Jonas Cesna papers

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: IHRC431

Staff Only

Abstract

Papers (1950-1974) of Jonas Cesnas, a Lithuanian American, include his own writings and material on Polish Lithuanian disputes.

Dates

Creation: 1950-1974

Creator

Cesna, Jonas, 1897-1975 (Person)

Language of Materials

Lithuanian

ACCESS RESTRICTIONS

Open for use in the Elmer L. Andersen Library reading room.

OWNERSHIP & LITERARY RIGHTS

This collection may be protected by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S. Code). It is the user's responsibility to verify copyright ownership and to obtain all necessary permissions prior to the reproduction, publication, or other use of any portion of these materials. Researchers may quote from the collection under the fair use provision of the copyright law.

For further information regarding the copyright, please contact the IHRCA.

HISTORICAL SKETCH

Jonas Cesna (1897-1975) was born in Lithuania and educated in Ukraine. He fought for Ukrainian independence, was captured by the Poles, and spent time in a POW camp. In 1922, he returned to Lithuania where he attended military school and then became a captain in the cavalry. In 1940 when the Russians occupied Lithuania, he served in the "29th October Territorial Corps," until it was disbanded during the German occupation of Lithuania in 1941. In 1944 Cesna escaped to Germany and in 1949 came to the United States with his family. He maintained close ties with the Provisional Ukrainian Government in Exile and also preserved the historical archives of the Defense of the Fatherland Detachment (Tevynes Apsaugos Rinktine) with which he had fought. His final years were spent in St. Paul, Minn., with his wife Kotryna and daughter Liuda.