Martynas Jankus or Martin Jankus (7 August 1858 in Bittehnen (Lit.: Bitėnai), near Ragnit – 23 May 1946 in

Flensburg Flensburg (; Danish language, Danish and ; ; ) is an independent city, independent town in the far north of the Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. After Kiel and Lübeck, it is the third-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg's ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, reburied in Bitėnai cemetery on 30 May 1993) was a Prussian-Lithuanian printer, social activist and publisher in

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

, called the Patriarch of

Lithuania Minor Lithuania Minor (; ; ) or Prussian Lithuania (; ; ) is one of five ethnographic regions of Lithuania. It is a historical region of Prussia, where Prussian Lithuanians (or Lietuvininkai) lived, now located in Lithuania and the Kaliningrad Obla ...

. He was one of the publishers of '' Aušra'', the first Lithuanian-language newspaper for both Lithuania Minor and Lithuania Major. Jankus used various

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

s, including V. Giedris, Martyneitis, Bitėnų Merčius, and Gyvoleitis.

Biography

After graduating from a

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

in Bitėnai, Jankus continued self-education. From the last decade of the 19th century he was an important figure in the pro-Lithuanian movement, and was close to the Lithuanian National Revival movement in Lithuania. He was one of the founders of several cultural organizations, including the Birutė Society, founded in 1885 in Tilsit. From 1889 to 1892 Jankus was its chairman. In 1890, together with Dovas Zaunius and Jonas Smalakis, Jankus founded the first Lithuanian political organization in East Prussia. He maintained active correspondence with

Lithuanian American Lithuanian Americans refer to American citizens and residents of Lithuanian descent or were born in Lithuania. New Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has the largest percentage of Lithuanian Americans (20.8%) in its population in the United States. ...

s and activists of the

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

n, Polish and

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

ian national movements. For his public activities Jankus was penalized by the Prussian authorities about forty times – arrests, monetary fines, and the like.Knygnešys Martynas Jankus
. Retrieved on 2008-07-24 He spent his earnings on the publication of Lithuanian books and newspapers during 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 ...

in Russia. Jankus was one of the suppliers for the '' knygnešiai'', smugglers of illegal books into Russia. After 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 ...

occupied the

Klaipėda Region The Klaipėda Region () or Memel Territory ( or ''Memelgebiet'') was defined by the 1919 Treaty of Versailles in 1920 and refers to the northernmost part of the German province of East Prussia, when, as Memelland, it was put under the administr ...

in December 1914, Jankus and his family were deported to Samara Governorate in

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

, where his father and his youngest son Andrius died. In 1918, Jankus returned to his homeland, where he actively promoted the idea of incorporating Lithuania Minor into

Lithuania proper Lithuania proper refers to a region that existed within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania where the Lithuanian language was spoken. The primary meaning is identical to the Duchy of Lithuania, a land around which the Grand Duchy of Lithuania evolved. T ...

. In November 1918, Jankus signed the Act of Tilsit. In 1920 he was co-opted into the Council of Lithuania and later became chairman of the Supreme Salvation Committee of Lithuania Minor. In 1925 Jankus returned to live in Bitėnai. After the Klaipėda Region was seized by Germany following the ultimatum of 1939, Jankus moved to

Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...

, the

temporary capital of Lithuania The temporary capital of Lithuania () was the official designation of the city of Kaunas in Lithuania during the interwar period. It was in contrast to the declared capital in Vilnius, which was the capital of the Republic of Central Lithuania ( ...

. During the Nazi occupation he was forbidden to deliver public speeches. In 1944 he returned to Bitėnai and was forced to evacuate by

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

authorities. Martynas Jankus died in Germany, but expressed his will to his daughter that his body should be burned and, when Lithuania had regained independence, his ashes should be moved to the Bitėnai cemetery.

Publisher

During 1882 and 1883 Jankus published Lithuanian songs that he had collected himself. In 1883 he was one of the founders of '' Aušra'', the first Lithuanian-language newspaper. Jankus not only supported the publication financially, but also served as its editor. He also published ''Aušros kalendorius'' (1884–1885) and the newspaper ''Garsas'' (1886–1887). Jankus was also behind the first Lithuanian-language satirical newspaper ''Tetutė''. Other newspapers published by Jankus include ''Naujoji Aušra'' (1892), ''Lietuviškas darbininkas'' (1894), ''Ūkininkų prietelius'', ''Saulėteka'' (1900–1902), ''Dienos lapas'' (1909–1910, Jankus was an editor), '' Varpas'' and '' Ūkininkas''. Jankus himself wrote forty-five books and booklets.

Printing house

In 1889 he bought a printing house in Ragnit, which was later moved to Tilsit where it was active until 1892. Then the printing house was moved to Jankus' own house in Bitėnai, where it operated until 1909. At its peak, the house had three printing machines. It is estimated that Jankus's printing house published at least 360 books and twenty-five periodicals. During the

in Russia, Bitėnai also served as a warehouse for illegal Lithuanian books and the ''Aušra'' archives. After the Lithuanian press ban was lifted in 1904, the printing house lost its significance and went bankrupt in 1909. The equipment was sold in 1912. Many works by Lithuanian authors were published for the first time by Jankus. Such works included the historical novel ''Senutė'' by Vydūnas, over fifty booklets by Petras Vileišis, the first chapter of '' Metai'' by Kristijonas Donelaitis, and other works by contemporary Lithuanian authors, including Jonas Biliūnas, Lazdynų Pelėda,

Gabrielė Petkevičaitė-Bitė Gabrielė Petkevičaitė (18 March 1861 – 14 June 1943) was a Lithuanian educator, writer, and activist. Her pen name Bitė (''Bee'') eventually became part of her last name. Encouraged by Povilas Višinskis, she joined public life and started ...

, Antanas Kriščiukaitis-Aišbė, and others.

Awards

* 1928 – awarded Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas, 3rd level * 1938 – awarded Order of Vytautas the Great, 2nd level * 1928 – awarded Crown Order by

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, 3rd level * 1939 – bust was built in

* 1981 – Martynas Jankus memorial museum was established in Bitėnai. In 1999 it was moved to the reconstructed Jankus printing house.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jankus, Martynas 1858 births 1946 deaths Lithuania Minor Lithuanian politicians Lithuanian ethnographers Lithuanian book smugglers Commander's Crosses of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas Members of the Council of Lithuania