1

00:00:13,383 --> 00:00:15,831

On January 13th, 1991,

 

2

00:00:15,831 --> 00:00:18,492

after 50 years of Soviet rule,

 

3

00:00:18,492 --> 00:00:22,492

the Lithuanian people reignited

their spirit of resistance.

 

4

00:00:27,789 --> 00:00:29,729

Mikail Gorbachev said today

 

5

00:00:29,729 --> 00:00:32,315

that he had no advance knowledge

 

6

00:00:32,315 --> 00:00:34,159

of the Soviet army’s

crackdown that

 

7

00:00:34,159 --> 00:00:36,720

killed fourteen people

on Sunday in Lithuania.

 

8

00:00:39,174 --> 00:00:44,352

I called Moscow to speak with

President Gorbachev.

 

9

00:00:44,352 --> 00:00:50,274

They did not connect me, but

promised to relay my message.

 

10

00:00:50,274 --> 00:00:52,362

I told him that if blood is

 

11

00:00:52,387 --> 00:00:55,171

spilled, it will

fall on his head.

 

12

00:01:03,366 --> 00:01:05,927

Moscow was loosing control

of the Baltic states

 

13

00:01:05,927 --> 00:01:09,875

which it had occupied shortly

before the end of World War 2.

 

14

00:01:12,463 --> 00:01:14,854

This 50 year annexation

of the region

 

15

00:01:14,854 --> 00:01:18,009

was critical to the existence

of the Soviet Union

 

16

00:01:18,034 --> 00:01:20,759

since Estonia, Latvia,

and Lithuania

 

17

00:01:20,735 --> 00:01:24,335

were the gateway to the

Baltic Sea, and Scandinavia.

 

18

00:01:29,778 --> 00:01:33,692

As the Red Army marched in for

the first time in June of 1940

 

19

00:01:33,692 --> 00:01:36,532

the Baltic leaders choose

to not fight back.

 

20

00:01:38,545 --> 00:01:41,912

Their decision led to

tragic consequences.

 

21

00:01:43,505 --> 00:01:45,409

A year later, in 1941,

 

22

00:01:45,409 --> 00:01:47,877

the Nazis pushed out

the Soviets and

 

23

00:01:47,902 --> 00:01:50,436

introduced their own

reign of terror.

 

24

00:01:50,814 --> 00:01:53,649

In 1944, the Soviets returned

 

25

00:01:53,690 --> 00:01:56,254

to continue Stalin’s

dominance of Eastern Europe.

 

26

00:02:03,273 --> 00:02:04,068

This time,

 

27

00:02:04,093 --> 00:02:07,154

the youth who survived the

terror of earlier occupations

 

28

00:02:07,154 --> 00:02:09,487

armed themselves and

took a stand.

 

29

00:02:11,187 --> 00:02:13,726

These guerilla fighters

were called the partisans

 

30

00:02:13,726 --> 00:02:15,269

or “Forest Brothers”.

 

31

00:02:17,526 --> 00:02:20,441

They were students,

teachers, and villagers

 

32

00:02:20,441 --> 00:02:23,124

with little to no

military training

 

33

00:02:23,124 --> 00:02:26,059

who were bonded in their

desire for independence.

 

34

00:02:28,553 --> 00:02:30,069

Out of the 3 Baltic States,

 

35

00:02:30,095 --> 00:02:33,772

the Lithuanian resistance

was the largest.

 

36

00:02:33,866 --> 00:02:37,376

One person out of every 20

was involved in the movement

 

37

00:02:37,474 --> 00:02:39,304

and out of nearly 3 million,

 

38

00:02:39,304 --> 00:02:41,755

more than 30,000 took up arms

 

39

00:02:41,780 --> 00:02:44,887

and another 100,000

thousand provided support.

 

40

00:02:44,983 --> 00:02:47,835

This would be the equivalent

of 15 million Americans

 

41

00:02:47,835 --> 00:02:49,835

joining a

resistance today.

 

42

00:02:53,494 --> 00:02:57,270

The icon of the movement

is Jouzas Luksa.

 

43

00:02:57,270 --> 00:03:01,082

Luksa broke through the

Iron Curtain and at great risk

 

44

00:03:01,082 --> 00:03:04,348

returned to Soviet Lithuania

as a CIA operative.

 

45

00:03:06,132 --> 00:03:08,552

This is the story

of Jouzas Luksa

 

46

00:03:08,552 --> 00:03:10,486

and the spirit of resistance.

 

47

00:04:40,169 --> 00:04:43,750

Juozas Luksa was a 24 year old

architecture student

 

48

00:04:43,750 --> 00:04:46,762

when he joined the partisans

with his three brothers.

 

49

00:04:46,991 --> 00:04:49,758

He became an editor for the

underground press

 

50

00:04:49,758 --> 00:04:51,265

and his greatest achievment

 

51

00:04:51,265 --> 00:04:53,360

was to get the story of

the partisan struggle

 

52

00:04:53,360 --> 00:04:54,427

out to the West.

 

53

00:04:56,824 --> 00:05:02,384

{an8}To me he is one of the, probably

most outstanding idealists.

 

54

00:05:02,407 --> 00:05:07,581

He was active, a

brilliant, educated man.

 

55

00:05:07,581 --> 00:05:14,867

who believed in the ideals of

the free nations and free men.

 

56

00:05:15,645 --> 00:05:19,380

And he became one of the

symbols strengthening

 

57

00:05:19,405 --> 00:05:22,503

the spirit of the

fighting the nation.

 

58

00:05:22,810 --> 00:05:27,631

{an8}He always felt… and I think not

only he

 

59

00:05:27,631 --> 00:05:30,363

but most of the freedom

fighters.

 

60

00:05:30,363 --> 00:05:35,733

For them Lithuania and

the fight for the freedom

 

61

00:05:36,241 --> 00:05:40,564

comes first, before your

family, before your lives.

 

62

00:05:45,077 --> 00:05:49,573

Well Juozas Luksa became,

I think in the eyes of,

 

63

00:05:49,573 --> 00:05:52,811

a majority of

Lithuanians

 

64

00:05:52,811 --> 00:05:55,153

who study history and are

familiar with their past,

 

65

00:05:55,153 --> 00:05:56,760

as a heroic figure.

 

66

00:05:57,280 --> 00:05:59,704

And I think his

book, his memoir,

 

67

00:05:59,704 --> 00:06:01,704

which I read as

a...

 

68

00:06:01,770 --> 00:06:04,496

I think I was in grade seven or

eight...

 

69

00:06:04,520 --> 00:06:06,322

..was an enormous impact.

 

70

00:06:06,528 --> 00:06:08,192

And its not

untypical, I think,

 

71

00:06:08,192 --> 00:06:11,992

of the best and the brightest

of the partisan movement.

