Pa Latvijas un Lietuvas nacionālo partizānu - mežabrāļu cīņu vietām
Memorial stone to the Rihards Pārups group of national partisans
It is located on Rīgas Street near the Krustpils Lutheran Church.
On September 22, 1996, a memorial stone to Rihards Pārups and the group of national partisans led by him was unveiled in Krustpilis. The memorial stone was created by the sculptor Ilgvars Mozulāns, but its creation was financially supported by the speaker of the Saeima, Ilga Kreituse. This event was organized by the board of the National Partisan Association of Latvia.
Rihards Pārupa's national partisans,
who were murdered by the Cheka special group
Rihards Pārups (1914 - 1946 2.VII)
Group commander
Rihards Stulpiņš (1923 - 1946. 2. VII)
Alberts Avotiņš (1912 - 1946. 2. VII)
Eric Juhna (1928. -1946. 2. VII)
Aleksandrs Lācis (1919 - 1946. 2. VII)
Pēteris Lācis (1921 - 1946. 2. VII)
Jānis Ēvalds Zālītis (Āboliņš) (1911 - 1946 2. VII)
Siegfried Bimstein, Theodor Schmidt (... - 1946. 2. VII)
Uldis Šmits (... - 1946. 2. VII)
Pēteris Lazdāns (1926 - 1947. VI)
Eric Konvals (1929 – 1947. VI)
Niklas Ošiņš (1908 – 1954. 12.X) – executed in Riga
Alberts ħiķauka (1911 – 1972. II) – imprisoned in the Mordovian camp
Rihards Pārups was born on June 11, 1914, in "Kakšiš" of Krustpils parish. During the Second World War, he was a sergeant in the anti-tank division of the 15th Latvian Division. Participated in national partisan operations in the vicinity of Jēkabpils and Madonas and was a member of the National Resistance Movement, unit leader in the vicinity of Jēkabpils and Madonas. Rihards Pārups fell in battle with Czech troops on July 2, 1946 in Vietalva parish. Unfortunately, the burial place is unknown. A commemorative plaque has been installed in the Riga Brothers' Cemetery. In the fall of 1945, a group of national partisans, led by R. Pārups, was formed in the Jēkabpils district. During its short existence, it participated in more than twenty armed clashes with units of the then Ministry of the Interior. In the report of Cheka's colonel Kotov to the Riga headquarters, it is stated that the activities of the Soviet authorities in Jēkabpils and Madona districts were effectively paralyzed as a result of the group's activities during this time. The national partisans led by R. Parupa found and destroyed several lists to be sent out, thus saving the lives of many people. The leadership of the Security Committee, unable to destroy the national partisan unit in an open battle, infiltrated into it four people from the Czech special group, who shot ten partisans of the unit, including R. Parup, on the night of July 2, 1945. In 1947, two more were shot near Jaunkalsnava, and in 1951, one member of this unit was shot. After twenty-five years of hard labor in the Mordovia camp, a few days before liberation, the fourteenth partisan of the group led by R. Parupas died.
Memorial place for the members of P. Prauliņas national partisan group in Vidsala
The group of national partisans of Pētera Prauliņa (1911-1949) of Biržu parish was part of the group led by Mārtiņas Pokļevińskas (1902-1951). The group carried out several partisan actions in which they punished Soviet collaborators and requisitioned food and property of the economic institutions of the occupying power. The partisans of P. Prauliņa's group did not observe sufficient conspiracy, many persons visited their settlement, which created an opportunity for betrayal. Lack of military experience was one of the weaknesses of the guerrilla armed movement.
P. Prauliņa's partisan group was destroyed on May 16, 1949 in the Kalna forest of Biržu parish during the operation of the Ministry of State Security of the LPSR, in which military units also participated. The Forest Brothers had created a bunker with circle defenses, well camouflaged and located at an indeterminate height in a swampy area. The partisans fiercely resisted the Czech army units for at least 40 minutes, but the entire composition of the group fell: Pēteris Prauliņš, Artūrs Bružuks, Jānis Kalvāns, Edvīns Slikšāns and Francis Skromanis. The forest brothers who were shot were dumped near the parish house, but their remains were later buried in nearby gravel pits. Irma Bružuk was seriously wounded, who was captured and died on May 17 in Jēkabpils hospital. She was buried outside the cemetery, but when the cemetery was expanded after the restoration of Latvia's independence, a monument was placed on her grave.
The memorial stone for the partisans of P. Prauliņa's group in Kalna parish was consecrated in November 1998. The place of P. Prauliņa's bunker is located in the 4th district of the 99th block of Vidsalas, Kalna parish. The stone on which P. Prauliņš sat has been preserved.
Memorial site at the site of the battle of the national partisans on February 13, 1945 in Dimantu Meze, Kalna Parish
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.
