Antisovietinis pasipriešinimas Dzūkijoje 1940-1941 metais

ENFrom the beginning of the occupation on 15 June 1940, each aware Lithuanian tried to resist the aggressor. There were secret meetings to discuss ways to resist the enemy. When it was recognised that there were no possibilities of common and legitimate defence against the actions of the occupant, the Lithuanians were forced to fight in the underground. The manifestations of unorganized anti-Soviet resistance were evident in the first days of the occupation. In the district of Alytus and in Alytus, the organization “Krašto mylėtojai” (“Country Lovers”) operated. Secondary school students in Alytus formed “Mirties batalionas” (“Battalion of Death”), later - “Lietuvos apsaugos gvardija” (“Guard of Defence of Lithuania”). There were several organisations in other places: in Miroslavas - “Tėvynės mylėtojai” (“Lovers of the Fatherland”), in Simnas, Meteliai and Krokialaukis - “Tėvynės mylėtojų sąjunga” (“The Association of Lovers of the Fatherland”), in Merkinė and Stakliškės - “Lietuvos mylėtojų sąjunga” (“The Association of Lovers of Lithuania”), in Birštonas - “Mirties batalionas” (“Battalion of Death”), in the district of Seinai and Lazdijai - “Laisvės mylėtojai” (“Lovers of Freedom”) and “Lietuvos mylėtojų sąjunga” (“The Association of Lovers of Lithuania”), in Kapčiamiestis - “Laisvės mylėtojai” (“Lovers of Freedom”). There were a lot of young people engage in the anti-Soviet underground activities. They were the members of various patriotic organizations: Lithuanian Riflemen‘s Union, nationalists, jaunalietuviai (members of the organization “Young Lithuania”), scouts, ateitininkai (ateitis - the future), pavasarininkai (pavasaris - spring), members of the organizations of young farmers etc.There were also a lot of middle aged people, representatives of various professional and social groups: the clergy, the military, police officers, teachers, civil servants, farmers and workers. In the municipality of Daugai, Alytus County there was an underground organization “Geležinis vilkas” (“Iron Wolf”) since 1 October 1940. Within a few months, the organization formed branches throughout the county. The main objective of the organization was to rebuild the independent Lithuanian state. The activities of the organization can be divided into two periods: the period up to the outbreak of the war, when its operation was illegal, and the activities during the war. In the first stage, the members of the organization spread propaganda leaflets, flew Lithuanian flags, boycotted the events and elections organized by the Soviets, collected donations to support the family members of the arrested people and collected money to purchase the weapons. They watched the Soviet activists, gathered weapons and prepared for the uprising and the takeover of local authorities. After the outbreak of the German-Soviet war on 22 June 1941, during the first week, members of the “Iron Wolf” (they called themselves partisans, riflemen-partisans, Lithuanian partisans) established national committees, local government and the police “Tautinio darbo apsauga” (“Protection of the National Labour”) in the territory of Dzūkija. Dzūkai did not intend to gather under the Sun of Stalin. From the first days of the occupation they resisted Soviet authorities. The fate of the people struggling for the independence of Lithuania shows the scale of the resistance and the cruelty of the occupiers. Unfortunately, the Nazis, who took the place of the Soviet aggressors, acted also brutally and executed many of the underground activists.