Joseph Ehret (18 October 1896 – 13 March 1984), also known as Juozas Eretas in Lithuania, was a Swiss literary historian, activist, and educator. He was the founder and first director of ELTA, the Lithuanian telegraph agency, and professor at Vytautas Magnus University from 1922 to 1940.
Ehret attended the University of Fribourg where he met members of the Lithuanian community. When his Lithuanian friend died of the Spanish flu, Ehret promised to take his place in the new nation. Ehret worked initially as a press officer for the Lithuanian government in Switzerland. He moved to Lithuania in 1919, where he set up ELTA and served as its director until 1922. As a representative of the Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party, Ehret was elected to the Second Seimas but resigned in October 1924.
He taught German language and literature at the Higher Courses which became Vytautas Magnus University in 1922. He continued to teach until the faculty of theology and philosophy was closed after the Soviet occupation of Lithuania in 1940. Ehret was active in several Catholic organizations. He joined the Lithuanian Catholic Temperance Society and established its youth branch Angelaičiai. He revived Pavasarininkai, a rural youth organization, and was its chairman from 1922 to 1928. He promoted temperance through sports and organized the (LFLS) and the . To further the goals of these organizations, he helped founding five Lithuanian periodicals. Ehret joined the Lithuanian Catholic Academy of Science (LKMA) and was its vice-chairman from 1931 to 1940.
In 1941, Ehret and his family fled Lithuania and returned to Switzerland, where he taught at a gymnasium and lectured for the Swiss army. He continued to participate in Lithuanian cultural life. He frequently wrote and spoke about the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states and advocated for the Baltic freedom.
Early life and education Joseph Ehret was born on 18 October 1896 in Basel, Switzerland. His father died when he was four years old. In 1915, despite financial difficulties, he graduated from a gymnasium in Basel and enrolled at the Catholic University of Fribourg to study German language and history, art, and philosophy. He also attended classes at the University of Basel and University of Lausanne.
In June 1916, he joined the Swiss Armed Forces. He graduated from a military school and became a lieutenant with the 22nd Infantry Regiment of the 4th Territorial Division. In December 1918, he defended his doctoral dissertation in philosophy about the Jesuit theater in Fribourg. It was published as in 1921.
His professors included the literary historian Josef Nadler. One of his professors encouraged him to study Lithuanian due to its archaic features and similarities to Sanskrit. Therefore, he became acquainted with Lithuanian students in Fribourg. He became friends with Stasys Šalkauskis, Kazys Pakštas, Vincas Mykolaitis-Putinas, and particularly with , a Lithuanian from the Klaipėda Region.
Early career Based on recommendation of the history professor Gustav Schnürer, Ehret started working at the Lithuanian Information Bureau, organized by Juozas Gabrys in Lausanne, in February 1918. Ehret and Ašmys edited and published the monthly German magazine Litauen and a number of information bulletins. In 1918, Ehret published a 500-page book (Lithuania in the Past, Present and Future) which was later translated to French.
In December 1918, Ašmys died of the Spanish flu. In his deathbed, Ašmys asked Ehret to take his place working for the benefit of Lithuania and to visit Lithuania for at least one year. Ehret had an invitation to teach German at the University of Padua, but agreed to Ašmys' request.
In early 1919, Ehret worked as a press specialist at the Lithuanian mission in Bern. In August 1919, he was invited by Juozas Purickis to the Lithuanian diplomatic mission in Berlin.
Interwar Lithuania
In interwar Lithuania, Ehret was active in the public/political life and in academic life. As years passed, Ehret shifted more towards the academic work.
Government roles Ehret arrived in Kaunas on 15 October 1919 and was appointed as a press advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs. In early 1920, Ehret established the ministry's Information Department and became its director. Under the ministry, he further established ELTA, the Lithuanian telegraph agency, on 1 April 1920 and served as its director until 4 February 1922, transferring his duties to Matas Šalčius. Ehret worked to establish contacts with foreign telegraph agencies. For that purpose, he traveled to Riga, Helsinki, Berlin, Paris.
In October 1920, during the Żeligowski's Mutiny, Ehret organized an evacuation of Lithuanian civil servants from Vilnius. Polish soldiers believed that Ehret was sent by the League of Nations as he wore his Swiss military uniform and spoke French. On 28 October 1920, he volunteered to join the Lithuanian Army. He was recognized as a lieutenant based on his Swiss military rank. He became an adjutant of Kazys Škirpa, commander of the 1st Volunteer Regiment (13th Infantry Regiment). He was discharged from the military at his own request on 14 January 1921. Ehret credited his experience at the regiment for inspiring him to work with the Lithuanian youth and later becoming the chairman of Pavasarininkai.
During the Lithuanian government's negotiations with Poland in Geneva and Brussels, Ehret served as a press officer. When Ehret visited Helsinki for ELTA's affairs, he was granted an audience with Rudolf Holsti, the Finish minister of foreign affairs. Using this opportunity, Ehret requested and received Finland's de jure recognition of independent Lithuania on 14 October 1921.