The former Susėja Parish Hall, the site of an attack by national partisans on July 7, 1945
Today, the building of the former Susėja Parish Hall houses the Sansusī Residence Center and the guest house "Susēja". On the facade of the building you can still see the traces of the attack, left by the bullets fired during the attack of the national partisans on July 7, 1945.
The former Susėja Parish Hall, which at that time functioned as the local executive committee of the Soviet occupation power, suffered an attack by the Selia national partisans on July 7, 1945. The attack on the executive committee of Susėja was a part of a wider action by national partisans and took place simultaneously with the attacks on the Vilkupe dairy and the house of the exterminator Kaunacka.
According to the instructions of Albert Kaminsky (1920-1946), the commander of the national partisan group of Suseya, the forest brothers were supposed to destroy the security of the local executive committee, take weapons, militia uniforms, documents and destroy telephone communications. About 17 Lithuanian partisans of the forest brothers participated in the attack on the Susėja executive committee under the leadership of Jozos Kuveikais. The battle lasted 15-20 minutes, one Lithuanian partisan fell during the shooting, and on the opposite side - fighter battalion fighter Jānis Kakarāns. During the shooting, the windows of the executive committee were broken and the telephone was damaged.
The second attack on the executive committee of Suseia took place on July 16, 1945, when a longer firefight took place between the forest brothers and fighters of the fighter battalion who sought refuge in the executive committee building. During the battle, a group of Soviet soldiers came to the aid of the latter, who opened machine-gun fire from the flank and forced the partisans to retreat. At least five forest brothers and five destroyers fell in the battle. Attacks on this administrative object of the occupying power proved the nature of the armed resistance of the guerrilla war and were a warning of the people's resistance to the Soviet occupation power.
Monument to the national partisans of Susea
The unit of national partisans of Susea was formed from smaller, fragmented groups of forest brothers, because initially there was a lack of a leader who could unite them. Artūrs Grābeklis, later Markeis Gorovņov, who died in the winter of 1945, tried to coordinate the activity of Susėya partisans for a short time. The strengthening of the national partisan unit of Suseia took place after the arrival of the former legionnaire Alberts Kaminskis in Selia after the general capitulation of Germany in Kurzeme. He established stricter discipline and united smaller groups for a common struggle against the Soviet occupation. Cooperation was also formed with groups of forest brothers from nearby parishes and surroundings, especially with the Gārsene group and Lithuanian partisans who had settled on the border between Lithuania and Latvia.
In the early stages of the armed movement, it can be seen that the forest brothers were not prepared for attacks, unable to occupy the Kaunacka homestead, nor to break into the building of the executive committee of Susėja. The partisans suffered losses and were not able to resist the Czech troops for a long time, and the main method of fighting was to think about retreating in time. There was also a problem with the supply of the partisans. In spite of the difficulties, the national partisan unit of Susa was still able to actively resist the Soviet occupation in the first post-war years. This partisan group ceased to exist after the death of its commander A. Kaminsky on May 14, 1946. This was followed by the legalization of several forest brothers, as well as the joining of other guerrilla groups.
The monument to the national partisans of the Suseia detachment was opened on November 11, 1997, following the initiative of the researcher of the history of the national partisans of Selia, Gunārs Blūzma. Next to the words of the fallen national partisans of Susėja, the text: "On the head of a hedgehog, protect the land of your fathers" is engraved in a rough-hewn boulder under the sign of the cross. The memorial mentions those who died in the attack on the Susės executive committee on July 16, 1945 - Jānis Grābeklis (1923-1945), Ādolfs Rācenis (1919-1945), Bronīslavs-Arvīds Bīriņš (1919-1945) and Edgars Ārglis (1920-1945), later added the murdered Names of Lina Kaminska (1917-1945) and Albert Kaminska (1920-1946). Arnold Dombrovskis (1923-1945) and other national partisan groups of Susėja in 1945-1946 are missing from the monument. the names of active and fallen national partisans.
Cemetery of the Brothers of the National Partisans of Selia
The graves of the brothers of the national partisans of Selia were opened on October 30, 2004 with the support of the Ministry of Defense of Latvia and Aknīste municipality. Partisans Alberts Karankevičs (1914-1949), Vilis Tunķels (1911-1949), Arnolds Tunķels (1926-1949), Osvalds Tunķels (1929-1949), Ēvalds Kundzāns ( 1927-1949).
partisans Juris Alfreds Voldemārs Lācis (1908-1945), Eduards Kaminskis (1910-1945), Osvalds Mežaraups (1911-1945), Alberts Mežaraups (1915-1945), Antons Bružiks (1911-1945), Jānis Britāns (1926-1945) and one unknown. Marta Mežaraupe (1907-1945), Alberts Lācis (1902-1945), Juris Resnītis (1901-1945) and Pēteris Bite (1907-1945), as well as the groups of Indān-Grāvelsons, who fell during the battle and were taken hostage by the Soviet occupation authorities, are also buried in the common cemetery. fallen partisan Voldemārs Otto Sātnieks (1911-1950). There is also a monument to Alfred Silaraup (1925-1946), a national partisan of the Aknīste company, who fell during a check operation on July 30, 1946, on a narrow-gauge railway in the Elkšņu forest.
