Memorial plaque for Martynas Jankus

On 6 July 2014 in Klaipėda there was unveiled a memorial plaque, dedicated to signatory of the Act of Tilsit, typographer, publicist, public figure of Lithuania Minor Martynas Jankus. Memorial board is bricked into the wall of the house, in which M. Jankus in 1909-1912 worked and lived. There also    
a printing-house of M.Jankus „Lituanika“ operated. At that time the house‘s address was Didžiosios Smilties str. 13 (in German – GroseSandschtrasse 13). The house itself has not survived, now in it‘s place there is located the current building (Šaulių str. 5).
The authors of the memorial plaque – architect Adomas Skiezgelas and sculptor Rimantas Eidėjus.
Martynas Jankus was born 07.08.1858 in Bitėnai (Šilutė region). A young man, who came from quite poor, but diligent and regular family, himself was able to learn a lot of languages and acquire literary knowledge. While reading German scientific works M. Jankus decided that these texts must be available and to Lithuanian speaking people. For illegal activity, which was unacceptable for German government, he was probably 40 times punished by arrest and fines. M.Jankus all his assets and cash income devoted to the press publishing and distribution. He actively sought to connect Klaipėda region to the Great Lithuania, therefore he was called the Patriarch of Lithuania Minor. He, being a public figure of Lithuania Minor loyal to Lithuania, in 1920 was included in the Lithuanian Council and participated in the propaganda activity when Lithuania was preparing to join the Klaipėda region by force. In the end of 1922 M.Jankus became a President of so called Chief Committee for Rescue of Lithuania Minor, which by it‘s activity disguised Lithuania‘s participation in the uprising of Klaipėda. Klaipėda city‘s Deputy Mayor Vytautas Čepas, participating in ceremony of unveiling of this memorial plaque, said: „M. Jankus kept for us all what we have now. His scrupulous work formed the basis for the fact that we speak and write in Lithuanian -freely“. Deputy Mayor stressed that signatory of the Act of Tilsit regarding understanding of his identity did not have any problem, which have the current generations, considering themselves sometimes as the Europeans, sometimes – as Lithuanians, and sometimes –as citizens of the world.