Mykolas Krupavičius

Mykolas Krupavičius (1 October 1885, Balbieriškis, Lithuania – 4 December 1970, Chicago, U.S.) was a Lithuanian priest and politician. He is best known for his involvement with the land reform in the interwar Lithuania. Krupavičius escaped the arrest and returned to Lithuania in May 1918. He joined activities of the Council of Lithuania struggling to establish independent Lithuania. From the very beginning, he was heavily involved with the land reform. After the 1926 Lithuanian coup d'état, the Lithuanian Nationalists Union usurped the political power and Krupavičius studied sociology, economics, and law at the Lille University and University of Toulouse for two years. Upon return in 1930 he resumed his duties as a priest and served Catholic congregations in Garliava, Veiveriai, and Kalvarija. During the occupation of Lithuania by Nazi Germany, Krupavičius together with Kazys Grinius and Jonas Pranas Aleksa sent a letter to the German authorities protesting their attempts to colonize Lithuania. Krupavičius was arrested and deported to Germany, where he was held under house arrest in a Carmelite monastery in Regensburg and served in such capacity for a decade. After the resignation he moved to the United States and largely retired from public life. Krupavičius published some 20 books on various topics in Lithuanian politics.