Founded in 1997 m. The journal publishes articles about crimes of soviet and Nazi totalitarian regimes in Lithuania in 1939–1991, armed and unarmed resistance, and consequences of totalitarian regimes to Lithuanian society.
Genocide and Resistance Research Centre of Lithuania
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In the footsteps of prisoners of war from special NKVD camps in 1939-1940. Selected fifigures related to the Vilnius region
The NKVD murder of the defenders of the Polish borders, in accordance with the decision of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of the Soviet Union of 5 March 1940, is still an open topic, full of secrets. Despite the passage of 85 years since the crime, many documents have not yet been handed over to the Polish side. First of all, there are no archives that would allow us to establish the names of all those murdered and indicate the location of the burials of all the victims. So far, the names of all those detained sent from the NKVD camps in Kozelsk, Starobelsk and Ostashkov for investigation, from which they did not return, and those whose lives were spared, have not been established either. In all these groups there were people of different nationalities, religions and professions. In Soviet documents, many inaccuracies concern people who are of Lithuanian nationality in various censuses. Despite the passage of time, we can only speak of traces of some of them, who were recorded in the statistics of camp records and among the survivors. It should be remembered that although it is important to determine the number of victims of the Soviet authorities’ policy, the most important thing is what was experienced, the fate of the citizens of the Second Polish Republic murdered in violation of all international laws and those few who were spared their lives, who remained under the supervision of the security services until the end of their days.
The Use of Operational-Technical Measures Against Participants in the Anti-Soviet Resistance
The KGB used various covert measures aimed primarily at gathering intelligence information. While agents were the KGB’s main tools, in some cases covert technical measures proved more effective in collecting information. The use of such measures was strictly regulated, and they could only be employed by those who had already exhausted other options. Like agents, operational-technical measures could also be used for other repressive purposes, such as gathering information for criminal proceedings or preventive activities, making them integral to the repression policies. Although they were mostly applied to monitor the movement of foreign nationals in Lithuania, they also played an important role in countering the activities of participants in the Lithuanian anti-Soviet resistance movement. Cases documented in KGB files show that these measures were aimed not only at uncovering participants in the anti-Soviet movement, but also at identifying associated individuals and dismantling the group’s activities while gathering material for criminal proceedings. These measures rarely achieved their goals; however, the dissemination of the Lithuanian Catholic Church Chronicle in Lithuania and the West indicates that the KGB remained mostly an observer, although some individuals were harmed.
Vytautas Gužas – Personality and Fate in the History of Lithuanian Partisan Resistance: The Activities and Significance of the Partisan Vytautas Gužas in the History of the Lithuanian Partisan War
This article provides a systematic analysis of the biography of Vytautas Gužas (code name: Kardas), who was one of the signatories of the 16 February 1949 Declaration of the Union of Lithuanian Freedom Fighters (ULFF). Archival documents and partisan memoirs are used to reconstruct the trajectory of Gužas’s life and activities, from interwar Lithuania to the culmination of the partisan resistance. The article is meant not only to present biographical facts about the signatory, but also to illuminate the social and cultural context of independent Lithuania that shaped Gužas’s world view and political convictions, which influenced his value-based choices in the face of the Soviet and Nazi occupations. Vytautas Gužas is portrayed as a representative of the patriotic generation of interwar Lithuania.
