They were a group of soldiers who often fought in the dense forest. In the vast forest sea, they were mysterious and bold, which made the Soviet army have a headache. They were brave and fraternal in their dealings with their partners, while they were cruel and resolute in dealing with the Soviets without a trace of pity. These were the "Forest Brothers"—a group of guerrilla forces fighting against Soviet rule in the forests of the three Baltic states. Behind the mixed reputation of historical evaluation is actually a kind of helplessness and despair.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" >, from friend to foe</h1>
The Three Baltic States refer to the three countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in eastern Europe and the Baltic Sea coast. The three kingdoms were historically part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which was later divided between russia, Prussia and the Habsburg kingdoms, after which the three kingdoms became part of the Swedish Empire, known historically as the "Baltic Autonomous Territories". During the "Great War of the North", Sweden was forced to surrender after being attacked from many sides, and the three countries became the pocket of the victorious Tsarist Russia.
In the late 19th century, a wave of nationalism began to emerge in Estonia and Latvia, and Lithuania joined in, and the idea of independent statehood began to spread within the three countries. After the end of World War I, the three countries achieved nominal national independence and established their own government. In 1939, the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany signed the "Soviet-German Non-Aggression Pact", and the three weak Baltic countries chose to cooperate with the Soviet Union and join the Soviet Union in order to achieve national survival.
In September 1939, Germany invaded Poland and the Polish Campaign broke out. Under the secret terms of the Soviet-German Non-Aggression Pact, the Soviet Union had the right to reclaim the territories of former Belarus and Ukraine that Poland had occupied since the Soviet-Polish War. The two sides were originally planned to divide the territory with Warsaw as the boundary, but the rapid progress of the German army over Warsaw forced the Soviet army to advance to Poland, and one of the troops entered Polish territory through the three Baltic states. To this end, the Soviet Union signed a treaty of mutual assistance with the three countries, and in June 1940 completely controlled the three countries, and established a pro-Soviet state power.
In 1940, the Estonian Soviet Republic was established
On June 22, 1941, Germany declared all-out war on the Soviet Union, and the three Baltic states at the forefront of the war bore the brunt of the victims, and the three countries became the land of Nazi Germany. At first, many of the three countries regarded the Germans as liberators and hoped to use Germany's strength to regain their respective countries' independence. But instead of helping them become independent, the Nazis established the Viceroyalty of the East to brutally rule the populations of the three countries, and the locals began to organize a series of resistance movements after seeing the true face of the Nazis.
The Germans executed the Lithuanian people
During this period, the resistance movement was divided into two factions according to its aims and motives: one was the anti-fascist resistance forces close to the Soviet Union, with the aim of expelling all nazis from the territory of the three countries, with the aim of establishing a pro-Soviet national autonomous government; the other faction wanted to rely on the power of Nazi Germany to exert pressure on the Soviet Union to help it break away from Soviet rule, and when the time was ripe to expel the Nazi forces and establish a fully independent nationalist state.
Soldiers of the "Latvian 2nd Division" who joined the Nazis
Among them, the latter forces were the most prevalent, and for this reason the German army also recruited many soldiers in the Three Kingdoms to participate in the war against the Soviet Union. And when the Nazis were about to fall, some of them began to fight guerrilla warfare against Soviet and pro-Soviet government personnel, which was the early prototype of the "Forest Brothers", who were generally nationally sentimental and hostile to both the Soviet Union and Germany.
< h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > two, tragic ending</h1>
To better refer to themselves and their companions, the guerrillas called themselves "Forest Brothers" (Estonian: metsavennad Latvian: mežabrāļi Lithuanian: miško broliai), a name derived from the synonyms of teachers and peasants who hid in the forests during the Tsarist period and rebelled against government rule. Most of their personnel consisted of soldiers from the three countries who had joined the Nazis, such as the "Latvian 1st Division" (SS 15th Grenadier Regiment), the "Latvian 2nd Division" (SS 19th Grenadier Regiment), the "Estonian 1st Division" (SS 20th Grenadier Division), and the "Lithuanian Homeland Defense Force". From June 1941 onwards, the Forest Brothers fought in coordination with the Germans, constantly attacking and harassing Soviet and Interior Ministry soldiers.
After the fall of the Nazis, the "Forest Brothers" of the three countries received a large number of weapons and supplies from Britain, the United States and other countries, and began to negotiate with the Soviet army, government militia and police in the vast jungle. Later, because Soviet intelligence personnel secretly provided information to the Soviet Union, the West had to stop supporting the "Forest Brothers". According to a Soviet source, the total number of "forest brothers" in the three countries totaled about 50,000, of which Lithuania was the largest, with 30,000.
