Daugirdaitė-Sruogienė studied at the Moscow Institute of Commerce after graduating from school, but the October Revolution in 1917 interrupted her studies.1918 was a year of change for Daugirdaitė-Sruogienė, as the declaration of Lithuania’s independence prompted the girl, still in her early twenties, to go to her beloved Lithuania. Back in Lithuania, she taught French and history at the Šiauliai Gymnasium. In 1921, Daugirdaitė-Sruogienė decided to go to the University of Berlin to study. However, she was unable to complete her studies because after Klaipėda’s accession to Lithuania in 1923, all Lithuanians who had not completed 4 semesters of their studies (Daugirdaitė-Sruogienė had completed 3 semesters) were not allowed to continue their studies. After returning to Lithuania, she continued her studies at the University of Lithuania, where she graduated as a historian in 1929. Driven by her civic duty and pushed by living conditions, she turned to teaching. She became involved in this work and from 1927 to 1939 she worked as a teacher at Kaunas II Gymnasium, and from 1935 as an inspector of the said gymnasium.
Daugirdaitė-Sruogienė became one of the founders of the history teachers’ section of the Lithuanian Historical Society in 1929. The Society aimed to disseminate the science of history in Lithuania and to study the nation’s past. She organised various lectures, discussions and contributed to the publication of publications. In 1935, as a history teacher, V. Daugirdaitė-Sruogienė prepared a textbook on Lithuanian history for grammar schools. The textbook was started for the Klaipėda region and later republished for the whole of Lithuania. She spent the years of World War II in Germany and later moved to the USA. As a professor of European Studies at a college near Chicago until 1970, she taught languages and history. She published more than 30 articles and other publications while abroad.
To commemorate the memory of the renowned historian and educator, since 1977 the Lithuanian Foundation, in cooperation with the Lithuanian Institute for the Diaspora and the USA, has been awarding the Daugirdaitė-Sruogienė Scholarship to students of Vytautas Magnus University who are actively involved in scientific and social activities.
