Petras Juodelis

Petras Juodelis (1909–1975) was born in Aukštadvaris, Trakai County. He studied at Kaunas “Aušros” Gymnasium. In 1931, he enrolled in the Faculty of Humanities at Vytautas Magnus University, where he studied the history of Lithuanian, Polish, and Russian literature, as well as general history, art history, and the history of philosophy. He worked as a Lithuanian language teacher at several schools: in 1932–1935, at the private Jewish Progymnasium in Virbalis; in 1935–1939, at the State Gymnasium in Panevėžys; and in 1939–1940, at State Gymnasium No. 4 in Vilnius. From July to December 1940, he served as Director of the Department of Culture at the Ministry of Education. Between 1940 and 1941, he was Head of the Office for Artistic Affairs, and from May to June 1941, Director of the Pedagogical Cabinet of the People’s Commissariat for Education. He then worked from 1941 to 1944 as a librarian at the Vilnius Art Museum and Head of the Department of Graphic Arts and History. From June to October 1944, he was Head of the Art Department of the Office for Artistic Affairs. From 1944 to 1945, he was Head of the Old Vilnius Department at the Vilnius State Art Museum, and from February 1945, Deputy Director of the same museum. In August 1944, he began working at Vilnius State University as a senior lecturer at the Faculty of History and Philology. In 1945, he served as Head of the Department of Polish Language and Literature at the same faculty. He taught at the University until 1946, when he was arrested and deported to Komi for active resistance to the Soviet occupation regime. Petras Juodelis returned to Lithuania in 1959.