4. IN THE WAVES OF WAR
The Captain on the transfer of the Klaipėda Region to Germany on 22 March 1939: I must say that we were overwhelmed by sudden and unpleasant events. With the loss of our port, many of our hopes and maritime ideas perished. (B. Krikštopaitis By Sea Routes, 1979, Chicago)
Even after the outbreak of the war, the steamship “Kaunas”, commanded by B. Krikštopaitis, transported Lithuanian products to Belgium and the Netherlands. On the night of 17 November 1939, while anchored in the North Sea, “Kaunas” was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine.
The second mate and a deck cadet on duty on the bridge noticed a passing submarine with a semi-submerged conning tower, and the chief mate, who had gone to his cabin after his shift, heard a buzzing sound he had never heard before. Suddenly, a terrible crash was heard, ... “We are sinking!” (B. Krikštopaitis By Sea Routes, 1979, Chicago)
In 1940–1941, B. Krikštopaitis had to sail on nationalised ships of the Lithuanian SSR, but he gradually withdrew from working on ships under occupational conditions. In 1944, the sea captain moved to Germany and, in 1949, to the USA and settled in Chicago.
A member of the Lithuanian Seamen’s Union Abroad. He never returned to Lithuania. Bronius passed away on 27 September 1999 in Chicago, having fulfilled his childhood dream of reaching the sea horizons and opening up the sea routes for Lithuania.
PHOTOGRAPHS:
Captain Bronius Krikštopaitis on the bridge of a steamship, 1936–1939.
Sea captains (from left) Romanas Vilčinskas-Vilkas, Bronius Krikštopaitis and Stasys Dagys at a Lithuanian community event in Chicago, USA, 1981.