 

72

00:06:14,903 --> 00:06:16,075

It happened.

 

73

00:06:16,567 --> 00:06:18,270

{an8}Against our will,

 

74

00:06:18,271 --> 00:06:21,559

{an8}the “Red Terror” had

returned to our land.

 

75

00:06:22,976 --> 00:06:26,014

It returned slowly, creeping

across the country,

 

76

00:06:26,039 --> 00:06:28,152

marking its

trail with fires and ruins,

 

77

00:06:28,152 --> 00:06:31,226

leaving people with a

sinking sense of dread.

 

78

00:06:31,315 --> 00:06:35,041

At this moment, there were

only two alternatives:

 

79

00:06:35,041 --> 00:06:36,511

to remain on our land

 

80

00:06:36,511 --> 00:06:39,554

and continue the fight with

absolute determination,

 

81

00:06:39,579 --> 00:06:41,392

or retreat

from the trenches

 

82

00:06:41,392 --> 00:06:44,084

with the hope of being

able to reach asylum

 

83

00:06:44,084 --> 00:06:46,284

in the democracies

of the West.

 

84

00:07:01,201 --> 00:07:03,595

The Soviets quickly gained

control of the country

 

85

00:07:03,595 --> 00:07:06,688

through rigged elections and

forced displays of loyalty.

 

86

00:07:08,031 --> 00:07:10,031

They nationalized

private property

 

87

00:07:10,193 --> 00:07:12,549

and deported the

elite to Siberia.

 

88

00:07:14,076 --> 00:07:17,443

Any opposition to their rule

was driven underground.

 

89

00:07:19,200 --> 00:07:21,386

The Jakimavicius

family lived on the

 

90

00:07:21,411 --> 00:07:23,301

border of Lithuania and Poland.

 

91

00:07:23,661 --> 00:07:26,474

They allowed the partisans

use of their farm

 

92

00:07:26,473 --> 00:07:29,958

as a launching point to smuggle

intelligence out to the west.

 

93

00:07:31,931 --> 00:07:34,183

When the Soviets occupied

Lithuania.

 

94

00:07:35,411 --> 00:07:37,919

They started persecuting

the intellectuals,

 

95

00:07:37,944 --> 00:07:39,054

especially the

teachers.

 

96

00:07:39,054 --> 00:07:42,844

In Lithuania, a teacher

was an authority figure.

 

97

00:07:43,761 --> 00:07:48,353

Teachers were at the center

of culture and patriotism.

 

98

00:07:48,353 --> 00:07:52,278

They taught children

morality

 

99

00:07:52,348 --> 00:07:54,803

which was a threat to the

Communists,

 

100

00:07:54,804 --> 00:07:58,263

so they turned person

against person.

 

101

00:07:59,921 --> 00:08:01,990

If we take the

numbers of people

 

102

00:08:02,015 --> 00:08:04,146

who underwent

Soviet deportation,

 

103

00:08:04,523 --> 00:08:06,475

including my own

uncle and cousin,

 

104

00:08:07,236 --> 00:08:09,779

we are speaking in

terms of numbers

 

105

00:08:09,804 --> 00:08:12,392

between 150,000 and

200,000 persons.

 

106

00:08:12,392 --> 00:08:14,392

Particularly if we include

those sent to prisons

 

107

00:08:14,417 --> 00:08:16,050

rather than just deported.

 

108

00:08:16,320 --> 00:08:19,068

In a nation of around

3 million people.

 

109

00:08:19,178 --> 00:08:20,783

Its an enormous impact.

 

110

00:08:21,048 --> 00:08:23,773

Considering also that

many of these people died

 

111

00:08:23,773 --> 00:08:26,477

either on the way to Siberia or

Kazakhstan

 

112

00:08:26,477 --> 00:08:29,011

or central Asia or other

such places.

 

113

00:08:34,236 --> 00:08:37,150

{an8}Ryte Merkyte’s father was

a local government official

 

114

00:08:37,150 --> 00:08:39,109

{an8}and her mother

was a teacher.

 

115

00:08:39,376 --> 00:08:41,105

{an8}She was nine years old when

 

116

00:08:41,130 --> 00:08:43,067

her family was

deported to Siberia.

 

117

00:08:44,955 --> 00:08:47,267

In the middle of the night,

 

118

00:08:47,267 --> 00:08:50,431

there was a loud

banging on the door.

 

119

00:08:50,431 --> 00:08:53,635

I heard men talking.

 

120

00:08:53,958 --> 00:08:56,224

I was

in my nightgown, barefoot.

 

121

00:08:56,224 --> 00:08:59,694

I walked

into the room.

 

122

00:09:00,280 --> 00:09:03,116

And I saw several

armed men.

 

123

00:09:03,116 --> 00:09:06,264

The atmosphere was

tense.

 

124

00:09:07,359 --> 00:09:11,284

They told us that we had to

pack our things

 

125

00:09:11,284 --> 00:09:13,269

and we had to go

with them.

 

126

00:09:13,269 --> 00:09:16,598

I remember this moment

very well.

 

127

00:09:17,041 --> 00:09:19,065

My mother walked up and

pointed at the clock.

 

128

00:09:19,074 --> 00:09:23,605

She traced the hours with her

finger - 4, 5, 6 o’clock.

 

129

00:09:23,605 --> 00:09:25,851

We only had

this much time to get ready.

 

130

00:09:27,136 --> 00:09:29,767

There were many people at

the train station because

 

131

00:09:29,767 --> 00:09:31,884

some deportees were

accompanied by their loved

 

132

00:09:31,909 --> 00:09:34,113

ones and others were looking

for their relatives.

 

133

00:09:35,406 --> 00:09:38,880

Then I saw my father

being led over.

 

134

00:09:38,892 --> 00:09:42,378

He didn't have any

luggage with him.

 

135

00:09:42,941 --> 00:09:46,129

He was as

elegant as always.

 

136

00:09:46,129 --> 00:09:48,746

He had a slight limp and

walked with a cane and a hat.

 

137

00:09:48,746 --> 00:09:51,758

So then I started

shouting loudly.

 

138

00:09:58,081 --> 00:10:02,170

This moment often plays out

in my mind like a film.

 

139

00:10:02,942 --> 00:10:06,326

When my father heard his

child's voice he said,

 

140

00:10:06,326 --> 00:10:09,464

“My family is over there.

I have to go with them.”

 

141

00:10:12,375 --> 00:10:14,750

And so he surrendered.

 

142

00:10:16,503 --> 00:10:18,534

My father had only

one request -

 

143

00:10:18,559 --> 00:10:20,415

that he not be separated

from his family.

 

144

00:10:20,440 --> 00:10:22,421

He knew the Soviets were

separating families.

 

145

00:10:22,446 --> 00:10:24,023

They let him stay with

us.