A black granite stele with the emblem of the National Partisans Association of Latvia is placed at the foot of the White Cross installed in the cemeteries of the Brothers of the National Partisans of Selia and the text "For the national partisans of Selia. You sacrificed your lives for Latvia in the fight against the communist occupation regime in 1944-1954." There is also a memorial stone in the grave area with the inscription "There are tears that will be done in silence." There are scars that won't heal if healed", which Stanislav Šadurska installed at the beginning of the Awakening at the pit where the Chekists buried the national partisans and hostages who had fallen the day before on February 14, 1955.
Guerrilla bunker and memorial cross in Plunknočiai forest
After turning off the regional road 3604 (Rokiškis – Maineivos – Naujasodė) between Juodupė and Žobiškis towards Plunksnočiai forest
Hiding from persecution and prying eyes, Lithuanian partisans built bunkers in the strangest and most unexpected places: in forest thickets, farmers' baths, under sheds and barns, on floating islands in lakes and swamps.
in 1947 The partisans of the Gediminas company of Duke Margis' selection, under the leadership of commander Juoz Bulovas-Iks, gathered in the massif of Plunksnočiai forest. Until 1948 they didn't have a permanent wintering place, they hid with people who supported them. Although today there is a green forest around Plunksnočiai bunker that is easy to cross and suitable for a walk, but after the Second World War, the bunker was surrounded by a swampy forest with a small hill in the middle of the swamp. in 1949 it was in the hill that the partisans set up a hiding place. However, an infiltrated Russian security agent who knew the location of the bunker was betrayed. He in 1949 on November 14, when the partisans were sleeping, they threw anti-tank grenades into the bunker. 7 partisans were killed.
The partisan bunker was rebuilt, a cross with the names of those who died there was erected. A memorial monument and information signs have been installed on the site a few tens of meters from the bunker on the initiative of Rokiškis young shooters.
Museum of the History of Freedom Struggles in Obeliai
In Obeliai, Vytauto St. (Obeliai–Zarasai road, KK117) on the left side (there is a directional sign).
The museum was founded in 1998. It presents the development of the Lithuanian state, the history of the Obeliai region, Lithuanian folk art, and a large part of the exposition is devoted to the theme of the struggle for freedom. It is not for nothing that this museum is presented as an institution of patriotic and national education.
Exhibits testifying to the struggle for freedom were collected and donated to the museum by teacher and former partisan Andrius Dručkus (1928–2018). The exhibits were painstakingly collected as a personal collection during the years of Soviet occupation, and they were successfully protected from the watchful eye of Soviet security. A. Dručkus was also the initiator of the establishment of this museum.
In addition to the themes of Soviet repression, exile, partisan warfare, anti-Soviet resistance and Sąjūdis, common to all of Lithuania, conveyed through the experience of the Obeliai region, the museum also stands out with its own unique accents. The history of the emergence, destruction and restoration of the unique monument to the June 1941 insurgents and victims of Soviet terror in Obeliai is revealed. The Lithuanian national defense system after 1990 is introduced, and an exhibition of uniforms of the Lithuanian army and other structures is presented. The museum's outdoor exhibition has built replicas of the Lithuanian partisan bunker and the exile barrack in Siberia. They can be visited, and special educational programs are offered to get to know the everyday life of partisans and exiles, to feel what it means to live in a bunker or barrack.
The museum is located in the building where the Obeliai parish NKVD-MVD-MGB subdivision and the headquarters of the stribes operated in 1944–1953, imprisoning, interrogating and torturing Lithuanian people.
Antazavė Battle Site and Partisan Dugout Shelter at Lake Vincežeris
It is accessible from the town of Antazavė via forest roads.
At the end of 1944, the Lithuanian partisan Lokis detachment was formed in the Antazavė area of northeastern Lithuania, led by former Lithuanian army officer Captain Mykolas Kazanas. The emerging detachment set up five low-lying areas on a hill densely covered with fir and pine trees near Lake Vincežeris, in the Antazavė forest.
On December 26, 1944 (according to some sources, December 27), the Battle of Antazavė took place in this place, which was one of the largest partisan battles in Eastern Lithuania. The partisan camp, fortified with trenches, was surrounded by military units deployed in the Soviet troops in the Utena and Zarasai garrisons and in the Antazavė parish. After a day-long battle, 85 partisans managed to break through the encirclement ring and successfully withdraw. One partisan was killed during the withdrawal.
