Fonds 577 - Leopoldas Balsys fonds

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Leopoldas Balsys fonds

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    Fonds

    Reference code

    CA ON00161 577

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    Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)

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    Date(s)

    • 1943-1948, 2003 (Creation)

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    Physical description

    25 cm of textual records 3 maps

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    Name of creator

    Biographical history

    Leopoldas Balsys, born 1918-1-6 in Nikolajev, Ukraine, died 1987-10-24 in Toronto, Canada, was a naval engineer and a community leader. Balsys was brought to Lithuania in 1921 when his parents returned there. After 2 years of studies at Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas (1935-1937), he received a scholarship from the Lithuanian government to study naval architecture and marine engineering in Germany, where he attended the Berlin Technische Hochschule (Berlin Institute of Technology) from 1937-1941. He worked as research assistant at Berlin Technische Hochschule from 1941 until 1945 when it was closed by the Allies at the end of WWII. Married Vanda Neniškytė (b. 1920-7-13, d. 1965-4-12) in 1944, with whom he had two children. Balsys was chairman of the Lithuanian Central Education Welfare Board in Schleswig-Holstein for Lithunain DP’s (displaced persons) 1945-1946, and was then appointed the one of two representatives for all Lithuanian DP’s on the Baltic Central Advisory Council in British zone of occupied Germany (1946-1948). Balsys left Germany for Holland with his family in 1948 having received a job offer from a Dutch shipyard. He eventually immigrated to Canada by way of England. In Canada Balsys worked as an engineer until his retirement and was active in the development of industry standards with the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction and the Canadian Standards Association. He was also active in the Lithuanian community in Canada serving as president of the Montreal branch of the Lithuanian Canadian Community and as a leader for the Lithuanian Sea Scouts in Montreal.

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    Scope and content

    Fonds contains:

    • personal documents of Leopoldas Balsys including identity papers, immigration documents, correspondence and employment related papers;
    • numerous documents relating to Balsys’ role as the representative of all Lithuanian displaced persons (DP’s) in the British zone of occupied Germany on the Baltic Central Advisory Committee (1946-1948) as well as on other committees, such as the Lithuanian Central Board and the DP Navigation and Sea-Engineering School in Flensburg;
    • documents relating to Kazys Škirpa (b. 1895-2-18, d. 1979-8-18) including correspondence with and on behalf of Balsys, copies of letters written by Škirpa to Nazi officials including Friedrich Olbricht, Werner von Grundherr, Otto Bräutigam and Hans Heinrich Lammers, typewritten copy of memorandum written to Nazi authorities by Škirpa 1944-2-5 arguing the case for Lithuanian independence, for which Škirpa was later imprisoned by the Nazis;
    • copy of research paper written by Peter Ernest Baltutis in 2003, entitled “Lithuanian Displaced Persons in the British Zone of Germany, 1945-1948: A Case Study of the Lithuanian Central Board and the Baltic Central Advisory Council”, based primarily on documents found in the Leopoldas Balsys fonds; and
    • three maps including two showing locations of Lithuanian DP’s in Germany.

    Notes area

    Physical condition

    Immediate source of acquisition

    Received in 1999 from Lydia Balsys, wife of Leopoldas Balsys, and Peter Baltutis in 2003.

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        Open

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        None

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        General note

        Most documents in Lithuanian, English and German, with some in French.

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