 

146

00:10:24,094 --> 00:10:25,547

We spent one night together.

 

147

00:10:25,547 --> 00:10:27,257

Then the next night,

we arrived in New Vilnia.

 

148

00:10:27,282 --> 00:10:29,079

There, our family

was separated.

 

149

00:10:33,063 --> 00:10:34,953

Within a year of being deported,

 

150

00:10:34,953 --> 00:10:38,486

Ryte’s father died of starvation

in a forced labor camp.

 

151

00:10:39,258 --> 00:10:41,644

Ryte and the rest of her

family were allowed

 

152

00:10:41,669 --> 00:10:43,976

to return to Lithuania

13 years later

 

153

00:10:43,976 --> 00:10:45,776

when she was

22 years old.

 

154

00:11:21,172 --> 00:11:25,498

All of this was inconceivable in

the West.

 

155

00:11:25,498 --> 00:11:27,681

How could this have

happened?

 

156

00:11:28,488 --> 00:11:29,098

For example,

 

157

00:11:29,123 --> 00:11:30,944

if your father owned 75 acres,

 

158

00:11:30,969 --> 00:11:33,207

the Soviets considered

you a wealthy landowner.

 

159

00:11:33,760 --> 00:11:35,206

You must be

ruined.

 

160

00:11:35,206 --> 00:11:37,637

Schools became closed to

you. You were nothing.

 

161

00:11:37,637 --> 00:11:39,496

You became a manual laborer

 

162

00:11:39,521 --> 00:11:42,794

with 5 or 6 men looking

over your shoulder.

 

163

00:11:46,170 --> 00:11:48,663

The Soviet tactic of

pitting the less fortunate

 

164

00:11:48,663 --> 00:11:51,240

against the fortunate had

a devastating affect.

 

165

00:11:52,340 --> 00:11:54,020

Neighbour turned

against neighbour,

 

166

00:11:54,022 --> 00:11:57,289

as suspicion spread

throughout the country side.

 

167

00:12:07,728 --> 00:12:09,295

The Luksa family township,

 

168

00:12:09,295 --> 00:12:10,768

like

most of Lithuania,

 

169

00:12:10,768 --> 00:12:13,112

was torn apart

by the new Soviet order.

 

170

00:12:15,321 --> 00:12:17,410

{an8}Luksa’s neighbor,

Aldona Smailyte,

 

171

00:12:17,410 --> 00:12:19,628

{an8}was a witness to

the growing tensions

 

172

00:12:19,629 --> 00:12:21,629

{an8} which lead to the resistance.

 

173

00:12:22,681 --> 00:12:25,881

Our world was

turned upside down.

 

174

00:12:25,881 --> 00:12:27,733

We stopped interacting with our

neighbors.

 

175

00:12:27,733 --> 00:12:32,036

You could not talk to anyone,

only to your close friends.

 

176

00:12:32,944 --> 00:12:34,881

People began drinking.

 

177

00:12:36,112 --> 00:12:37,445

Drinking,

drinking.

 

178

00:12:37,470 --> 00:12:39,403

They knew they had nothing else.

 

179

00:12:39,403 --> 00:12:43,255

Their land would be confiscated

and they'd be left with nothing.

 

180

00:12:43,255 --> 00:12:46,989

And in this situation,

we were waiting.

 

181

00:12:46,989 --> 00:12:49,435

We were all waiting

for something.

 

182

00:12:49,435 --> 00:12:51,294

We were waiting for

something bad.

 

183

00:12:51,319 --> 00:12:53,489

No one waited for anything good

anymore.

 

184

00:12:53,489 --> 00:12:55,822

Something bad was going to

happen.

 

185

00:12:57,366 --> 00:13:00,212

{an8}Aldona’s neighbors

were the Miknevicius family.

 

186

00:13:00,212 --> 00:13:02,412

{an8}They were Lithuanian

Communists.

 

187

00:13:03,569 --> 00:13:07,312

My father worked as

the chairman of the

 

188

00:13:07,337 --> 00:13:10,891

Soviet Land

Redistribution Committee.

 

189

00:13:12,184 --> 00:13:15,175

This was a very big

deal for him.

 

190

00:13:15,175 --> 00:13:17,378

Not only because he

was paid a salary,

 

191

00:13:17,403 --> 00:13:19,121

but also because he

was able to take

 

192

00:13:19,146 --> 00:13:20,978

land away from the

wealthy land owners.

 

193

00:13:20,978 --> 00:13:25,850

He redistributed their

property to the landless.

 

194

00:13:30,545 --> 00:13:35,092

The Mikneviãius family

were Communists

 

195

00:13:35,117 --> 00:13:39,755

and they received a

salary from Russia.

 

196

00:13:39,755 --> 00:13:43,021

So as soon as the

Soviets arrived,

 

197

00:13:43,046 --> 00:13:46,193

they joined them

in their agenda.

 

198

00:13:46,193 --> 00:13:50,263

They began informing

on and accusing people.

 

199

00:13:54,629 --> 00:13:59,402

They were then killed by the

partisan court martial.

 

200

00:14:00,707 --> 00:14:03,379

They came at night.

 

201

00:14:06,706 --> 00:14:09,371

They announced

themselves.

 

202

00:14:09,371 --> 00:14:11,752

My father opened the

door.

 

203

00:14:12,996 --> 00:14:17,536

They struck my father in the

face with the butt of a gun.

 

204

00:14:18,333 --> 00:14:22,372

As they beat him, they accused

him of being a commissar,

 

205

00:14:22,647 --> 00:14:25,793

the Chairman of the Land

Distribution Commission,

 

206

00:14:26,051 --> 00:14:29,724

and an activist in the Soviet

government.

 

207

00:14:30,334 --> 00:14:32,806

And this, and that,

and that.

 

208

00:14:32,806 --> 00:14:33,806

You understand?

 

209

00:14:34,396 --> 00:14:36,357

In the end, they

decided to shoot him.

 

210

00:14:39,506 --> 00:14:42,648

I categorically

decided that I would

 

211

00:14:42,673 --> 00:14:45,475

join the Soviet

Security Forces.

 

212

00:14:48,936 --> 00:14:51,233

And I would avenge my parents.

 

213

00:14:51,258 --> 00:14:52,297

Avenge.

 

214

00:14:54,272 --> 00:14:57,349

{an8}Vincas Bilskis’s family

lived in the same village.

 

215

00:14:57,349 --> 00:15:00,140

{an8}His father was abducted

by the Soviet special forces

 

216

00:15:00,140 --> 00:15:03,007

{an8}for exposing a group of

undercover agents.

 

217

00:15:04,431 --> 00:15:07,049

Our farm was very large.

 

218

00:15:07,049 --> 00:15:10,085

There was a partisan

camp over there,

 

219

00:15:10,110 --> 00:15:13,441

near the location where

they were killed.

