Forest Brothers: The Account of an Anti-soviet Lithuanian Freedom Fighter, 1944-1948

Title page......Page 4
Copyright page......Page 5
Mardi Gras......Page 6
Introduction - The Invisible Front: Lithuania’s Armed Resistance Against the Soviet Union – Laima Vincė......Page 12
Part I. The Decision to Stay on our Native Land, July 1944–July 1945......Page 44
The Occupiers Change......Page 46
We Go into Hiding......Page 52
Vosily’s Warning......Page 56
Burning Personal Files in the Crematorium......Page 57
Our Friendship with the Red Army Soldiers......Page 59
The Red Army Ransacks the Villages......Page 63
Forced Labor Digging Ditches and Building Airports......Page 65
Recruitment for the Front......Page 66
Travel Documents......Page 67
First News of the Partisans......Page 69
In the Student Dorms......Page 71
The Fate of Property Left Behind......Page 72
Feeding and Heating the University......Page 74
The Student Council......Page 75
Students Arrests Begin......Page 76
Lithuanian Soldiers are Deported to Siberia......Page 78
My Brother’s Turn Came......Page 81
Hours and Days Spent Outside the Kaunas Jail......Page 87
Looting the Middle Class Families of Prisoners......Page 97
My Brother is Released: His Friends are Deported to Siberia......Page 100
Organizational Concerns......Page 103
The Partisan Movement......Page 105
Collaborators......Page 108
Partisans of Foreign Extraction......Page 111
The Iron Wolf Regiment......Page 112
Accounts of a Few Partisan Battles......Page 114
The Northeastern Partisan Units......Page 132
The Samogitian Partisans......Page 133
The Partisans of Central Lithuania......Page 134
The Partisans Act Against Bolshevik Plans......Page 135
Provocation Units in Suvalkija......Page 137
Part II. Choosing the Fate of a Partisan, July 1945–January 1946......Page 140
Our First Days Spent with the Partisans......Page 142
The Atomic Bomb......Page 147
Setting up the Tauras Military District......Page 150
Bartašiūnas’s Amnesty......Page 153
The Church Choir......Page 154
The Tragedy on October Eighteenth......Page 155
In the Iron Wolf Regiment......Page 158
The Thieves of Vainatrakis......Page 159
The Interrogator Varnas......Page 162
The Battle at the Laukas Family Farm......Page 163
Dealing with Thieves in Paprienis......Page 164
The Grain Collectors......Page 165
A Partisan Christmas......Page 168
My Brother and I Finally Set Out......Page 170
Part III. On the Partisan Road, January 1946–May 1947......Page 176
Recon......Page 178
Working for the Press......Page 183
The Trip to Dainava......Page 184
Visiting with a Former American......Page 186
The Bolshevik and the Partisan Press......Page 188
Under Astra’s Supervision......Page 190
In the Forest Camp......Page 191
The Journey by Sledge......Page 194
The Approaching Elections......Page 195
The Pre-Election Campaign......Page 197
Election Day......Page 199
The Election Results......Page 204
The Fate of the Proletariat......Page 205
The Ford and Studebaker Bonfire......Page 207
The Deportations......Page 209
Guarding Deserted Farmsteads......Page 213
The Fighter Nastė......Page 214
Blood for the Press......Page 215
A Prohibition on Home Brew......Page 218
Desecrating Fallen Partisans......Page 220
The Right to Choose Work......Page 223
Uniting the Partisans......Page 224
Evaluating Our Activities......Page 225
Building the Bunker......Page 227
Again on Unification......Page 229
Two Visitors from the West......Page 230
The Trip Through the Cleansing Operation......Page 233
In the Market Square......Page 237
Mykolas Jonas is Killed......Page 240
We Lose Vabalas and Gegužis......Page 241
More Manhunts......Page 242
For Bravery and Courage......Page 244
Requisitioning Food for the Partisans......Page 246
Taking Measures against the Stribai......Page 249
Žvainys is Arrested and Interrogated......Page 250
The Journey by Train......Page 251
Christmas Eve 1946......Page 256
Setting Up the Birutė Regiment......Page 257
Poverty in the City......Page 258
The Partisan Provocateurs......Page 259
New Assignments......Page 263
The Massive Interrogations......Page 266
Mažvydas and Pušelė’s “Engagement” Party......Page 268
The Aftermath......Page 275
More Bolshevik Killings......Page 278
Part IV. Breaking Through the Iron Curtain to the West, June 1947–December 1947......Page 280
Approaching the Border......Page 282
We Break Through the Iron Curtain......Page 286
On the Polish Side of the Border......Page 289
The West Recommends we Return and Wait......Page 293
A Stormy Return......Page 295
Visiting with a Freedom Fighter from Lithuania’s First Fight for Independence......Page 300
Thieves Informing for the NKVD......Page 302
Bolshevik Legs over our Heads......Page 303
We are Persecuted, but we Continue to Sing......Page 305
The Report from the West......Page 307
The Deputy at the Demonstration......Page 310
The Fighters Varnas and Vaidilutė......Page 311
Partisan Martyrs......Page 313
My Dream Becomes Reality......Page 315
The Dainava Headquarters are Surrounded......Page 319
Preparing the Troops......Page 322
In the City of Lean-tos......Page 327
Not Everyone Arrived Safely......Page 332
Who were Those People who Went to Fight in the Forests......Page 333
The Liaison Man Artūras......Page 335
Two Women Wander into Camp......Page 336
A Punishment for Unnecessary Brashness......Page 337
A Sudden Attack......Page 338
The Heroes of Raišupis......Page 339
The Tragedy at the Bunker of the Birutė Unit Headquarters......Page 342
Implementing a Plan with Percentages......Page 347
A Trap in Kaunas......Page 348
Again Tragedy Strikes in the Birutė Unit......Page 349
Fighting Against the Collectivization of Farms......Page 350
Preparing for the March......Page 354
Traveling through East Prussia......Page 357
Russian Collective Farm Workers......Page 361
A Bloody Trip across the Rominta River......Page 364
On Polish Soil......Page 368
A Christmas Miracle in the Manger......Page 371
Afterword......Page 374
A Journey into the Heart: A Post-War Love Story – Laima Vincė......Page 376
An Account from the Post-War Borderlands – Jonas Öhman......Page 404
Appendix......Page 416