the Tilsit–Elchniederung section. He unsuccessfully ran in the Reichstag elections three times. In 1892 and 1900, he was involved with the collection of signatures for petitions to the Prussian Ministers of Education asking to leave the Lithuanian language in primary schools.

Family

Dovas Zaunius and Elzė Zaunienė had nine children (three sons (Andrius, Dovas (junior), Hermanis) and six daughters (Anna, Marė, Marta, Berta, Ema, Augustė), all of which received good education: * Youngest son

Dovas Zaunius Dovas Zaunius (19 June 1892 – 22 February 1940) was a Lithuanian lawyer, politician and diplomat who served as Ambassador to Switzerland from 1925 until 1927 and Lithuanian Foreign Minister from 1929 to 1934. Biography Zaunius was born in Eas ...

(1892–1940) was a diplomat and Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs (1929–1934) * Daughter Augustė Zauniūtė (1890–1950) was one of the first women medical doctors and had a practice in Memel (

Klaipėda Klaipėda ( ; ) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. It is the List of cities in Lithuania, third-largest city in Lithuania, the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, fifth-largest city in the Baltic States, and the capi ...

) * Daughter

Marta Zauniūtė Marta or Morta Zauniūtė (; 22 March 1875 – 10 January 1945?) was a Lithuanian press activist in Lithuania Minor. She is best remembered as the administrator of Lithuanian newspapers ''Varpas'', ''Ūkininkas'', and '' Naujienos'' from 1900 to ...

(1875–1945) dedicated her life to the Lithuanian press, and helped

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zaunius, Dovas 1845 births 1921 deaths People from Slavsky District People from the Province of Prussia Lithuania Minor