In Estonia, the Forest Brothers were mainly active in the dense forests of Volu, Pärnu and Tartu, and from November 1944 to November 1947, they launched 773 armed attacks, killing more than 1,000 Soviet and Ministry of Internal Affairs personnel, as well as some pro-Soviet government personnel. Ants Kaljurand, nicknamed "Terror Ant," was a prominent figure in the Soviet army, who was executed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs in 1951 for his bravery and cruelty.
Arrested and imprisoned Anz Karl Youlan
The last Estonian "forest brother", August Saab, was discovered by KGB personnel in 1978 and eventually committed suicide by throwing himself into the river during the hunt. It was also the last armed man on record to resist in the dense forest, after which the "Forest Brothers" in Estonia were completely eliminated.
In Latvia, where Forest Brothers is active, mainly in the border areas of Latvia and the Soviet Union, they target uniformed military personnel, government personnel in remote areas, important buildings and ammunition depots. According to figures released by the Soviet government, the attacks in Latvia killed a total of 1,562 Soviets and wounded 560. More representative of these was Tālrīts Krastiņš, a former soldier of the Second Latvian Division, who was arrested in 1948 and sentenced to 25 years in prison. As a result of the government and military clearance, latvia's "Forest Brothers" began to weaken gradually, and in 1957 the country's last "Forest Brothers" surrendered to the Latvian government.
Elderly Tarris Kalastins
Lithuania, one of the three countries, had the most resistance time, number of actions, quality of weapons and battle results, but its members also suffered the most tragic fate. Before 1949, the Lithuanian countryside was firmly controlled by the "Forest Brothers", and in addition to fighting with the Soviet army and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, pro-government personnel and civilians were also the targets of their attacks, and the Soviet Union was also extremely resentful of this. Once captured, members of the Forest Brothers are almost always executed, and their bodies are displayed in the streets. Sometimes Ministry of the Interior personnel would disguise themselves as "forest brothers" to attack innocent people and then blame them in order to divide their relationship with the people.
In October 1956, Adolfas Ramanauskas (Lithuanian: Adolfas Ramanauskas), the commander-in-chief of the Lithuanian "Forest Brothers" organization, was captured by the Soviet Ministry of Internal Affairs and executed in November 1957 after being tortured. Another resistance leader, Josas Ruksa, was killed by the Soviets in 1951, and Pranas Concius, code-named "Adoms", committed suicide by a bullet after being surrounded by Soviet forces in July 1965 after years of resistance. In 1971, the last Lithuanian "forest brother" Mikuris surrendered to the government.
Adorfas La Manaus Casson
After entering the 1950s, the resistance of the three Baltic countries almost disappeared, and only a few areas still had the "Forest Brothers" resisting, and in the 80s, the "Forest Brothers" completely stopped resisting, and these people resisted for nearly half a century, which can be regarded as a different kind of "bravery".
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > three, a belated memorial</h1>
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, information about the "Forest Brothers" began to be released, and the three independent Baltic states began to treat these patriotic fighters as heroes. Estonia also built a memorial sculpture for the Forest Brothers. In Latvia, Forest Brothers veterans received a modest amount of state pensions. In Lithuania, the third Sunday of May is designated "Guerrilla Day" to commemorate the great contribution of the forest brothers to the freedom of the country and the nation.
As of 2005, there are 350 surviving Forest Brothers veterans living in Lithuania, and the government has also commended and rewarded them, and these people who were once established as negative teaching materials in the Soviet union have now become national heroes of the country. In 2018, the Lithuanian government held a grand funeral (below) for the aforementioned Adorfas La Manauskas, whose body was reburied in the national cemetery, also known as the year "La Manauskas-Vanagas" in 2018.
In addition to the official commemorations, many film and television works have also recorded the resistance stories of the "Forest Brothers". For example, in the documentary "We Are Born for Estonia", the movie "Alone", "Children of the Forest", etc., the people of the three Baltic countries paid tribute to these heroes who sacrificed their lives for national independence in their own way.
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > concluding remarks</h1>
The smoke of war has dissipated, and the story of the past has been dusted in history, but the story of the "Forest Brothers" will continue to circulate in the three Baltic countries, and for the people of these countries, the "Forest Brothers" is a spirit, a spirit dedicated to the independence of the country.
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > reference</h1>
1. Brothers in the Forest: Fight for Freedom
2. The Battle of the Forest
3. History of the Lithuanian Resistance