Headquarters of the Chairman of the Presidium of the Lithuanian Freedom League, General Jonas Žemaitis-Vytautas

In 1949, J. Žemaitis was unanimously elected as the Chairman of the Presidium of the Lithuanian Liberation Army (LLKS) Council and was given the rank of partisan general. Under Žemaitis's leadership, the main LLKS programmatic documents were prepared, and a strategic plan for action was outlined. Living under exhausting conditions and feeling immense tension and responsibility, Žemaitis's health began to deteriorate, and he fell seriously ill in December 1951. On January 30, 1952, he signed a statement: “Today, due to illness, I have ceased to perform my duties.” While being cared for, he was hiding in a bunker in the Šimkaičiai Forest in the Jurbarkas district. After his health improved in 1953, he resumed his former duties and decided to re-establish contacts with abroad.

On May 30, 1953, the bunker where Žemaitis was hiding was betrayed. A gas grenade was thrown through the ventilation shaft in an attempt to avoid the suicide of the long-sought "underground president." After the successful operation, Žemaitis was arrested. On June 23, following a special order from Moscow, Žemaitis was taken to Moscow to be interrogated by Lavrentiy Beria. Refusing to cooperate with the MVD authorities, Žemaitis's trial began on June 1, 1954. He was sentenced to death and his property was confiscated. The sentence was carried out on November 26, 1954, in Moscow’s Butyrka Prison.