Forest Brothers

The Account of an Anti-Soviet Lithuanian Freedom Fighter, 1944–1948

Juozas Luksa, Laima Vincė

• Publisher: Central European University Press
• Year: 2009
• ISBN:
  9789633863541
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Military Biographies
• Index: History

An autobiographical account of the armed resistance against the Soviet Union, which took place between 1944–1956. Published in English for the first time in unabridged form, Lukša's memoir remains one of the few reliable eye-witness accounts of the "Invisible Front", as dubbed by Soviet security forces. At its zenith 28, 000 guerilla fighters participated in battles and skirmishes throughout Lithuania, Lukša (partisan codename Daumantas) being one of the leaders.Forest Brothersalso documents the role of women in the resistance, giving equal credit to these often silent partners. In 1948 Lukša and two comrades broke through the Iron Curtain on the Polish border. He sought training from the French intelligence and from the CIA. Lukša was flown back into the Soviet Union under the radar on the night of October 4, 1950. He managed to survive and operate eleven months until his near capture and death on the night of September 5, 1951. His account, written during 1948–1950, while he was living in hiding in Paris, describes in vivid scenes and dialogue the daily struggles of the resistance.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title page
• Copyright page
• Contents
• Introduction - The Invisible Front: Lithuania’s Armed Resistance Against the Soviet Union – Laima Vincė
• Part I. The Decision to Stay on our Native Land, July 1944–July 1945
• Between Home and Kaunas
• The Occupiers Change
• We Go into Hiding
• Vosily’s Warning
• Burning Personal Files in the Crematorium
• Our Friendship with the Red Army Soldiers
• The Red Army Ransacks the Villages
• Forced Labor Digging Ditches and Building Airports
• Recruitment for the Front
• Travel Documents
• First News of the Partisans
• In the Student Dorms
• The Fate of Property Left Behind
• Feeding and Heating the University
• The Student Council
• Students Arrests Begin
• Lithuanian Soldiers are Deported to Siberia
• My Brother’s Turn Came
• Mardi Gras
• Hours and Days Spent Outside the Kaunas Jail
• Looting the Middle Class Families of Prisoners
• My Brother is Released: His Friends are Deported to Siberia
• The Armed Resistance
• Organizational Concerns
• The Partisan Movement
• Collaborators
• Partisans of Foreign Extraction
• The Iron Wolf Regiment
• Accounts of a Few Partisan Battles
• The Northeastern Partisan Units
• The Samogitian Partisans
• The Partisans of Central Lithuania
• The Partisans Act Against Bolshevik Plans
• Provocation Units in Suvalkija
• Part II. Choosing the Fate of a Partisan, July 1945–January 1946
• There was no Other Choice
• Our First Days Spent with the Partisans
• The Atomic Bomb
• Setting up the Tauras Military District
• Bartašiūnas’s Amnesty
• The Church Choir
• The Tragedy on October Eighteenth
• In the Iron Wolf Regiment
• The Thieves of Vainatrakis
• The Interrogator Varnas
• The Battle at the Laukas Family Farm
• Dealing with Thieves in Paprienis
• The Grain Collectors
• Celebrating Christmas Eve with the Partisans
• A Partisan Christmas
• My Brother and I Finally Set Out
• Part III. On the Partisan Road, January 1946–May 1947
• Taking My First Steps as a Partisan
• Recon
• Working for the Press
• The Trip to Dainava
• Visiting with a Former American
• The Bolshevik and the Partisan Press
• Under Astra’s Supervision
• In the Forest Camp
• The Journey by Sledge
• The Approaching Elections
• The Pre-Election Campaign
• Election Day
• The Election Results
• Searching the Forests and Villages
• The Fate of the Proletariat
• From the Gymnasium to the Forest
• The Ford and Studebaker Bonfire
• The Deportations
• Guarding Deserted Farmsteads
• The Fighter Nastė
• Blood for the Press
• A Prohibition on Home Brew
• Desecrating Fallen Partisans
• The Right to Choose Work
• Uniting the Partisans
• Evaluating Our Activities
• Building the Bunker
• Again on Unification
• Two Visitors from the West
• The Trip Through the Cleansing Operation
• The Partisans Ambush the Bolsheviks
• In the Market Square
• Mykolas Jonas is Killed
• We Lose Vabalas and Gegužis
• More Manhunts
• Taking on a Position of Leadership
• For Bravery and Courage
• Requisitioning Food for the Partisans
• Taking Measures against the Stribai
• Žvainys is Arrested and Interrogated
• The Journey by Train
• Visiting the Vytautas District
• Christmas Eve 1946
• Retreating from Vilnius
• Setting Up the Birutė Regiment
• The “Black Cat” of Kaunas
• Poverty in the City
• The Partisan Provocateurs
• New Assignments
• The Massive Interrogations
• Mažvydas and Pušelė’s “Engagement” Party
• The Aftermath
• More Bolshevik Killings
• Part IV. Breaking Through the Iron Curtain to the West, June 1947–December 1947
• The First Journey
• Approaching the Border
• We Break Through the Iron Curtain
• On the Polish Side of the Border
• The West Recommends we Return and Wait
• A Stormy Return
• Visiting with a Freedom Fighter from Lithuania’s First Fight for Independence
• Thieves Informing for the NKVD
• Bolshevik Legs over our Heads
• We are Persecuted, but we Continue to Sing
• The Report from the West
• The Deputy at the Demonstration
• The Fighters Varnas and Vaidilutė
• Partisan Martyrs
• A Meeting with the District Leader
• My Dream Becomes Reality
• The Dainava Headquarters are Surrounded
• Preparing the Troops
• In the City of Lean-tos
• Not Everyone Arrived Safely
• Who were Those People who Went to Fight in the Forests
• The Liaison Man Artūras
• Two Women Wander into Camp
• A Punishment for Unnecessary Brashness
• A Sudden Attack
• The Heroes of Raišupis
• The Tragedy at the Bunker of the Birutė Unit Headquarters
• Implementing a Plan with Percentages
• A Trap in Kaunas
• Again Tragedy Strikes in the Birutė Unit
• Fighting Against the Collectivization of Farms
• Once more to the West
• Preparing for the March
• Traveling through East Prussia
• Russian Collective Farm Workers
• A Bloody Trip across the Rominta River
• On Polish Soil
• A Christmas Miracle in the Manger
• Afterword
• A Journey into the Heart: A Post-War Love Story – Laima Vincė
• An Account from the Post-War Borderlands – Jonas Öhman
• Appendix