The hiding place of the national partisan A. Blumbergs
Bunker

Not only the forests of Latvia, but also the houses still hide information about the tactics and methods of the national partisans' struggle. The forest brothers' hideouts have not survived in Latvia, so this is a unique discovery, which also gives it cultural and historical significance. The national partisans were mostly men in their prime, with a desire to build relationships with the opposite sex. They would hardly have been able to endure all the difficulties if they had not had the support of a woman standing by their side in the fight. This helped to endure the severity of the partisan war, which was often also based on the consciousness of being doomed to death. Unfortunately, most of these relationships were tragic.

Alfreds Blumbergs (1917-1949), being in the Forest Brothers group, maintained a romantic relationship with Milda Purene (1913-2010), a resident of Gārsene parish, from whom he received food, which also became known to the Soviet security authorities. On July 27, 1949, a military unit of the Ministry of State Security of the Latvian SSR set up a hideout in the yard of the Puķīši houses in Gārsene parish. Forced to cooperate with the Cheka, M. Purene betrayed Alfreds Blumbergs, who fell during the Cheka operation against him.