The history of world diplomacy tells the story of international relations between states or of the foreign policy of one state during various periods. A diplomat’s biography, usually mentioning his family (parents, spouse, children), is also a valuable part of diplomacy’s history. The portrait of a diplomat’s spouse is often sparse, overshadowed by the personality of the diplomat, even though it is the diplomat’s wife who, as the person accompanying the diplomat, is his first helper, witness, and judge. The history of Lithuania’s diplomatic service, active during the Soviet occupation, reveals the unique destinies of diplomats and the circumstances of their exceptional activities, which have already inspired several monographs, articles, and source publications. But a deeper look compels paying respectful attention as well to these diplomats’ wives and their fates during this tragic period of Lithuanian history. That is why this article surveys at least briefly the biographies and activities of Marija RadzevičiūtėŽadeikienė, Regina Kašubaitė-Budrienė, Elena Taraškevičiūtė-Gerutienė, Vincenta Matulaitytė-Lozoraitienė and Daniela d‘Ercole-Lozoraitis, Ona Galvydaitė-Bačkienė, Janina Čiurlytė-Simutienė, Halina Jonė Narusevičiūtė-Žmuidzinienė, Gražina Ežbieta Gustaitytė-Krivickienė, Bronė Mėginaitė- Klimienė, Ona Viburytė-Kajeckienė and Jozefina Rauktytė-Daužvardienė, Stefanija Gervinaitė-Balickienė. These ladies provided not only strong moral support to their husbands but also were instrumental financially in helping to maintain independent Lithuania‘s diplomatic posts during the years of soviet occupation.

In early June of 1940 Lithuania‘s Foreign Minister Juozas Urbšys sent a telegram (No. 288) to Lithuania‘s missions abroad. The most often cited sentence from it is the last: “Should catastrophe strike us here, you are to regard Lozoraitis as the chief of our diplomatic service abroad, Klimas as the first deputy, and Šaulys as the second.” When the Soviets occupied Lithuania a few weeks later, this telegram fragment became the start of Lithuanian exile diplomacy. For more than six decades the Lithuanian Diplomatic Service (LDS ) was active abroad as the only remaining state institution of Lithuania. The telegram‘s last sentence, possibly just an afterthought, raises many questions even today. The archives of the diplomats themselves, recollections of their contemporaries, and Lithuanian historiography yield somewhat different versions of that telegram‘s text. Thus this article investigates the circumstances and motives surrounding the naming of the LDS Chief and his deputies as well as the problems involved in passing on these duties to others. Stasys Lozoraitis served as LDS Chief for more than 40 years. As his first deputy Petras Klimas was imprisoned and deported to Siberia, and the second, Dr. Jurgis Šaulys, died in 1948, Lozoraitis remained alone among the three persons mentioned in the telegram. The question of his succession and deputies was discussed several times in the ranks of the LDS itself. It was especially pressing in 1957 with the death of Povilas Žadeikis, Lithuania‘s envoy to Washington when Lozoraitis himself was slated to be his successor. But only in 1978 did Lozoraitis in a separate document name Dr. Stasys Antanas Bačkis as the LDS Chief‘s deputy and empower him to take over his duties in the case of his death.[...].