 

220

00:15:13,441 --> 00:15:17,820

About 300 meters from our

field.

 

221

00:15:19,327 --> 00:15:25,202

It was Sunday, July 15th.

 

222

00:15:25,853 --> 00:15:31,109

My brother, mother, and I went

looking for them.

 

223

00:15:32,295 --> 00:15:36,420

My father was

hung up by his legs

 

224

00:15:38,084 --> 00:15:39,718

into an

anthill.

 

225

00:15:40,089 --> 00:15:45,941

All the flesh was eaten away and

just his skeleton was left.

 

226

00:15:46,593 --> 00:15:50,801

Completely down to the bone.

 

227

00:15:54,309 --> 00:15:57,410

The others were lynched.

 

228

00:15:59,862 --> 00:16:02,616

Their eyes were torn out.

 

229

00:16:02,616 --> 00:16:05,983

They were all cut up. Their

extremities were chopped off.

 

230

00:16:05,983 --> 00:16:07,914

They were naked.

 

231

00:16:07,914 --> 00:16:11,701

You

know, when it comes to torture,

 

232

00:16:11,701 --> 00:16:14,167

the Soviets were

real professionals.

 

233

00:16:18,037 --> 00:16:21,256

Only we who lived

through that hell

 

234

00:16:21,256 --> 00:16:24,946

can comprehend why there

was a resistance.

 

235

00:16:24,946 --> 00:16:28,323

You knew that if you

chose to be a partisan

 

236

00:16:28,348 --> 00:16:31,571

you were signing your

own death sentence.

 

237

00:16:44,641 --> 00:16:47,142

{an8}I learned from my friends

that the partisans

 

238

00:16:47,142 --> 00:16:51,276

{an8}were already making appearances

throughout Lithuania.

 

239

00:16:52,188 --> 00:16:55,915

{an8}The ranks of the partisans

swelled like rapid fire

 

240

00:16:55,915 --> 00:16:57,336

{an8}across the country

 

241

00:16:57,336 --> 00:16:59,670

{an8}through all social and

economic classes

 

242

00:16:59,695 --> 00:17:03,480

{an8}as the Soviets continued

looting, making arrests,

 

243

00:17:03,480 --> 00:17:04,880

and murdering people.

 

244

00:17:11,433 --> 00:17:13,237

When Luksa joined the partisans

 

245

00:17:13,237 --> 00:17:14,948

he discovered that, like him,

 

246

00:17:14,973 --> 00:17:17,088

most of his new

comrades were a mix

 

247

00:17:17,113 --> 00:17:18,653

of villagers, high

school students

 

248

00:17:18,653 --> 00:17:20,253

and university students.

 

249

00:17:23,788 --> 00:17:25,788

Since the Soviets

has either executed

 

250

00:17:25,820 --> 00:17:29,188

or exilled most of the

military personnel to Siberia

 

251

00:17:29,213 --> 00:17:31,137

there were very few

officers remaining

 

252

00:17:31,137 --> 00:17:33,031

from the former Lithuania army

 

253

00:17:33,031 --> 00:17:35,330

who were able to join

in the resistance.

 

254

00:17:35,330 --> 00:17:38,106

The young men and women who

did join the partisans

 

255

00:17:38,107 --> 00:17:40,844

had joined entirely of

their own free will

 

256

00:17:40,844 --> 00:17:42,779

and were united in a common goal

 

257

00:17:42,779 --> 00:17:45,450

to try and repel the

Soviet occupation.

 

258

00:17:45,721 --> 00:17:48,254

They saw themselves as

the true Lithuanian army

 

259

00:17:48,254 --> 00:17:51,006

and organized themselves

into military units

 

260

00:17:51,006 --> 00:17:53,539

and adhered to a

strict partisan code.

 

261

00:17:58,450 --> 00:18:00,387

They collected the

weapons which had

 

262

00:18:00,399 --> 00:18:02,400

been dropped all over

the countryside.

 

263

00:18:02,400 --> 00:18:07,228

The partisans picked up the

weapons and fought with them.

 

264

00:18:07,228 --> 00:18:08,961

No one gave them anything.

 

265

00:18:09,327 --> 00:18:11,524

So you see, you had

all the guns you

 

266

00:18:11,536 --> 00:18:13,744

needed, all the

ammunition you needed

 

267

00:18:14,160 --> 00:18:16,760

Just pick up a gun,

brother, and shoot.

 

268

00:18:23,932 --> 00:18:26,666

To avoid forced conscription

into the Red Army,

 

269

00:18:26,666 --> 00:18:28,468

Luksa’s brother, Antanas,

 

270

00:18:28,468 --> 00:18:31,831

fled his position as a teacher

to join the resistance.

 

271

00:18:32,783 --> 00:18:35,796

Our fates could have

been different.

 

272

00:18:36,036 --> 00:18:40,367

While Juozas was working

at the University,

 

273

00:18:40,367 --> 00:18:42,835

he learned the Soviets

were after him.

 

274

00:18:43,570 --> 00:18:48,444

Not a single one of us agreed

to join the Soviet army,

 

275

00:18:48,444 --> 00:18:52,894

and sacrifice our lives for the

ideals of that bloody enemy.

 

276

00:18:52,894 --> 00:18:58,857

We would rather die in Lithuania

fighting against that enemy.

 

277

00:19:01,391 --> 00:19:03,391

We were now Partisans.

 

278

00:19:04,537 --> 00:19:06,783

We put on our partisan clothing,

 

279

00:19:06,783 --> 00:19:09,845

tied ammunition belts and

grenades across our chests,

 

280

00:19:09,845 --> 00:19:11,561

and clutching our weapons,

 

281

00:19:11,561 --> 00:19:13,894

went to say good-bye

to our family.

 

282

00:19:25,500 --> 00:19:31,632

One day, my siblings

and I all happened

 

283

00:19:31,644 --> 00:19:36,406

to be home visiting our mother.

 

284

00:19:39,411 --> 00:19:43,512

As we were preparing to leave,

 

285

00:19:43,512 --> 00:19:48,079

our mother placed her hand

on our heads and said:

 

286

00:19:48,079 --> 00:19:51,279

"My sons, just do not let

them take you alive.”

 

287

00:19:54,313 --> 00:19:56,994

In our hearts, we

asked God to bless us

 

288

00:19:56,995 --> 00:19:59,746

{an8}and then we took our

first steps as partisans

 

289

00:19:59,746 --> 00:20:02,174

{an8}out across our native land.

 

290

00:20:02,642 --> 00:20:04,668

{an8}The land which we had vowed

 

291

00:20:04,668 --> 00:20:09,293

{an8} to sacrifice all of our

earthly joys, hopes, and lives.

