Birutė Plienaitytė-Šukienė

Birutė Plienaitytė-Šukienė (1922–1983) was born in Jurbarkas into a working-class farming (peasant) family. In 1941, her mother Sofija Škudzinskienė and her husband Petras Škudzinskas were deported. When Birutė came to the railway station to say goodbye to her mother, she was deported along with them. In July 1946, she escaped and returned to Lithuania, settling with her aunt in Kaunas. Her aunt helped her obtain a secondary school graduation certificate. In 1946, she began working at the State Central Library of the Lithuanian SSR in Kaunas. Initially, she worked as a library assistant, later as a librarian, and eventually as a methodologist in the Library Science Office. In June 1949, she applied for a position at the Library of Vilnius State University and was hired. She began working there as a librarian in July. Shortly after starting her employment at the University, she was arrested for residing illegally in Lithuania. In September, she was dismissed from her position for absence from work. From 1949, she was imprisoned in Kaunas. There, she had a forged midwifery certificate and worked as a surgical assistant in prison. In 1952, she was deported again to Komi. Birutė Plienaitytė-Šukienė returned from exile in 1958.