Memorial site at the site of the battle of the national partisans on February 13, 1945 in Dimantu Meze, Kalna Parish
Memorial site
168
The memorial site has been created by the regional highway P74 Siliņi - Aknīste, 12 kilometers from Aknīste turning to the Latvian national forest "Žagaru road".
At the end of the summer of 1944, the vast forest massif of the northern part of Elkšť parish became a gathering place for people who were preparing for an armed struggle against the Soviet occupation. At the end of 1944, groups of national partisans began to form around Aknīste. A suitable place for the establishment of a partisan camp was the Dimantu mež , which was located on the southern edge of the large Elkšņi forest, near Aknīste Great Marsh. There, less than 10 kilometers from Aknīste parish, the national partisans created three winter bunkers for wintering. The connections of the men gathered in the forest were ensured with the support of the residents, neighbors and partisans of the nearby houses - Baltimore, Gargrode, Lichi, Priede, Krumi and other houses.
The partisan battle with the soldiers of the State Security Ministry of the LPSR took place in the Diamond Forest on February 13, 1945. The Chekists, having captured the hostages, drove them forward to show them the partisan bunkers. The forest brothers, seeing the danger, opened fire without sparing the hostages. 10 representatives of the Soviet occupation troops, eight national partisans and four hostages died in the battle. Despite the losses of the forest brothers, the Chekists failed to capture the partisan bunkers. The surviving partisans waited for darkness and left the settlement. Czech soldiers wounded in the battle could not leave the kingdom, moaning. After this battle, which can be considered the first "baptism of the forest brothers", the partisans felt like brothers and the rifle seemed more precious than anything else, as the only reliable savior.
The white cross and the information stand were installed in the Diamond Forest on Lāčpleš Day - November 11, 2022. The creation of the memorial has been supported by the municipality of Jēkabpils region, the association "Tēvzemes sargi" and Latvian state forests. The author of the content part of the informative stand is historian Haralds Bruņinieks.
Used sources and references:
https://selija.com/apskati/kultura-un-vesture/dimantu-meza-kaujas-pieminas-vieta/
Related timeline
Related stories
Selija's forest brother settlement in the Sūpe swamp
The Sūpes swamp is associated with the sites of national partisan settlements and battles, which were formed through the interaction of people and places. It is described in the ballad of the exiled Latvian writer Alberts Eglītis about the events in his native Sūpes swamp “In Moss and Mud” - a tribute to the Sūpes swamp partisans:
… “In 1945, as autumn glowed in the swamp -
On Pokļevinskis' birthday, Lieljānis shares at dinner:
Beer fermented in willows,
The Romulans worship butter,
I dry my mother's caraway bread,
Dried ham in March cuts,
And Stuchka's onions,
Ildzeniece cheese.
Rooms in resinous walls
And lightning has struck hearts,
And in eleven souls languish-
"The roots that have rotted in the ground..."
This interpretation of the past, with its post-World War II events, included human testimonies, expressions of spirit, and value systems. It recalls the popular support for the national partisans, whom the occupying power could not defeat so easily.