Vladas Mieželis (November 27, 1894 – June 4, 1986) was a

Lithuanian Lithuanian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Lithuania, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe ** Lithuanian language ** Lithuanians, a Baltic ethnic group, native to Lithuania and the immediate geographical region ** L ...

brigadier general, lawyer, military judge of the

Supreme Tribunal of Lithuania The Supreme Tribunal of Lithuania () was the highest court in interwar Lithuania. Officially established in December 1918, the court held its first proceedings in August 1919. Initially, it served as an appeals court for cases first decided by the ...

, and Chairman of the

Lithuanian Armed Forces The Lithuanian Armed Forces () are the military of Lithuania. The Lithuanian Armed Forces consist of the Lithuanian Land Forces, the Lithuanian Navy, the Lithuanian Air Force and the Lithuanian Special Operations Force. In wartime, the Li ...

Court.

Early years

Mieželis was born on November 27, 1894, in Jakštai, Daugailiai County, Russian Empire. His parents were farmers. He graduated from A. Lebedev's Private Gymnasium in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. In 1916 Mieželis began studying at

Moscow University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, and six branches. Al ...

, but was

mobilized Mobilization (alternatively spelled as mobilisation) is the act of assembling and readying military troops and supplies for war. The word ''mobilization'' was first used in a military context in the 1850s to describe the preparation of the ...

into the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

. In 1917 after graduating from Alexander II's War School in Moscow, he fought on the front. In 1918 he was demobilized and lived in

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

. In 1919 he was mobilized as an

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

into the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

. He served on the Southern and Caucasus fronts and in the Reserve Army. In 1921 he was an inspector of the Eleventh Army, Assistant Commander of the Territorial Brigade of the

Azerbaijani Red Army Azerbaijani Red Army (; , abbreviated as AzKA), also known as the Red Army of Azerbaijan (), was a field army of the pro-Bolshevik Red Army in the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic during the Russian Civil War. History Initial developm ...

. On June 6, 1921, he became ill with

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

Interwar Lithuania

In November 1921 Mieželis illegally returned to

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

, and was mobilized into the

in 1922. In 1922–23 he was Assistant Clerk of the Military Court, in 1923–26 – Clerk. In 1926 he graduated from the Faculty of Law of the

University of Lithuania Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) (, VDU) is a public university in Kaunas, Lithuania. The university was founded in 1922 during the Polish–Lithuanian War, interwar period as an alternate national university. Initially it was known as the Univ ...

. In 1926–38 he worked in the Lithuanian Armed Forces Court. In 1928–34 he lectured at the military school, in 1932–1936 – at the Higher Military School. In 1933–1938 he also was a military

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

of the

(1933–36 – temporarily). In 1938 he was awarded the military rank of brigadier general. In 1938–1940 he was Chairman of the Lithuanian Armed Forces Court. Mieželis contributed to the preparation of the military justice project. Moreover, he collaborated with journals ''Kardas'', ''

Mūsų žinynas ''Mūsų žinynas'' () was a Lithuanian-language military journal published by the Ministry of National Defence (Lithuania), Lithuanian Ministry of Defence in Kaunas from 1921 to 1940. In total, 184 issues were published in the interwar Lithuania. T ...

'', ''Teisė'', and the

Lithuanian Encyclopedia Lithuanian encyclopedias are encyclopedias published in the Lithuanian language or encyclopedias about Lithuania and Lithuania-related topics. The first known attempt to create a Lithuanian encyclopedia was in 1883, when Jonas Jacevičius failed t ...

Occupations and World War II

Following the

Soviet occupation of Lithuania The occupation of the Baltic states was a period of annexation of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania by the Soviet Union from 1940 until its dissolution in 1991. For a period of several years during World War II, Nazi Germany occupied the Baltic st ...

in June 1940, Mieželis was released into the reserve on June 6, 1940. He went into hiding to avoid

political repression Political repression is the act of a state entity controlling a citizenry by force for political reasons, particularly for the purpose of restricting or preventing the citizenry's ability to take part in the political life of a society, thereby ...

s. In 1941 Mieželis was a participant of the

June Uprising in Lithuania The June Uprising () was a brief period in late June 1941 between the first Soviet and the Nazi occupations. A year prior, on June 15, 1940, the Red Army occupied Lithuania and established the unpopular Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic, w ...

(worked at headquarters). During the German Nazis occupation of Lithuania in 1941, he was the representative of the Lithuanian

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

to assist the victims of the war, and in 1941–44 he was a judge of the Court of Appeal. He was engaged in the anti-Nazi resistance.

Emigration

In 1944 he emigrated to

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 ...

. In 1949 he moved to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and actively participated in the activities of the Lithuanian community in the United States.

Legacy

In 1994 a memorial chapel for Mieželis was erected in Jakštai and a permanent exposition was set up in the

Zarasai Zarasai () is a city in northeastern Lithuania, surrounded by many lakes and rivers: to the southwest of the city is Lake Zarasas, to the northLake Zarasaitis, to the southeastLake Baltas, and the eastLake Griežtas. Lakes Zarasaitis and Griežtas ...

Regional Museum.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miezelis, Vladas 1894 births 1986 deaths Lithuanian generals 20th-century Lithuanian lawyers