Jadvyga Tūbelienė (née Chodakauskaitė) (January 11, 1891 – October 4, 1988) was one of the founders of the Lithuanian Women's Council, a writer, journalist, head of the Information Bureau in Bern and Paris, and Deputy Chief of Mission to Switzerland. She was also married to Juozas Tūbelis, the longest-standing Prime Minister of Lithuania. She was involved in many charity organizations and is considered one of the most influential women in interwar Lithuania. Jadvyga was a member of the Chodakowski noble family.
Early life and education (1891–1909)
Jadvyga Chodakauskaitė was born on January 11, 1891, at Gavėnonys Estate, near in Pakruojis District, to Antanas Chodakauskas (1850–1925) and Maria-Joanna Chodakowska (1852–1910). She had two older brothers, Romanas Chodakauskas (1883–1932) and Tadas Chodakauskas (1889–1959), and one older sister, Sofija Smetonienė (1884–1968).
Jadvyga was baptized on February 17, 1891, by the pastor of Pašvitinys St Trinity Church, Juozas Rimkevičius. The godparents were Donatas Jasienskis (brother-in-law of the playwright Gabrielius Landsbergis and the father-in-law of the writer Pranas Mašiotas) and Teofilia Chodakauskaitė (born 1856) (Jadvyga's aunt).From Jadvyga Chodakauskaitė's Baptismal Record
Jelgava (1899-1905) Jadvyga began studying at Jelgava Girl's Gymnasium when she was eight.
When she was in her second or third form, the 1905 Russian Revolution broke out. Revolutionary fervour found its way into the halls of the gymnasium and Jadvyga “got involved in all that mayhem.” In a later interview, Jadvyga said:"A revolution started in Russia and the pupils started to riot, throwing stink bombs at the portraits of the Tsar in our school. We were all wildly passionate and somehow I got involved in all that mayhem. The principal grabbed me by the arm, and she said: “Aren’t you ashamed? A manor girl entering into league with Latvians and Jews? A school inspector arrived from Petrograd to question… us to find out why the riots occurred in the schools of Mintauja. The entire class chose me as the spokesperson, to accuse the principal and all of the teachers. I agreed and I stood up in front of everyone and rhymed off the list of accusations. It was all down to freedom. The thirst for freedom was very much alive then. After that my parents received a confidential notice to collect me from school. My mother came to take me home. I have to give my parents credit for not scolding me or asking me anything. They gathered up my belongings and took me back to the farm."1972 09 07 „Amerikos balso“ žurnalisto J. Blekaičio interviu su Jadvyga Chodakauskaite- Tūbeliene, LCVA, Garso ir videodokumentų skyrius, saugojimo vnt. Mg 011583.
Vilnius (1905-1909) Jadvyga was sent to Vilnius to study at the private Vera Prozorovienė Gymnasium. She attended classes in religion, Russian, German, Latin, French, history, geography, algebra, arithmetic, geometry, writing, drawing, and singing, and from the fifth grade onwards, physics and chemistry.Jakubavičienė, Ingrida (2020). Portretas. Vilnius: Tyto alba. p. 71. She graduated in 1909, winning the gold medal.
Jadvyga was interested in history and was fluent in foreign languages; in her parents’ house, she spoke Polish (with a Warsaw dialect), German and later Lithuanian. Later in life, Jadvyga would learn flawless Russian, French, and English. Jadvyga also loved music and art. She did not, however, enjoy reading or writing.Jakubavičienė, Ingrida (2020). Portretas. Vilnius: Tyto alba. p. 169.
While studying in Vilnius, Jadvyga lived with her sister Sofija Smetonienė at the ‘Smetona House'. As a major gathering place for the most prominent actors in the National Revival Movement, almost every evening, political debate took place and Lithuanian musicians came to play and sing. Living in the Smetona home meant that from her youth, Jadvyga met many Lithuanian intellectuals and heard political debate. One of the people she met was Smetona’s school friend and her future husband, Juozas Tūbelis (1882–1939). According to Jadvyga:"It was a great centre of Lithuanian activity, Smetona’s house. Everybody came there, all kinds of parties"Jadvyga attended the first Lithuanian opera Birutė by playwright Gabrielius Landsbergis-Žemkalnis and composer Mikas Petrauskas. It was shown on November 6, 1906, in the current Lithuanian National Philharmonic in Vilnius.Jakubavičienė, Ingrida (2020). Portretas. Vilnius: Tyto alba. p. 73.
St. Petersburg (1909-1915)
Between 1909 and 1915, Jadvyga studied history and classical philology, first at the Woman's High School and then at the Bestuzhev Courses, both in St. Petersburg. She had wanted to study art at the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg, but her parents had strongly objected. St. Petersburg had a large number of Lithuanian students, making the city a major centre of Lithuanian activity. During her studies, Jadvyga taught Lithuanian language classes and Lithuanian history at a gymnasium for Lithuanian refugees. As a student, she worked on the editorial board of the Lietuviu Balsas (en: ‘Lithuanian Voice’).
At the time, Augustinas Voldemaras (1883–1942) was a professor at St. Petersburg Imperial University. Voldemaras lent Jadvyga books that were not available to buy and were otherwise unobtainable, even by Jadvyga's professors. Jadvyga knew Voldemaras well, as Voldemaras was a good friend of her brother-in-law, Antanas Smetona.