In June 1922, Ehret became a citizen of Lithuania. As a candidate of the Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party, he was elected to the Second Seimas (Lithuania's parliament) in the May 1923 election. He became a member of the Seimas' committee on education. During Seimas sessions, he spoke about 20 times, mostly as a representative of the Temperance Society on issues concerning alcohol production and consumption. He resigned from the Seimas on 1 October 1924. In a 1934 article, Stasys Šalkauskis claimed that Ehret was not successful in politics because he showed individualism and lacked political tact.
University professor In fall 1919, Ehret was invited to join the committee organizing the Higher Courses, the predecessor of Vytautas Magnus University. From January 1920, he taught the German language and literature at these courses. When the university was officially opened in 1922, Ehret became a professor in the faculty of theology and philosophy. He primarily taught the German language and literature, but also had classes in French literature, literary analysis, journalism. Ehret was well liked by his students as he was less formal and was able to deliver interesting, engaging, and dynamic lectures.
In 1931, the government significantly reduced the number of personnel in the faculty of theology and philosophy and dismissed 18 professors, including Ehret. He was dismissed from the university on 15 December 1931. He was brought back by rector in October 1932 but at a lower position of senior assistant (this position did not need government's approval). The new salary was low and Ehret received a stipend from the Lithuanian Catholic Academy of Science.
This dismissal of professors renewed calls for a separate Catholic university and Ehret became a secretary of a committee tasked with organizing such university. The university was ready to open in August 1932, but the government postponed it indefinitely.
Ehret joined the Lithuanian Catholic Academy of Science (LKMA) in October 1922. He was its vice-chairman from 1931 to 1940. He became a true academic members of LKMA in 1936. He worked to organize LKMA's conferences in 1933, 1936, and 1939, and publish their papers in LKMA suvažiavimo darbai (Works of LKMA Conferences). He also edited and organized the publication of a biographical dictionary of Lithuanians. A total of 2,638 biographies were prepared, but they were not published as LKMA agreed to cooperate with the publishers of the first Lithuanian encyclopedia.
Catholic activist Temperance Encouraged by Juozas Tumas-Vaižgantas, Ehret joined the reestablished Lithuanian Catholic Temperance Society which traced its traditions to the temperance brotherhood established by bishop Motiejus Valančius in 1850s. Ehret assisted with organizing the society's monthly (later biweekly) magazine Sargyba (The Guard) which was published in 1922–1934 and 1937–1939. In May 1922, Ehret represented the society at the temperance conference in Berlin.
In 1921, Ehret founded Angelaičiai, a children's wing under the temperance society which became an independent society 1931. He also worked to establish its newspaper Angelas sargas (Guardian Angel), which merged with Žvaigždutė (Little Star) in 1923.
Pavasarininkai Ehret revitalized and expanded Pavasarininkai (Spring Movement), the Catholic educational organization for rural youth. He was elected its chairman in 1922 replacing Leonas Bistras. In 1923, he established the newspaper Pavasarininkų vadas (Pavasarininkai Leader), which was reorganized and renamed to Jaunimo vadas (Youth Leader) in 1926. In 1925, together with others, he founded the Pavasaris People's University (a folk high school), which was later named after bishop Motiejus Valančius. In 1926, Ehret travelled to the 28th International Eucharistic Congress in Chicago and established contacts with the Knights of Lithuania.
Under Ehret, Pavasarininkai began organizing massive congresses. The first such congress was held in Šiauliai in July 1924 and attracted 7,000 people. It was accompanied by a song festival attended by 20 choirs and 970 singers. The anniversary conference in July 1927 (15 years since establishment) was particularly large; it was opened by President Antanas Smetona and was attended by guests from the Knights of Lithuania. It was accompanied by a sports competition (220 athletes), an exhibition of folk art (2,000 exhibits), and a parade that featured floats (a novelty in Lithuania).
However, the relationship between Pavasarininkai and the authoritarian regime of President Smetona was not friendly. The regime saw the Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party and various Catholic organizations as its opponents and limited their activities. Rumors had it that Ehret resigned as chairman in December 1928 to prevent complaints that Pavasarininkai were led by a non-Lithuanian and not due to poor health as officially claimed.
In 1932, the government did not grant a permit for the congress to mark the 20th anniversary of Pavasarininkai. Instead, groups organized regional gatherings and conferences. The one in Marijampolė featured speeches by Ehret, Pranas Dovydaitis, and Juozas Leimonas, in which they protested against various government restrictions. All three received three-month prison sentences for "inciting locals against the government." Ehret was imprisoned from 14 July to 7 September 1932 in Kaunas and later Marijampolė Prison.
Other At the university, Ehret supported Catholic student organizations. He participated in the activities of the university's chapter of the Ateitis Federation. In 1926, together with Vincas Mykolaitis-Putinas, he became the co-founder of the Šatrija art circle which fostered young writers. Ehret became the curator of the art circle in 1932. In interwar Lithuania, the circle had about 300 members, including future writers Antanas Vaičiulaitis, Salomėja Nėris, Bernardas Brazdžionis, and others.
In 1926, Ehret was elected to the board of the Catholic Action Center.
Sports