Inclusion of Lutheran Church Members on Deportee Lists under the 1944 Directives for the Deportation of Lithuanian Germans
At the beginning of the new Soviet occupation, the repressive apparatus of the Lithuanian NKVD–NKGB, in coordination with their leadership in Moscow, decided at the end of 1944 to deport the remaining German nationals and their families to remote regions of the USSR. Subsequently, directives issued on 29 November and 16 December 1944, mandated the systematic collection of information regarding the Germans who continued to reside in Lithuania. Although these directives required NKVD–NKGB departments to objectively determine the nationality of such individuals, officials of the Jurbarkas and Šimkaičiai executive committees compiled lists of persons of German nationality by enumerating Lutheran families in villages within their administrative boundaries. Thirty-one families – that is, 130 people, or 16 percent of those deported – were exiled to Tajikistan in 1945 solely because they were Lutherans. Even members of the Lithuanian Lutheran patriotic organisation Pagalba, who had opposed German influence in the Lutheran Church during the interwar period, were condemned to exile. Reports submitted by the executive committees and approved by local and regional NKVD–NKGB officers were unconditionally accepted by the NKVD–NKGB Operational Sector in Vilnius. Despite the Lutheran Church’s efforts to demonstrate to the Soviet Lithuanian authorities that membersof Lithuanian nationality had been unjustly included in the lists of those to be “evacuated,” their attempts to return the deportees to their homeland went unanswered.
Detachment of the Klaipėda Region from Lithuania in 1939 – a catalyst for the Second World War? (Part 2)
Continuing the investigation begun in the first part of the article published in issue No 57 of Genocidas ir rezistencija, this second part focuses on the beginning of Great Britain’s ‘Stop Hitler’ policy in the latter half of March 1939, emphasising efforts to expand the international anti-Hitler coalition. This part of the article reveals that the acceleration of the formation of Hitler’s pre-war stopping coalition in Europe synchronously coincided with the situation regarding the Klaipėda (Memel) region that captured the world’s attention for several days in the last decade of March 1939 (especially the week of March 20–26). The English‑language press of the time portrayed these events as interconnected. The article underscores Poland’s particular stance on joining the ‘Stop Hitler’ coalition, linking it to Warsaw’s nervous reaction to the detachment of the Klaipėda Region from Lithuania. Analysis of Western English‑language press shows that German propaganda had failed to persuade foreign audiences that the Lithuanian government had voluntarily ceded the Klaipėda Region, supposedly choosing to rid itself of unnecessary territorial ballast, as though this had occurred without Germany threatening to use force against its small neighbour. The article also presents factual material reflecting the U.S. Department of State’s position, which did not recognise the legality of the Klaipėda Region’s absorption into the German Reich. It is noted that by the end of March 1939, insightful analytical assessments had begun to appear in the American media predicting that the destruction of Czechoslovakia and Germany’s annexation of the Klaipėda Region were only a prelude to further eastward expansion by Hitler and an eventual clash with the Western democracies. This is precisely what happened, ultimately leading to the outbreak of World War II. Certain issues relevant for further research are singled out – particularly those concerning the genesis of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact and other origins of World War II.
From Division to Solidarity: Latvian Refugees, the Latvian Central Council, and National Identity in Exile Post 1945
The solidarity of Baltic exile communities after World War II was not an automatic result of shared national identity, but emerged from historical traumas and the realities of displacement. The destruction of civil society under Soviet rule and the pressures of exile fostered unity among Latvians, Lithuanians and Estonians, despite internal divisions. Latvians had particularly deep divisions to overcome. Latvian national consciousness, growing out of a divided regional and cultural past, developed later than Lithuania’s. Political divisions during the period of independence after 1918 were compounded by issues raised by wartime collaboration and resistance. The Soviet reoccupation of 1944 led to mass flight, with Latvian and Estonian refugees removed by sea in German-organised evacuations. In postwar displaced persons (DP) camps, Baltic refugees sought Western protection from Soviet repatriation, reinforcing ethnic solidarity. Latvian exiles established self-governing institutions, schools and cultural organisations, fostering a stronger sense of solidarity in exile than had existed before. Despite this growing unity, wartime political divisions persisted. The example is given of the Latvian Central Council (LCP), formed in 1943 to restore independence, which was uppressed by the Nazis, while Latvian officials who cooperated with German occupiers argued they were acting in the nation’s best interests. These disputes carried into exile, sparking fierce debates over loyalty and legitimacy. Over time, however, the reality of permanent Soviet occupation led former ideological opponents to prioritise a united front over past conflicts. This process of selective historical memory was essential in forging a cohesive Latvian exile identity.