Jadvyga went to the theatre often in St. Petersburg. As she would later tell it:"I probably spent more time at the theatre, more than at the university. One didn’t need to study to see performances. We didn’t have much money, but I found legitimate and illegitimate ways to see all the operas, and the ones that Chaliapin sang in, I saw several times."In 1915, she graduated from the Bestuzhev Courses for women.
In 1917, Jadvyga passed the state examinations at Petrograd University (earlier called St. Petersburg Imperial University) and received her diploma.Eidintas, Alfonsas (2015). Antanas Smetona and his Lithuania. Boston: Brill Rodopi. p. 206. Jadvyga gave a lecture course on French Revolutionary History. The university suggested she remain as an assistant, with the view to becoming a teacher.
However, after the October 1917 coup in St. Petersburg, the Bolsheviks began to transform the tsarist Russian administration. This affected the entire education system. As the Council of Lithuania increasingly sought the country's independence, some Lithuanian intellectuals working in Russia were looking to participate in the creation of the new state.
Jadvyga decided not to work at the university and instead returned to Lithuania through Sweden. She was accompanied by a young lawyer, Tadas Petkevičius.
On the Road to Independence (1917-1919)
Vilnius (1917-1918) Back in Vilnius, Jadvyga first worked as the secretary at the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs headed by Voldemaras.Jakubavičienė, Ingrida (2014). Seserys. Vilnius: Versus aureus. p. 52. She was then commissioned by the Council of Lithuania to organize the publication of the Lithuanian newspaper 'Das Neue Litauen’ in the German language in Berlin. In Jadvyga’s own words:"I returned to Lithuania while it was still occupied by the Germans. The Council was waiting to find someone to go to Germany and start a newspaper that would defend Lithuanian’s interests in Germany. It would be an important newspaper because we needed to convey our message to the West. When I came back, my name was put forward for this task. Smetona talked me into going and explained what to do. So I was in great spirits when I left."
Berlin (1918-1919) The task of ‘Das Neue Litauen’ was to win over public opinion in Germany and Lithuania for the establishment of a Lithuanian state under German control.
As it had definite political aims, the newspaper's content was heavily censored by the German authorities. Jadvyga sometimes wrote articles that were not looked on kindly by the owners of the journal. One time, in Jadvyga's words, the German-Baltic baron Friedrich von der Ropp (1879–1964), who had established ‘Das Neue Litauen’, came to her and said:“Verggesse sie nicht (en: do not forget) that we are in a time of war and that you are in Germany. You are in Berlin. Do you know what it means this?” - he took a copy of Das Neue Litauen from the desk - "you are the rédacteur, do you know what this means, this little black triangle on the upper right corner of the front page?” So, I told him, “It’s my paper, but I never paid it any attention. I have never noticed this triangle before.” “I will explain very well what it is!” he said, “It means that this magazine has the approval of the foreign office.” I believed him that it was so, but I didn’t know anything about it. This article which I wrote myself, this long article about the German occupation of Lithuania, and how they mishandled the people."On at least one occasion, to the great displeasure of Baron von der Ropp, Jadvyga took an article that contained opinions von der Ropp would have disapproved of, to Vorwätts, the socialist paper, to have published.
Smuggling the Act of Independence into Germany (1918) When Lithuania declared Independence on February 16, 1918, Germany (who was still the occupying power in Lithuania) did not support such a declaration and hindered any attempts to establish the proclaimed independence. It was important that the Council of Lithuania announce the declaration to the world and so Jadvyga was assigned the task of taking the Act to Berlin as quickly as possible so that the news would spread abroad.
Jadvyga translated the Act into German and secretly gave it to her friend, Oscar Wöhrle (1890–1946), the editor of Zeitung der Zehnten Armee, who carried it to Berlin the following day.
The Declaration first appeared in the German press:Eidintas, Alfonsas (2015). Antanas Smetona and his Lithuania. Boston: Brill Rodopi. p. 307. first in Das neue Litauen, in Vossiche Zeitung on February 18, 1918, and in Tägliche Rundschau on February 19, 1918. A bit later, it made the press in the United States.
Duke Wilhelm Von Urach and Lithuania (1918)
Source:Jakubavičienė, Ingrida (2014). Seserys. Vilnius: Versus aureus. p. 59.
The Declaration of Independence did not, however, alter German occupational rule. One possibility Germany was considering was to annex Lithuania to the German lands of Prussia or Saxony. The Council of Lithuania was forced to act quickly to rescue the fledgling state. It decided to set up relations with the Catholic State of Württemberg and to invite the Prince of Württemberg, Wilhelm Karl, Duke of Urach to become the King of Lithuania, Mindaugas II. Through such a decision, the Council sought to avoid potential annexation.
A Lithuanian delegation was sent to Germany to negotiate with Duke Wilhelm Von Urach. They drafted a twelve-point list of conditions that the Duke had to accept before his election. The Duke promised that he would learn the Lithuanian language and live in Lithuania full time.
On June 4, 1918, the Presidium of the Council of Lithuania voted confidentially to establish the hereditary Kingdom of Lithuania. The Lithuanian legation delivered the decision and list of conditions to Duke Wilhelm Karl and his son and heir apparent Karl Gero, Duke of Urach.
They accepted it on July 1.
The signed document then had to be smuggled back to Lithuania. The task was given to Jadvyga.