Straipsnyje analizuojama Lietuvos pasiuntinybėje prie Šventojo Sosto dirbusio Stasio Lozoraičio (jaunesniojo) ir Juozo Urbšio, iki sovietų okupacijos ėjusio Lietuvos Respublikos užsienio reikalų ministro pareigas, tarpusavio korespondencija. Lietuvos centriniame valstybės archyve saugoma 43 lapų apimties byla „Lietuvos atstovo prie Šventojo Sosto S. Lozoraičio jaunesniojo susirašinėjimo su J. Urbšiu leidinių persiuntimo ir asmeniniais klausimais dokumentai“ iki šiol nėra skelbta ir plačiau netyrinėta. Straipsnio tikslas yra į akademinę aplinką įtraukti iki šiol nepublikuotus šaltinius, juos išanalizuoti, interpretuoti bei įvardyti tarp eilučių minimus asmenis, įvykius, pakomentuoti jų aplinkybes ir taip parodyti Lietuvos diplomatinės tarnybos (LDT) neafišuojamus ryšius su okupuota Lietuva šaltojo karo metais. 1977–1983 m. dviejų diplomatų tarpusavio korespondencija liudija apie šiapus ir anapus geležinės uždangos buvusių Lietuvos diplomatų ir jų artimųjų kasdienybę, neutralias pokalbių temas, atskleidžia ironišką požiūrį į sovietinę sistemą. Per pagrindinį dialogą apie siunčiamas ir gaunamas knygas atsiskleidžia perduodama abiem pusėms svarbi informacija apie Vatikano radijo laidas ir permainos LDT. Laiškai parodo korespondentų požiūrį į knygas, istoriją, lituanistiką, memuaristiką bei abiejų viltį ir optimizmą, tikėjimą geresne krašto ateitimi.

Nearly 50 years of the history of Lithuania’s consulate general in Chicago are closely tied to the figures of the diplomats Dr. Petras Povilas Daužvardis and his wife Juzefa Rauktytė-Daužvardienė. Archival documents show that in 1970, a year before Dr. P. P. Daužvardis’s passing, the Lithuanian legation in Washington, D.C. with the knowledge of the U.S. State Department raised the issue of joining the legation and the consulates general in Chicago and New York into a single entity. The arguments offered by Consul General Dr. P. P. Daužvardis gave precedence to the question of personnel over the question of finances and helped save the diplomatic post in Chicago from being abolished. More than a month before the consul general’s death (September 26, 1971), the Supreme Committee for the Liberation of Lithuania (VLIK) became concerned with the question of who would become the chief of the consulate general in Chicago. Thanks to Dr. P. P. Daužvardis’s arguments and the support given them by the head of the Lithuanian Diplomatic Service and the consuls general in New York and Toronto, it was J. Rauktytė-Daužvardienė who was named the Lithuanian honorary consul general in Chicago after her husband’s death.

In 1944 S. Lozoraitis Junior joined the Lithuanian diplomatic service (LDT). The LDT was recognized by the Free World, it was a continuation of Lithuania’s statehood. For many years, he worked in the Embassy of the Holy See. S. Lozoraitis Junior continued his diplomatic career in Washington. Several documents are in the funds of the Lithuanian Emigration Institute of Vytautas Magnus University (VMU): S. Lozoraitis Junior’s letters, pro memorias (the largest archival data on its diplomatic activities is found in the Lithuanian Central State Archives). The purpose of the text is not to reconstruct the activities of S. Lozoraitis Junior, or to follow his steps (which essentially coincide with the activities of the entire Lithuanian diplomatic service in 1940–1991), but to highlight the motives of his choices and decisions (according to documents from VMU). The chronological boundaries are shifted within the framework of LDT activities 1991. The text touches upon the Lithuanian-Polish relationship, the attitude of S. Lozoraitis Junior to the exile government, to other topicalities. As a conclusion, S. Lozoraitis Junior, like the whole LDT, did not change his fundamental positions. But he tried to stir up the stagnation. His ideas were an insightful.

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.