Displaced Persons from the Baltic States in Northern Germany: The case of Lübeck and Flensburg
The history of displaced persons (DPs) in Germany has been studied extensively since the 1980s, with the focus on Jewish, Polish and Soviet DPs. However, the unique experiences in Germany of the Baltic DPs – Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians – have received little attention. This paper examines the history of Baltic DPs in Northern Germany, particularly in the cities of Lübeck and Flensburg, using local archival sources and Latvian DP camp newspapers. Due to its location on the border between the British and Soviet occupation zones, Lübeck became a central hub for refugees. By the end of 1945, the city was home to approximately 11,580 Baltic DPs – a significant portion of the 53,800 Baltic DPs in the British occupation zone. Many Baltic DPs were initially put up in private housing, but were later moved to DP camps. In Flensburg, a smaller but notable Baltic DP population existed, with 1,254 Latvians, 928 Estonians and 784 Lithuanians registered in 1945. The living conditions in the DP camps varied greatly. Some camps provided adequate shelter, while others were overcrowded and lacked basic sanitation. Over time, authorities attempted to segregate the camps by nationality. Many Baltic DPs engaged in cultural and educational activities, forming their own schools, newspapers and institutions. Baltic DPs were generally viewed more favourably than other DP groups, such as the Polish or Soviet DPs, due to cultural similarities. However, tensions arose over housing shortages and the forced confiscation of German property for DP accommodations. The Baltic DPs enjoyed a vibrant cultural scene in Lübeck, including theatre performances, choirs and sporting events. DP newspapers played a crucial role in maintaining national identity and communication. With the handover of the DP camps to the German administration in 1950, the remaining displaced persons were reclassified as ‘homeless foreigners’. Children were required to attend German schools, and vocational training programmes were set up to facilitate employment. The last DP camp in Schleswig-Holstein closed in 1966, marking the end of an era.
Lithuanian community of exiles in the West: return to a free Lithuania
The Second World War and the Soviet and Nazi occupations had a significant impact on the Lithuanian nation, leading to its division and dispersion. As the Second World War’s Eastern Front approached the Baltic countries, over sixty thousand Lithuanians made the decision to leave Lithuania for what they thought would be a temporary stay, until they could return to a homeland that was soon to be free again. They were not just war refugees, but became political exiles, eventually known as “dipukai”. The article highlights the formation of the Lithuanian war refugees in the DP camps into a single organisation, the Lithuanian Exiles’ Community (Lith. Lietuvos tremtinių bendruomenė, LTB). At the same time, it reveals the dedication of our people to preserve Lithuanian identity, maintain national solidarity and prepare for a free, independent Lithuania.
Features of the unarmed resistance in Vilnius during the Soviet era
This article analyses the features of the unarmed resistance in Vilnius, explains what made it stand out in the context of Lithuania as a whole, and looks for the causes and consequences of these differences. The focus is on the 1950s and 1970s, when resistance activities were the most visible. The assumption is made that the “capital climate” – the specific state policy in the capital city – encouraged residents to be more adaptable and look for more moderate ways to achieve their goals. The heightened influence of the ideas of Russian dissident on the resistance in Vilnius is evident; this also affected the methods of resistance, with open dissent standing out in Lithuanian underground activities in Vilnius. Also important in the Vilnius resistance were groups with little connection to religious resistance networks.
Detachment of the Klaipėda Region from Lithuania in 1939 – a catalyst for the Second World War?