 

292

00:20:12,475 --> 00:20:15,136

My brothers and I

took our place in the

 

293

00:20:15,148 --> 00:20:17,487

long line of brothers

of the night,

 

294

00:20:17,487 --> 00:20:21,311

a line of men who were ready

to sacrifice their lives

 

295

00:20:21,311 --> 00:20:24,178

so that their land might

be free once more.

 

296

00:20:30,388 --> 00:20:38,172

One day, my platoon arrived

at this outlying field.

 

297

00:20:38,492 --> 00:20:43,695

As we were eating breakfast,

our watchman, codename "Uncle"

 

298

00:20:43,695 --> 00:20:49,093

ran up and yelled, "The

Russians are coming!"

 

299

00:20:50,235 --> 00:20:53,865

The order was given to

immediately evacuate the camp

 

300

00:20:53,865 --> 00:20:55,865

and prepare for battle.

 

301

00:20:57,407 --> 00:21:01,291

We were led by our

man "Security,"

 

302

00:21:01,303 --> 00:21:04,865

who knew these

woods quite well.

 

303

00:21:04,865 --> 00:21:17,935

As we marched, we almost fell

directly into a garrison patrol.

 

304

00:21:18,362 --> 00:21:21,859

And then, a huge

firefight broke out.

 

305

00:21:30,848 --> 00:21:34,367

After taking fire from

three directions at once,

 

306

00:21:34,367 --> 00:21:36,101

the Soviets were confused.

 

307

00:21:39,421 --> 00:21:41,710

I will never forget this moment.

 

308

00:21:41,710 --> 00:21:46,781

The commanders of the company

“Tiger” and “Greyhound,”

 

309

00:21:46,781 --> 00:21:51,710

ran down the line with

their subsubmachine guns.

 

310

00:21:51,710 --> 00:21:56,293

They were shouting: "Men, for

Lithuania, for freedom!"

 

311

00:21:58,148 --> 00:22:00,986

I will never forget the

 

312

00:22:00,998 --> 00:22:05,212

patriotism of these

ordinary men.

 

313

00:22:07,542 --> 00:22:10,605

A year later on June 13th, 1947

 

314

00:22:10,605 --> 00:22:13,092

Antanas was captured

by the Soviets.

 

315

00:22:13,092 --> 00:22:16,634

He was sentenced to fifteen

years hard labor in Siberia.

 

316

00:22:45,676 --> 00:22:48,449

At its peak the resistance

was able to thrive

 

317

00:22:48,449 --> 00:22:50,199

due to the support

of the villagers

 

318

00:22:50,199 --> 00:22:53,132

who provided food, shelter

and intelligence.

 

319

00:22:54,558 --> 00:22:58,040

We found out that there were

partisans in the forest.

 

320

00:22:58,172 --> 00:23:00,528

We felt that we

had to help them.

 

321

00:23:03,729 --> 00:23:05,109

Leonora Rubine joined the

 

322

00:23:05,121 --> 00:23:07,070

resistance when she

was a teenager

 

323

00:23:07,264 --> 00:23:09,079

and spent three years undercover

 

324

00:23:09,079 --> 00:23:11,183

delivering messages

throughout the country.

 

325

00:23:13,104 --> 00:23:16,896

Our point of contact

would be verified to

 

326

00:23:16,908 --> 00:23:20,711

determine if they were

really on our side.

 

327

00:23:20,736 --> 00:23:22,553

Because sometimes

they were working

 

328

00:23:22,565 --> 00:23:24,445

for both [the Soviets

and partisans].

 

329

00:23:24,445 --> 00:23:26,784

We didn't always

know for certain.

 

330

00:23:29,456 --> 00:23:32,784

We were never afraid

of being arrested.

 

331

00:23:32,784 --> 00:23:38,393

We just went and did what

we could to help people.

 

332

00:23:39,815 --> 00:23:43,702

As the children of a

partisan supporters we

 

333

00:23:43,714 --> 00:23:47,968

collected information and

gave it to our father.

 

334

00:23:47,968 --> 00:23:54,187

He then passed it on to other

supporters in the area.

 

335

00:23:54,187 --> 00:23:57,571

There were partisan

messengers everywhere.

 

336

00:23:57,571 --> 00:24:03,425

Whether we wanted to or not, we

were drawn into the resistance.

 

337

00:24:03,451 --> 00:24:06,639

We participated in the

silent resistance.

 

338

00:24:06,638 --> 00:24:11,905

We could not talk

about it in public.

 

339

00:24:12,327 --> 00:24:13,656

To enforce the occupation,

 

340

00:24:13,656 --> 00:24:17,379

Moscow stationed nearly 100,000

Red Army troops in Lithuania.

 

341

00:24:18,098 --> 00:24:20,113

Additionally, they

deployed 20,000

 

342

00:24:20,125 --> 00:24:22,037

specially trained

interior forces

 

343

00:24:22,037 --> 00:24:24,437

to counter the

partisan insurgency.

 

344

00:24:36,588 --> 00:24:40,251

Gennadiy Gusev was one of the

thousands of Soviet Soldiers

 

345

00:24:40,276 --> 00:24:42,644

deployed to fight in

the partisan war.

 

346

00:24:42,676 --> 00:24:48,927

Our task was to eliminate the

bandit groups and create

 

347

00:24:48,952 --> 00:24:54,634

peaceful living conditions

for the common people.

 

348

00:25:01,568 --> 00:25:05,466

I remember an operation

in the Ukmergò area.

 

349

00:25:06,666 --> 00:25:10,905

A partisan group mined the

road and arranged an ambush.

 

350

00:25:10,905 --> 00:25:14,697

When the first truck

approached, they blew it up

 

351

00:25:14,697 --> 00:25:17,497

and eighteen of our

soldiers were killed.

 

352

00:25:19,710 --> 00:25:23,592

When we reached the road, we

planted several anti-tank mines.

 

353

00:25:23,592 --> 00:25:25,538

We then took cover

in nearby trenches

 

354

00:25:25,538 --> 00:25:27,397

and waited to pick off whatever

 

355

00:25:27,409 --> 00:25:29,461

enemy troops might

try to escape.

 

356

00:25:33,640 --> 00:25:37,751

We hunted them down and

three or four surrendered.

 

357

00:25:37,763 --> 00:25:41,643

We killed eight or ten, I

can't recall how many.

 

358

00:25:43,291 --> 00:25:48,481

Why did we call it

"the invisible front?"

 

359

00:25:48,481 --> 00:25:53,356

Well, at the time, the

mass media kept it secret.

 

360

00:25:53,356 --> 00:25:59,953

This was not publicly known.

It was classified.

 

361

00:25:59,953 --> 00:26:02,885

When we talked

amongst ourselves,

 

362

00:26:02,897 --> 00:26:05,754

we called it the

invisible front.

 

363

00:26:05,754 --> 00:26:07,300

Very simple.