Currently, two partisan dugouts have been installed at the site of the partisan camp and battle, a cross and a memorial plaque have been erected, and benches for campers have been installed. The partisan dugouts are distinguished by their size, they are relatively large and massive underground structures, different from the partisan bunkers built later in the forests of Lithuania.
Museum of the Battles for Freedom in Utena
In Utena, not far from the intersection of the Kaunas–Daugavpils (A6) and Vilnius–Utena (A14) highways.
The museum was established in 2015 in the former Utena narrow-gauge railway station. As it is presented, it is a museum that breathes poetry and subtly reveals the truth of the post-war period. The exhibition “Common European Identity in the Context of Totalitarian Regimes” offers to learn about the past of all of Lithuania and Europe through the history of one Lithuanian region. It tells about the division of Europe in 1939 according to secret protocol agreements, the Soviet occupation of Lithuania, the forced participation of Lithuanians in World War II, exile, post-war resistance and the creation of collective farms in the Utena region. The painful events of 1940–1965 in the Utena region and Lithuania are revealed by comparing them with life behind the Iron Curtain.
The history of the narrow gauge railway station also bears a tragic imprint. From here, in 1941 and 1945–1953, wagons with deportees rolled to Siberia.
Along the Trails of the Partisan Battles of the Algimantas Military District
In Šimoniai Forest, driving along road 1216 (there is a directional sign and a stand).
Šimonias Forest was the center of operations of the largest partisan unit of Aukštaitija, Algimantas District, during the post-war Lithuanian partisan struggles. In 1945, about 200 partisans were active in this district, and in 1952, only 20-30 partisans. From 1947–1949, the hideouts of the commanders of the Eastern Lithuanian (King Mindaugas) partisan region, Captain Jonas Kimštos-Žalgiris, and Antanas Starkus-Montė, who took over the latter's duties in 1949, were established in Šimonias Forest - command posts from which the partisan movement in Aukštaitija was led. The Algimantas District Partisan Struggle Route invites you to get acquainted with 6 partisan hideouts of Algimantas District, which were set up and where partisans of the Žaliojis, Šarūnas and Kunigaikštis Margis squads hid and fought. Two walking routes of different lengths (5 km and 10 km) have been established in Šimoniai Forest, inviting you to travel along the partisan paths.
Eastern Lithuania (King Mindaugas) region Lithuanian partisan command post
After passing the Anrioniškis town cemetery (there are signs).
This hideout housed the Eastern Lithuanian (King Mindaugas) regional headquarters of the Lithuanian partisans from 1944 to 1949. In the summer of 1944, Balys Žukauskas founded the hideout with his brothers Petras and Juozas Jovaišas and began hiding from the mobilization into the Red Army announced in 1944. At the end of 1945, Antanas Slučka-Šarūnas began visiting the hideout, who was the first to establish a partisan detachment in the Troškūnai area, and later united the partisans of Rokiškis, Anykščiai, Kavarskas, Troškūnai and Andrioniškis into the Šarūnas detachment. In 1947, A. Slučka-Šarūnas became the commander of the Algimantas regional district, and in 1949, the commander of the Eastern Lithuanian region. This means that from 1949, the hideout became the headquarters of the Eastern Lithuanian region. The hideout, which had successfully sheltered partisans for five years, was betrayed on October 28, 1949. After MGB military units surrounded the homestead, the partisans hiding there blew themselves up, refusing to surrender.
Currently, a bunker has survived, a cross has been erected, and a monument to the dead has been erected.
Monument dedicated to Algimantas Military District partisans
In the center of the town of Troškūnai, Anykščiai district, next to the Holy Trinity Church.
During the partisan war of 1944–1953, the territory of Lithuania was divided into 9 partisan districts. In 1947–1950, the Lithuanian partisan Algimantas district operated in the Panevėžys and Anykščiai areas, the establishment of which is closely linked to Troškūnas. The residents of this town organized partisan units in Aukštaitija. The first commander of the Algimantas district, Antanas Slučka-Šarūnas, was born and lived in Troškūnas.
In 1996, at the initiative of the Lithuanian Genocide and Resistance Research Center, a monument was erected in Troškūnai dedicated to the partisans of Algimantas County. The author of the monument was sculptor Jonas Jagėla and architect Audronė Kiausinienė. The main part of the monument is a black stone gate, which symbolizes those who left to defend the Homeland and did not return. The bronze crosses installed on the sides of the gate symbolize the Christian faith, and the bronze sword, like the sword of the archangel St. Michael, symbolizes the light of faith and hope. In the square in front of the monument, black stone slabs commemorate three Algimantas County teams - Šarūnas, Žaliojis and Duke Margis.