In the complex sequence of events, historians often refer to the fact of the enforced detachment of the Klaipėda region from Lithuania and its annexation to Germany in March 1939, without dwelling on it too much, focusing more on the Austrian Anschluss of 1938, the Munich Conference of 1938, and the destruction of Czechoslovakia, with its fateful moments in mid-March 1939. The Klaipėda case, however, is particularly worth mentioning because it represented the last territorial expansion of the German Reich before the war, and it took place without a direct military confrontation, as Lithuania acquiesced to an ultimatum from Berlin. The German invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939, which turned into a world war, overshadowed the extraordinary significance of the annexation of the Klaipėda region to the Reich on 22 and 23 March 1939 in the chain of fateful pre-war events. Here, foreign historians focus on the escalating tensions between Germany and Poland over the German ferry Danzig and the demands for an extraterritorial corridor to East Prussia, the political approximation between Germany and the Soviet Union that led to the so-called Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, etc. By using the term catalyst in the title of this article, and by arguing figuratively for the use of this resonant word in the article itself, we aim to underline the extraordinary international significance of the Klaipėda (Memel) issue for the further acceleration of the course of events. This had far-reaching implications for the wider international scene of the time. An examination of the media and other historical sources from the Western democracies in 1939 reveals that the NS Germany’s harsh ultimatum solution to the Klaipėda problem and its threat to use its military forces against a small neighbouring country for an invasion deep into Lithuania accelerated the preparations of other European states for the inevitable armed conflicts and played an important role in the shaping of the fate of the whole geopolitical area between Germany and the USSR. Ultimately, it contributed to the subsequent agreements on the division of spheres of influence between the two totalitarian powers.
The 3 June 1944 tragedy of Pirčiupiai village: historiography and sources
Pirčiupiai – a village in southeastern Lithuania (Dzūkija), which has entered the history of Lithuania by the fact that on 3 June 1944 German executioners carried out an extremely cruel mass terror action, burnt down the main part of the village of Pirčiupiai – Naujieji Pirčiupiai, massacred the people of the village, burnt them alive or shot them. According to the version of events, which was already established in 1944 and unchanged in the historiography, a total of 119 people were murdered, 61 women and 58 men. The article reviews the historiography of the Pirčiupiai tragedy and the most important archival sources, with the aim of revealing how the events of the village tragedy have been covered over a period of 80 years, and how the narrative of this story has been shaped. It raises the question of the relationship of the rural people to the Soviet partisans, their participation in Soviet partisan activities and other issues as factors that could have contributed to the tragedy of the village, which the Soviet historiography tried to keep silent? The article addresses and attempts to answer the question of what circumstances led to the exceptional brutality of the German executioners, and presents archival evidence that the German losses in the ambush on the morning of 3 June 1944 near Pirčiupiai may have been higher than those reported in Soviet historiography. It is noted that the story of the village tragedy was politicised and used for propaganda purposes: the authors of Soviet historiography unsuccessfully searched for traces of the involvement of Lithuanian “bourgeois nationalists” in the execution of the Pirčiupiai. In response to the Soviet narrative of the Pirčiupiai tragedy, the diaspora authors used counter propaganda measures - they viewed the Soviet partisans and the repressive structures of the NKVD-NKGB as the perpetrators of the massacre of the village, and they raised questions of their moral responsibility. The article attempts to look at how the events of the Pirčiupiai tragedy were reflected in the restricted archival sources of Lithuania during the Soviet period, how they were accumulated, what they are, and what is the history of their appearance.
crimes by totalitarian regimes in the World War II
Punitive Action Against Residents of Onuškis and Daugai Suspected of Collaboration With The Soviets in August 1945
The present article focuses on a punitive operation in which partisans shot several dozen people suspected of collaborating with the Soviets. The objective of the present study is to ascertain whether this operation constituted an organised and targeted reprisal against collaborators with the intention of disrupting the process of Sovietisation, or whether it was an unwarranted terrorist attack motivated by revenge and desperation. The article examines the preparations for the punitive operation and identifies some of the participants. It also analyses the execution of the attack and identifies its victims. The study concludes that the operation was an attack in keeping with the conditions of the time: the partisans were retaliating in order to demonstrate their power to the regime. On the one hand, the operation was planned: the data on the condemned was collected, the action plan was in place, etc. On the other hand, it was a spontaneous decision by a few commanders, driven more by emotion than by well-thought-out tactical objectives. The partisans targeted the most vulnerable: the lowest administrative ranks, family members of the regime’s supporters or peasants. The attack did not target any official from the municipal administration or any individual involved in the deportations of July 1945.