 

364

00:26:21,950 --> 00:26:25,128

As partisan loses mounted

it became clear to Luksa

 

365

00:26:25,128 --> 00:26:27,347

that the control of information

was more important

 

366

00:26:27,347 --> 00:26:28,964

than armed conflict.

 

367

00:26:32,644 --> 00:26:34,899

He set up his underground

press near Kaunas

 

368

00:26:34,899 --> 00:26:37,699

at the family farm of

Stasys Dovydaitis..

 

369

00:26:38,954 --> 00:26:43,533

Luksa published articles in

the underground newspapers,

 

370

00:26:43,533 --> 00:26:46,998

in particular the ones called

"Scout" and "Struggle".

 

371

00:26:46,998 --> 00:26:52,881

The articles described the

international situation.

 

372

00:26:52,881 --> 00:26:56,136

This was totally necessary

for the resistance as

 

373

00:26:56,148 --> 00:26:59,548

they were the only source

of objective information.

 

374

00:27:00,636 --> 00:27:03,781

We lacked the equipment to

prepare the printing plates.

 

375

00:27:04,007 --> 00:27:06,644

As a result, we had to sharpen

the point of a bullet

 

376

00:27:06,644 --> 00:27:08,561

and use it as an etching tool.

 

377

00:27:09,209 --> 00:27:12,444

We posted the proclamations

in the larger intersections

 

378

00:27:12,444 --> 00:27:14,444

and planted mines around them.

 

379

00:27:15,240 --> 00:27:18,919

Quite a few Soviets lost their

lives trying to take them down.

 

380

00:27:45,469 --> 00:27:49,807

By 1947 Lithuania was virtually

cut off from the outside world.

 

381

00:27:49,807 --> 00:27:52,293

And the partisans

understood that they would

 

382

00:27:52,305 --> 00:27:54,470

not last without

support from the West.

 

383

00:27:55,087 --> 00:27:58,065

That summer Luksa and his

close friend Rymvydas

 

384

00:27:58,065 --> 00:28:00,322

broke through the Iron

Curtain into Poland

 

385

00:28:00,334 --> 00:28:02,656

to connect with exile

resistance supporters.

 

386

00:28:03,345 --> 00:28:04,783

Their aim was to discern

 

387

00:28:04,783 --> 00:28:08,144

whether the West would help to

and free the Balitcs.

 

388

00:28:09,634 --> 00:28:14,104

My father and I built a cart

with two under-carriages.

 

389

00:28:14,104 --> 00:28:17,251

We disassembled it,

placed many documents

 

390

00:28:17,251 --> 00:28:19,542

and photographs inside

and reassembled it.

 

391

00:28:19,908 --> 00:28:22,891

Juozas Luksa hid in

the back of the cart

 

392

00:28:22,903 --> 00:28:25,606

with an automatic

and his two scouts.

 

393

00:28:25,606 --> 00:28:30,801

We hid them under hay

and headed westward.

 

394

00:28:33,645 --> 00:28:37,946

We said a short prayer and then

set out for the Polish border.

 

395

00:28:38,502 --> 00:28:40,966

Though there were fifteen

of us, Rimvydas and

 

396

00:28:40,978 --> 00:28:43,131

I continued accompanied

by three guides,

 

397

00:28:43,131 --> 00:28:45,071

who made the crossing with us.

 

398

00:28:45,563 --> 00:28:49,147

The others were fully prepared

to serve as live targets

 

399

00:28:49,147 --> 00:28:51,347

in the event of

an enemy attack.

 

400

00:29:01,454 --> 00:29:05,119

This is Rimvydas. We are

going to see his bunker.

 

401

00:29:05,144 --> 00:29:07,869

He was sent by his

district headquarters

 

402

00:29:07,885 --> 00:29:11,746

to smuggle photographs

of burned Lithuanian

 

403

00:29:11,758 --> 00:29:15,367

villages and murdered

people to the West.

 

404

00:29:15,488 --> 00:29:19,120

Information - this is why they

were so intensely hunted.

 

405

00:29:19,120 --> 00:29:21,663

They were afraid of

information reaching the

 

406

00:29:21,675 --> 00:29:24,230

West and getting into

the hands of the media.

 

407

00:29:24,230 --> 00:29:27,686

This was of great concern

[to the Soviets].

 

408

00:29:40,512 --> 00:29:43,810

Luksa and Rimvydas successfully

returned to Lithuania

 

409

00:29:43,810 --> 00:29:46,793

but were unable to garner

any support from the west.

 

410

00:29:48,801 --> 00:29:51,516

Two years later on

September 9th, 1949

 

411

00:29:51,516 --> 00:29:53,904

Rimvydas was

discovered hiding in a

 

412

00:29:53,916 --> 00:29:56,050

bunker on the

Jakimavicius farm.

 

413

00:29:58,418 --> 00:30:00,582

So, it was around

seven in the morning.

 

414

00:30:00,607 --> 00:30:05,029

I went out to pull

feed for the horses.

 

415

00:30:05,563 --> 00:30:09,178

I saw something moving around.

 

416

00:30:10,348 --> 00:30:12,455

I realized that

this was not good.

 

417

00:30:12,480 --> 00:30:14,411

We were surrounded by soldiers.

 

418

00:30:22,045 --> 00:30:28,757

They pushed me towards the

bunker to open it up.

 

419

00:30:28,782 --> 00:30:31,270

I protested, saying

that I was a civilian

 

420

00:30:31,282 --> 00:30:33,186

and had nothing

to do with this.

 

421

00:30:33,211 --> 00:30:35,160

Ignoring this,

they hit me in the

 

422

00:30:35,172 --> 00:30:37,077

shoulder with the

butt of a rifle.

 

423

00:30:37,077 --> 00:30:39,435

They shouted "you die”.

 

424

00:30:39,435 --> 00:30:41,989

They heard rumors that

Lithuanians do not surrender.

 

425

00:30:42,014 --> 00:30:44,481

That they were blowing

themselves up.

 

426

00:30:46,608 --> 00:30:48,162

I uncovered the bunker.

 

427

00:30:48,162 --> 00:30:53,319

I found Rimvydas lying

crumpled with a bloodied head.

 

428

00:30:54,304 --> 00:30:58,196

And the other partisan had

shot himself through the chin.

 

429

00:30:58,780 --> 00:31:01,714

He was still holding his

pistol in his hand.

 

430

00:31:10,016 --> 00:31:12,504

Step-by-step Russian

culture, language and

 

431

00:31:12,529 --> 00:31:15,363

history were enforced on

all spheres of society.

 

432

00:31:17,484 --> 00:31:19,348

The Lithuanian flag was banned,

 

433

00:31:19,727 --> 00:31:21,799

teachers were given

strict restrictions

 

434

00:31:21,799 --> 00:31:23,932

and propaganda was inescapable.

