Petras Polekauskas (19 April or 9 May 1909 – 12 April 1965) was a Lithuanian officer of the

Lithuanian Army The Lithuanian Armed Forces () are the military of Lithuania. The Lithuanian Armed Forces consist of the Lithuanian Land Forces, the Lithuanian Naval Force and the Lithuanian Air Force. In wartime, the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service (wh ...

, the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

's 29th Rifle Corps and then the

Lithuanian Auxiliary Police Battalions The Lithuanian Auxiliary Police Battalions were Schutzmannschaft battalions formed during the German occupation of Lithuania between 1941 and 1944, with the first battalions originating from the most reliable freedom fighters that were disbanded ...

formed by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. He is notable for ordering the

Glinciszki massacre The Glinciszki massacre or the Glitiškės massacre (; ) was a mass murder of Polish civilians by the German-subordinated 258th Lithuanian Police Battalion, committed on 20 June 1944 in the Glitiškės village (; in interwar Second Polish Republi ...

of 39 Polish civilians in June 1944. Initially in the

post-war In Western usage, the phrase post-war era (or postwar era) usually refers to the time since the end of World War II. More broadly, a post-war period (or postwar period) is the interval immediately following the end of a war. A post-war period c ...

, Polekauskas was a

refugee A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

due to the Soviet re-occupation of Lithuania in 1944–1945. In the 1950s, he emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, where he settled down, created a family and owned a local business in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

. Polekauskas killed himself in 1965.

Early life and career

Polekauskas was born in 1909, either on April 19 or May 9. His obituary states that he was born in

Marijampolė Marijampolė (; also known by several other names) is a cultural and industrial city and the capital of the Marijampolė County in the south of Lithuania, bordering Poland and Russian Kaliningrad Oblast, and Lake Vištytis. The population of Mari ...

, although another source gives his birthplace as

Vilkaviškis Vilkaviškis () is a city in southwestern Lithuania, the administrative center of the Vilkaviškis District Municipality. It is located northwest from Marijampolė, at the confluence of of and rivers. The city got its name from the Vilkau ...

. He studied at the and Kaunas Jesuit Gymnasium. On 27 August 1931, Polekauskas graduated from the

Marijampolė Gymnasium Marijampolė Rygiškių Jonas Gymnasium ( lt, Marijampolės Rygiškių Jono gimnazija) is a secondary school in Marijampolė, Lithuania. It is named after Rygiškių Jonas, one of the pen names of linguist Jonas Jablonskis who was one of the gymn ...

. On 15 September 1933, Polekauskas graduated from the cavalry section of the 15th class of the

War School of Kaunas War School of Kaunas ( lt, Kauno karo mokykla) was a military school for junior officers in Kaunas, the temporary capital of Lithuania. It was established in January 1919 during the Lithuanian Wars of Independence copying the example of Russian 4- ...

. He served in the 1st Hussar Regiment until 1940. Polekauskas held the rank of

sub-lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...

. He was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

on 31 December 1936. On 28 September 1937, he joined

Vytautas Magnus University Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) ( lt, Vytauto Didžiojo universitetas (VDU)) is a public university in Kaunas, Lithuania. The university was founded in 1922 during the interwar period as an alternate national university. Initially it was known ...

's law faculty. Lithuanian Army officer Petras Polekauskas

World War II

On 16 May 1940, Polekauskas was moved to the 2nd Uhlan Regiment and was made commander of the 3rd squadron. When the Soviet Union occupied Lithuania and liquidated its army, Polekauskas was made the commander of the

anti-aircraft battery Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes Surface-to-air m ...

of the

29th Territorial Rifle Corps 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...

' 26th Cavalry Regiment. When the

German invasion of the Soviet Union Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...

started on 22 June 1941, Polekauskas left the Red Army. During the

German occupation of Lithuania during World War II The military occupation of Lithuania by Nazi Germany lasted from the German invasion of the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941 to the end of the Battle of Memel on January 28, 1945. At first the Germans were widely welcomed as liberators from the re ...