NKVD kariuomenės dokumentai Rusijos karo archyve
Historians studying the armed struggle against the Soviet invaders in 1944–1953 are constantly confronted with the problem of identifying the military structures of occupation. The NKVD army regiments, which were tasked with the military suppression of the armed resistance, were sometimes stationed in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, western Ukraine or western Gudiya (Belarus) for very short periods. They were continuously changing their locations as they followed the frontlines or were relocated for punitive military operations to new territories. It is therefore very important to review and assess the whole system of military suppression in the Soviet Union, not just part of it. The archival sources available in Lithuania made it possible to identify or trace some of the NKVD–MGB troops that were active during the period in question, while the documents of the NKVD–MGB troops were carefully preserved in the Russian State Military Archive. This year, the author of this article was able to consult the files in the Russian State Military Archive.
German and Lithuanian Security Police (1941–1944)
The aim of this article is to examine the structure and functions of the German Security Police and the SD and Lithuanian Security Police during the Nazi occupation. The author has drawn on documents from various archives on the activities of operational groups and the German and Lithuanian security police.
Soviet Anti-Catholic Church Activities (1953–1967)
One of the most important components of the historical process resulting from the Soviet totalitarian regime in Lithuania was the relationship between the totalitarian government and religion, and in this case its institutional expression, the Catholic Church. The ideological basis of the Soviet totalitarian regime was its communist ideology, which treated religion negatively and had a profound impact not only on the social fabric but also on the life of every individual. Moreover, the Catholic Church in post–war Lithuania remained the only legal institution whose internal life was not completely controlled by the totalitarian regime, which allowed the idea of personal and national freedom to flourish. Thus, without a thorough assessment of these relations, it is impossible to have a good understanding of the Soviet period of Lithuanian history. Unfortunately, the situation of the Catholic Church in the Soviet totalitarian system has not yet received sufficient attention from Lithuanian scholars. More attention in historiography and scientific journalism was given only to the situation of the Church in the first post–war years and in the 1970s and 1980s. In the first case, this was due to the desire to reveal the Catholic Church’s links with the armed partisan resistance movement and the tragic nature of this period, while in the second case it was due to the better availability of sources and the Church’s prominent place in the dissenting alliance. However, the period 1953–1967 is important because it was then that the relationship between the totalitarian authorities and religion had revealed itself in its purest form since the Soviet government’s anti–Church policy could no longer be based on the Church’s links with the secular opposition underground.
Soviet Saboteurs in Lithuania (1941–1944)
The author’s aim is to show what the red army partisan squads and groups were like, where they operated, what their ranks were made of, and what their activities were. This is not easy. Although several collections of war documentaries and memoirs of war participants were published during the Soviet period, they are almost devoid of political or military data that is unfavourable to the regime, because they were forbidden by the NKGB agencies controlled by Moscow. Meanwhile, the authenticity of the documents that have recently been preserved and made public and the veracity of the facts are also doubtful. Only fragments of data on the topic of interest have survived in the funds of the Lithuanian Central State Archives (LCVA).
The Peculiarities of Memoirs Written in the Vortex of Tragic Events
This article uses memoirs and diaries of famous partisans to analyse the circumstances of their formation, peculiarities, similarities, differences, and how they reflect armed resistance and the mentality of partisans.
The Structure and Functions of Soviet Security in Lithuania (1941–1954)
The topic of the article is the structure and functions of the state security organs of the Lithuanian SSR in 1941–1954. The state security organs of the Soviet Union followed a strict internal structure, with each unit carrying out pre–defined functions. The change in the functions of the units also reflected the topicality of the state’s internal policy.