 

435

00:31:26,352 --> 00:31:30,685

There was little choice left but

to feign loyalty to the regime.

 

436

00:31:44,085 --> 00:31:46,263

{an8}When his family was

deported to Siberia,

 

437

00:31:46,263 --> 00:31:48,096

{an8}Jonas Kadzionis fled to the

 

438

00:31:48,108 --> 00:31:49,786

forest to join the partisans.

 

439

00:31:51,713 --> 00:31:53,888

After five years of

living in bunkers

 

440

00:31:53,888 --> 00:31:58,088

he was betrayed by a friend and

sent to the Gulag for 25 years.

 

441

00:32:17,046 --> 00:32:21,937

In the summer heat, when there

was no wind, it was stifling.

 

442

00:32:22,288 --> 00:32:23,976

This was a problem.

 

443

00:32:24,038 --> 00:32:26,322

You could not even

light a match.

 

444

00:32:26,347 --> 00:32:28,963

In the winter, there

was always enough air.

 

445

00:32:32,979 --> 00:32:36,258

Living in the bunker,

we were free.

 

446

00:32:36,258 --> 00:32:39,384

Unless you were betrayed,

 

447

00:32:39,424 --> 00:32:41,591

there was a 99

percent chance that

 

448

00:32:41,603 --> 00:32:43,907

your bunker would

not be discovered.

 

449

00:32:45,979 --> 00:32:48,311

Dozens of NKVD soldiers

 

450

00:32:48,311 --> 00:32:51,071

would surround a

farmer’s homestead

 

451

00:32:51,071 --> 00:32:53,337

and conduct a

superficial search.

 

452

00:32:54,326 --> 00:32:56,788

{an8}Then, an exhaustive

search would follow.

 

453

00:32:56,885 --> 00:33:00,522

The Russians would turn houses

upside down during the raid.

 

454

00:33:00,816 --> 00:33:04,732

They were searching for

partisan bunkers and archives.

 

455

00:33:04,732 --> 00:33:07,533

They used special

metal poles, two to

 

456

00:33:07,545 --> 00:33:10,284

three meters long,

to prod the earth.

 

457

00:33:29,084 --> 00:33:31,392

In my mind, I saw

the hundreds of

 

458

00:33:31,404 --> 00:33:33,928

graves where my

fellow fighters lay.

 

459

00:33:35,268 --> 00:33:37,412

Their bodies and

body parts would

 

460

00:33:37,424 --> 00:33:39,580

be collected from

the battlefield,

 

461

00:33:39,580 --> 00:33:44,260

tossed hastily into carts,

and brought to the town.

 

462

00:33:44,727 --> 00:33:47,863

The local Bolsheviks would

kick and beat them,

 

463

00:33:47,875 --> 00:33:50,755

drag them around, and

cut them into pieces.

 

464

00:33:53,241 --> 00:33:56,560

We saw the murdered partisans.

 

465

00:33:56,685 --> 00:33:58,536

Their corpses were

laid out on the

 

466

00:33:58,548 --> 00:34:00,255

path in front of

the high school.

 

467

00:34:00,288 --> 00:34:04,993

We looked at them, but could

barely recognize them.

 

468

00:34:05,040 --> 00:34:09,837

Their bodies were mutilated,

their clothes torn and tattered.

 

469

00:34:09,837 --> 00:34:12,940

Some were defiled and

others undressed.

 

470

00:34:12,965 --> 00:34:16,031

But we would piece

together their identities.

 

471

00:34:35,611 --> 00:34:39,936

Partisan life became

more difficult.

 

472

00:34:40,310 --> 00:34:45,151

The partisan supporters

themselves were starving.

 

473

00:34:46,043 --> 00:34:49,257

By the end of 1948,

life was much,

 

474

00:34:49,269 --> 00:34:52,126

much harder for the partisans.

 

475

00:34:58,272 --> 00:34:59,592

To break the resistance,

 

476

00:34:59,592 --> 00:35:01,821

the Soviets introduced

a sophisticated

 

477

00:35:01,833 --> 00:35:03,155

counter-insurgency unit

 

478

00:35:03,155 --> 00:35:04,719

called the smogikai.

 

479

00:35:04,859 --> 00:35:06,931

The smogikai were

captured partisans

 

480

00:35:06,943 --> 00:35:08,802

turned into Soviet

double agents.

 

481

00:35:08,802 --> 00:35:10,935

They infiltrated

the resistance to

 

482

00:35:10,947 --> 00:35:12,908

hunt down their

former comrades.

 

483

00:35:15,471 --> 00:35:18,902

The Smogikai were

former partisans

 

484

00:35:18,914 --> 00:35:21,275

captured by the Soviets,

 

485

00:35:21,275 --> 00:35:27,240

who were offered clemency

for their cooperation.

 

486

00:35:27,413 --> 00:35:30,013

Those Smogikai were

extremely vicious.

 

487

00:35:31,193 --> 00:35:33,600

We, the men and women of the

underground resistance,

 

488

00:35:33,600 --> 00:35:40,215

knew that arrest was inevitable.

 

489

00:35:40,215 --> 00:35:43,894

It was bound to happen

sooner or later.

 

490

00:35:43,894 --> 00:35:47,505

But, I know that

women were more

 

491

00:35:47,517 --> 00:35:51,249

resilient than men

during torture.

 

492

00:35:51,274 --> 00:35:54,312

Men were more likely

to break down faster.

 

493

00:35:54,761 --> 00:35:59,697

I would rather die

than inform on someone

 

494

00:35:59,709 --> 00:36:03,833

I worked closely

with for so long.

 

495

00:36:08,609 --> 00:36:10,151

After three years of fighting

 

496

00:36:10,151 --> 00:36:12,912

only a tenth of the

original partisans remained.

 

497

00:36:16,309 --> 00:36:18,379

We refused to believe

that the West

 

498

00:36:18,391 --> 00:36:20,184

would shamefully close its eyes

 

499

00:36:20,184 --> 00:36:22,423

as entire nations

were left to die.

 

500

00:36:23,488 --> 00:36:26,683

We did not believe that

Westerners could be that naive

 

501

00:36:26,683 --> 00:36:28,280

or unable to see past the

 

502

00:36:28,292 --> 00:36:30,396

manufactured lies

of the Soviets.

 

503

00:36:31,005 --> 00:36:35,322

We believed that freedom

would dawn once more.

 

504

00:36:36,275 --> 00:36:38,275

{an8}Looking from the perspective,

 

505

00:36:38,689 --> 00:36:41,881

{an8}I believe this was

a hopeless fight.

