About D. Breikšs' national partisan group

D. Breikšs' national partisan group was established in 1948 and until 1950 they lived in “Jaunvieslavėni” of Gatarta parish with the landlord Kārlis Lāčis. In 1950, D. Breikšs' partisan group was betrayed by his own brother Laimonis, so they were forced to move. During the summers they lived in the forests, but spent the winters in “Daiņkalni” of Rauna parish with the forester Artūrs Pērkons (1907-1952) and in the nearby “Graškalni” in bunkers built under houses.

Dailonis Breikšs' group included Imants Lācis (nickname Andris), his sisters Dzidra Līvija, Mirdza Lilija and Regīna, as well as Jānis Zariņš (nickname Janka, 1922-1952). On April 23, 1951, in the “Daiņkalni” bunker, Jānis Zariņš and Dzidra Lāce had a son, Einārs. Considering that life in the bunker was dangerous for the infant, the parents gave the child into caring hands. He ended up in Smiltene Hospital and was adopted.

In the spring of 1952, D. Breikšs's national partisan group was discovered by the footprints left in the snow. On April 16, 1952, the Cheka (State Security Committee of the Latvian SSR) surrounded the houses of “Daiņkalnis” and “Graškalnis” and destroyed D. Breikšs' group. D. Breikšs himself, I. Lācis and M. Lāce lost their lives in the battle, J. Zariņš, D. Lāce and the forester A. Pērkons shot themselves. Fifteen-year-old Regīna Lāce was pushed out of the bunker hatch in order to survive and tell about what happened. The forester's wife Velta Dziļuma and her one-year-old son Turalds also survived. After the bunkers were destroyed, the killed partisans were driven around in an open car through Gatarts and Drusti.

Since 2002, the memorial site in “Daiņkalni” has been gradually improved, cleared of trees and bushes. Every year on April 16, memorial events are held in memory of the national partisans led by Dailonis Breikšs. The organizer of the events and the initiator of the cleaning of the memorial site is the former villager, veteran of the National Guard, Knight of the Order of the Three Stars Jānis Lācis, whose cousins died in the “Daiņkalni” bunker. In April 2003 and 2004, memorial crosses and plaques were dedicated near the houses in “Daiņkalni” and “Graškalni”. In the fall of 2016 - spring of 2017, with the help of local Raunen residents, the memorial site was reconstructed according to the sketches of architect Z. Butāns, and the former bunker site was excavated and strengthened, which is available for viewing only on April 16 - during the memorial event.

Regīna Lāce (Tīliba)'s story about the events in "Daiņkalni" and "Graškalni" was published in Sanita Reinsone's 2015 book "Daughters of the Forest. 12 Women About Life at Home, in the Forest, in Prison"