The Activities of NKVD Forces of Rear Defence Fronts in Lithuania (1944–1945)
This is an article on the NKVD army of the 3rd Belarusian background front and is a fragment of a paper on those Soviet military occupying forces (rifle regiments, border regiments and detachments, destruction battalions made up of collaborators) that fought against our partisans during the partisan war (1944–1953) and established the occupiers’ power in Lithuania
Special MVD-MGB Troops in Lithuania (1945–1959)
In 1950, V. Abakumov, Minister of State Security of the USSR, ordered the leadership of the LSSR MGB to: “use all means to solve the main task – to penetrate, through the agency, the centres, headquarters and other leadership units of bandits and nationalist formations, to find out their composition, hiding places and to detain all the participants or to physically destroy them”. The LSSR’s MGB carried out the order successfully in 1951–1953.
The whole of society in the emerging and developed socialist Soviet empire was divided according to its harmfulness and harmlessness into several public and non–public categories: the free, the prisoners, the specially detained, etc. Each category was divided into groups, and groups into subgroups, etc. The categories of prisoners and specially detained had their own ‘colour’. This document reflects which groups in society were considered dangerous. The degree of danger was determined by the State Security Operational Trio.
The Activities of War Archives Committee in Collecting Documents about the Victims of Totalitarian Regimes
On 29 June 1992, the Military Archives’ Commission was set up to investigate Soviet repression on Polish territory. The Russian archives were primarily concerned with researching and copying documents relating to the presence of Polish prisoners of war and internees in the Soviet Union in 1939–1949, and to the crimes committed against other groups of society. The collection became the basis for scientific research and pedagogical work. The documents collected have already been used in numerous publications and historical research papers. They are also used by Polish university lecturers and staff of historical research institutions.
The Basic Non-violence Resistance Forms and Hidden Nationalism as Inner Insubordination to the Soviet Regime in Latvia in seventies and eighties
The non–violent resistance to the Soviet dictatorship by various national groups in Latvia had common and different features. For Latvians, the idea of Latvian independence was the most important, whereas for Jews and Germans the most important was the struggle for the opportunity to leave for their ethnic homeland. Even in the Baltic Military District in the second half of the 1980s, there were open manifestations of nationalism. Taking together the data from the former LKP party archive and the information from ASIO Delta Latvia, it can be said that between 5 and 12 anti–Soviet or nationalist groups would be liquidated in the Latvian SSR each year. This statistical spread of anti–Soviet activities probably depended on the perception of anti–Soviet and/or nationalist activities during the various periods of communist Soviet rule and on the political leadership of the time. Of particular concern to the authorities were the groups and factions involving young people.
Resistance Movement in Estonia in 1955–1985
After the Soviet Union occupied and annexed Estonia in June 1940, the Estonian people immediately began to resist foreign rule, which lasted until Estonia regained its independence in August 1991. Initially, it was a passive resistance to the Soviet transformation of Estonia and an attempt to preserve national values. Active resistance began as soon as the conditions were right. When hostilities broke out between Germany and the Soviet Union, many men retreated into the forests, took to arms and began to fight against retreating German troops, destruction battalions and the red army. Under the Soviet totalitarian regime, active resistance could not be massive. With few exceptions (youth demonstrations in 1980), there were no outbreaks of generalised resistance in Estonia until the late 1980s, unlike it was the case in Hungary in 1956, Czechoslovakia in 1968 and Poland in 1956, 1968, 1976 and 1980.
The Soviet occupation created a pretext for a part of society to collaborate with the occupying power. Alongside the open supporters of the occupying power, a whole army of secret collaborators – MGB–KGB agents – emerged. Espionage and ideological indoctrination of the population is a prerequisite for the existence of a totalitarian system. The two totalitarian ideologies of this century differed fundamentally only in the fact that the fascist ideology gave priority to physical destruction, while the communist ideology – to mental subjugation.
Armed National Resistance Units – the Medium of the Games of the SSSR/Latvian SSR and Great Britain Special Operative Services in 1945–1956
There are very few documentary sources on the activities of the KGB of the Latvian SSR during the period when the KGB organs of the Baltic republics were playing operative games with the intelligence services of Sweden and Great Britain. Based on the available sources, it is possible to give a general outline of the methods of KGB’s operations of the Latvian SSR.