 

506

00:36:42,471 --> 00:36:46,561

{an8}But fight of an

undefeated nation,

 

507

00:36:46,883 --> 00:36:48,724

undefeated people,

 

508

00:36:49,067 --> 00:36:50,887

who in their hearts,

 

509

00:36:50,887 --> 00:36:52,402

in their spirit,

 

510

00:36:53,113 --> 00:36:56,102

knew that they are

going probably to die

 

511

00:36:56,528 --> 00:36:59,016

but they are not

going to be submitted

 

512

00:36:59,423 --> 00:37:03,551

to that brutal force

of communism.

 

513

00:37:05,063 --> 00:37:06,623

{an8}One must remember that

 

514

00:37:06,624 --> 00:37:10,176

{an8}many of these

people did not expect the

 

515

00:37:10,188 --> 00:37:13,598

Soviet occupation to

last a very long time.

 

516

00:37:13,675 --> 00:37:16,373

{an8}This really is an

understandable illusion

 

517

00:37:16,373 --> 00:37:18,766

{an8}because to admit to oneself

 

518

00:37:18,766 --> 00:37:22,279

{an8}that this would be a

generations long occupation

 

519

00:37:22,279 --> 00:37:24,165

{an8} would lead one

to great despair

 

520

00:37:25,063 --> 00:37:27,102

so there were a

number of illusions

 

521

00:37:27,114 --> 00:37:28,596

that were floating around.

 

522

00:37:28,596 --> 00:37:31,528

Of course, most people in

this country know them.

 

523

00:37:31,503 --> 00:37:35,554

The Americans will come or

World War I will repeat itself

 

524

00:37:35,579 --> 00:37:37,005

or something of this kind.

 

525

00:37:37,098 --> 00:37:41,443

Most of these people had grown

up in the early 20s and 30s.

 

526

00:37:41,443 --> 00:37:44,654

They remembered

that there had been

 

527

00:37:44,666 --> 00:37:47,889

independence wars

in 1918 And 1920.

 

528

00:37:47,889 --> 00:37:50,608

They remembered that

Lithuania had had

 

529

00:37:50,620 --> 00:37:53,351

to stand up and be

counted once before.

 

530

00:37:53,351 --> 00:37:56,151

One of the big problems,

tragedies really,

 

531

00:37:56,872 --> 00:38:01,015

is that I think the

Lithuanian challenge in 1945

 

532

00:38:01,015 --> 00:38:02,949

was fundamentally

different than the

 

533

00:38:02,961 --> 00:38:04,651

Lithuanian challenge

in the 1920.

 

534

00:38:04,676 --> 00:38:06,938

I think that many people died

 

535

00:38:06,950 --> 00:38:09,754

because they didn't

understand that.

 

536

00:38:20,896 --> 00:38:26,051

The partisans realized

that attacking towns and

 

537

00:38:26,063 --> 00:38:30,800

conducting ambushes was

no longer effective.

 

538

00:38:30,800 --> 00:38:34,734

We could not beat their Army.

There were too many of them.

 

539

00:38:34,896 --> 00:38:38,641

Under these conditions,

the partisans

 

540

00:38:38,653 --> 00:38:43,004

established a detachment

of "sleeper cells."

 

541

00:38:46,731 --> 00:38:49,390

When this new war was

waged, they were

 

542

00:38:49,402 --> 00:38:51,731

going to be mobilized

as soldiers.

 

543

00:38:54,520 --> 00:38:58,187

Of course we knew who would

start this war - America.

 

544

00:38:58,212 --> 00:39:00,169

But, unfortunately,

this did not happen.

 

545

00:39:01,029 --> 00:39:03,429

It did not happen.

But we had hope.

 

546

00:39:04,146 --> 00:39:06,740

As long as you are alive,

you always have hope.

 

547

00:39:07,730 --> 00:39:10,071

But it was hopeless.

 

548

00:39:52,372 --> 00:39:56,980

<i>CAROL SINGING</i>

 

549

00:40:00,910 --> 00:40:02,902

During Christmas of 1947,

 

550

00:40:02,902 --> 00:40:06,485

Juozas Luksa broke out of the

Soviet Union for a second time.

 

551

00:40:06,842 --> 00:40:09,656

His objective was to

deliver evidence of Soviet

 

552

00:40:09,668 --> 00:40:12,200

atrocities to the

governments in the West.

 

553

00:40:17,384 --> 00:40:19,962

{an8}It was a perfect December night.

 

554

00:40:19,987 --> 00:40:22,703

{an8}We marched through the

flat fields of Suvalkija

 

555

00:40:22,705 --> 00:40:24,720

{an8}towards our liaison point.

 

556

00:40:25,947 --> 00:40:29,394

Occasionally, a frightened owl

would rise up out of the bushes,

 

557

00:40:29,394 --> 00:40:31,521

or a startled rabbit

would run past.

 

558

00:40:32,730 --> 00:40:34,518

Somewhere off in the distance,

 

559

00:40:34,518 --> 00:40:36,518

we heard Russian

machine gun fire.

 

560

00:40:40,923 --> 00:40:42,383

Our task was difficult.

 

561

00:40:42,701 --> 00:40:45,840

It was the second time I was

going to be crossing the border.

 

562

00:40:46,078 --> 00:40:47,862

I had been given this mission

 

563

00:40:47,862 --> 00:40:51,207

after the men who previously

had been assigned the task

 

564

00:40:51,207 --> 00:40:55,520

were attacked by Soviets and

forced to blow themselves up.

 

565

00:41:00,395 --> 00:41:03,501

Luksa broke through the Iron

Curtain via Kaliningrad

 

566

00:41:03,526 --> 00:41:05,632

then made his way

through Poland

 

567

00:41:05,632 --> 00:41:07,864

and across the Baltic

sea to Sweden.

 

568

00:41:11,635 --> 00:41:13,693

{an8}In Stockholm, he

connected with a

 

569

00:41:13,705 --> 00:41:15,653

{an8}former classmate,

Jonas Pajaujis

 

570

00:41:15,653 --> 00:41:18,074

{an8}who was supporting the

resistance from Sweden.

 

571

00:41:19,762 --> 00:41:23,398

Once I connected with Luksa,

 

572

00:41:23,398 --> 00:41:27,751

my mission was to

establish contact

 

573

00:41:27,763 --> 00:41:32,007

with the Lithuanian

government in exile.

 

574

00:41:34,907 --> 00:41:39,307

But it took three

bloody months to

 

575

00:41:39,319 --> 00:41:43,240

convince them that

he was legit.

 

576

00:41:44,799 --> 00:41:54,793

They didn't trust us. They

suspected he was a KGB agent.

 

577

00:42:03,476 --> 00:42:05,360

In May of 1948,

&nbs

© 2024 Journeyman Pictures
Journeyman Pictures Ltd. 4-6 High Street, Thames Ditton, Surrey, KT7 0RY, United Kingdom
Email: info@journeyman.tv

This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. For more info see our Cookies Policy