, Polekauskas served in the

. During 16-25 July 1941, Polekauskas served in the Vilnius garrison's 2nd Defence Regiment. From August 1941, he commanded one of the three companies of the 15th "Gardinas" Lithuanian Auxiliary Police Battalion. With his company, he was sent all over Byelorussia and north-eastern Lithuania. From May 1942, Petras Polekauskas was the adjutant of the 254th Lithuanian Auxiliary Police Battalion's commander. In early 1944, based on the unit's surviving orders, Petras Polekauskas was the commander of the Assembly Company () of the 258th Battalion. On 20 June 1944, Petras Polekauskas ordered 50 soldiers, roughly half of 3rd Company of the 258th Lithuanian Auxiliary Police Battalion, to commit the Glitiškės massacre. When a second Soviet occupation of Lithuania seemed imminent, Petras Polekauskas fled to Germany in 1944.

Post-war

Polekauskas remained in

until 1951, sharing the fate of tens of thousands of refugees from Lithuania. From there, he emigrated to the USA. On 18 February 1951, Polekauskas set sail from the port of

Bremerhaven Bremerhaven (, , Low German: ''Bremerhoben'') is a city at the seaport of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms a semi-enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the Riv ...

onboard the USNS General Harry Taylor, among a crowd of similar emigrants from

Central and Eastern Europe Central and Eastern Europe is a term encompassing the countries in the Baltics, Central Europe, Eastern Europe and Southeast Europe (mostly the Balkans), usually meaning former communist states from the Eastern Bloc and Warsaw Pact in Europe. ...

. He arrived in New York on March 3 and settled permanently in

. Polekauskas struggled to settle down in US. He was granted

American citizenship Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constituti ...

on 10 April 1959. In Hartford, Polekauskas met his wife, Alena Levytė-Polekauskienė, also from Lithuania, and started a family. Together, they bought a

coffeehouse A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-ca ...

cafeteria A cafeteria, sometimes called a canteen outside the U.S., is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or school ...

in 1960 and lived rather well. Polekauskas was active in Hartford's Lithuanian community, belonged to the local Lithuanian Roman Catholic parish and the local section of the Lithuanian War Veterans' Association (, abbreviated as ) "Ramovė".

Death

Polekauskas killed himself on 12 April 1965 in Middletown, Connecticut. Two men said they saw him jump off the

Arrigoni Bridge The Arrigoni Bridge, also known locally as the Portland Bridge is a steel through arch bridge carrying Route 66 and Route 17 across the Connecticut River, connecting Middletown, Connecticut to Portland, Connecticut. When it opened in 1938, the ...

into the

Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges at Long Island ...

. His body was found in the water several days later. In Polekauskas's obituary, he was described as "pleasant and accommodating" and that he was nostalgically longing for his native land.

Family life

His wife was Alena Levytė-Polekauskienė, whom he met in Hartford. He also had a sister, Marija Stalauskienė, who remained in Lithuania.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{Cite book , last=Žalienė , first=Dalia , title=Lietuvos kariuomenės karininkai (1918-1953) , publisher=

National Museum of Lithuania The National Museum of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos nacionalinis muziejus), established in 1952, is a state-sponsored historical museum that encompasses several significant structures and a wide collection of written materials and artifacts. It also or ...

, year=2006 , isbn=978-9955-415-67-1 , volume=VI , location=Vilnius , pages=146 , language=lt 1909 births 1965 suicides 1965 deaths 29th Territorial Rifle Corps personnel People from Marijampolė County People from Suwałki Governorate Lithuanian Army officers Lithuanian Auxiliary Police Lithuanian collaborators with Nazi Germany Lithuanian mass murderers Lithuanian refugees in the United States Naturalized citizens of the United States Suicides by jumping in the United States Suicides in Connecticut War criminals of World War II