The Biggest 'Melting-Pot' Resistance of WW2 - The Story of the Lithuanian Resistance
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 13 มิ.ย. 2024
- Ex-SS soldiers and militant Jews. Communists and monarchists. Atheists and Catholics. The Lithuanian Forest Brothers fought for so long and against so many enemies that their forces had fighters from every political persuasion. But where did this motley crew originate? And how did they get anything done?
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Editor - Steven DiLeo
Writer - Brad Dare
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Chapters
0:00 Introduction
0:52 Lithuania Under Attack
1:35 Soviet Invasion of Lithuania
3:08 German Occupation of Lithuania
4:19 Lithuanian Resistance Groups
6:56 Soviet Invasion of Lithuania #2: Electric Boogaloo
8:11 The Forest Brothers
9:59 Conclusion
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I am simple Latvian, I see video about Lithuanian Braļukas, I press like
Glad you enjoyed!
I am simple Lithuanian, I see Latvian brother , I press like
I am a simple Estonian, I see a video about my Lithuanian brothers, I press like
See Balkans, why can’t you be like the Baltic’s?!?
@@lordbonney9779 Maybe because the Ottomans never ran the Baltic? Truth be told, I have no idea.
NKVD: You’re not tied to a chair, this fight isn’t fair
@alpha If you see him everywhere, that means you are wherever he is, which would make you a “Mr. No Life” as well.
@@justbbricks oh yeah tell him that!
This quotes needs to be used more
woah nice rhimes
Just a correction: The Lithuanian Forest Brother guerillas continued to fight well into the 60s. The main force was defeated, but its members still continued to be a threat to the Russians. My father even said that people were still talking about resistance activity into the 70s when he was visiting family.
Ive read they were functioning until the early 80s... but who really knows. Amazing what they did. The world will need courage like that again soon, I fear..
@@Howling.Wilderness.Alaska Very accurate, more books coming out and true is coming through, end was not nice 12 people burning themselves, its a tragedy!!!!
Last freedom fighter lost his live 1953 executed by nkvd
@@Howling.Wilderness.Alaska I think they might become active again, given the situation in Ukraine.
@@princeofpokemon2934 Greetings from Alaska..
The sentiment of the soviets being worse than the nazis is still alive in Lithuania to this day, make no mistake, we dont like the nazis (as the russians will tell you) we just realy realy realy hate the soviets. I mean this video tells you a good story to be honest, when people from every type of political, religious and racial background that are supposed to directly opose one another by any logic there is, cooperate with one another and fight and die on the same side, what does it speak to you about their enemy?
Imagine when the "Power Of Love" AND " The Power Of Hate" are on the same side, what monster can win against that in the end?
Italy, France, Soviet Union, Yugoslavia: *Communist and Socialist resistance movements*
Poland, Norway: *nationalist resistance movements*
Lithuania: *why not both?*
some Austrian painter that just failed to get into art school: Hmmmm that sounds interesting... why dont we call it *national socialism*
@@paqboii1907 you know as a joke
Lithuania: Hey we are going against the Soviets!
*Many different groups join*
@T W if your political ideology cannot withstand a text from outside of the country then you have a weak political ideology.
Just ask the modern russia approved conservatism
There were plenty of non-communist and non-socialist resistance movements in France and Yugoslavia
All of these ideas came together to fight against a common enemy. Love this video tho
Yay!
@@TheFront something Yugoslavia didn't agree
Germany: wait, that's illegal
I consider myself a libertarian so any authoritarians are messed up either left wing or right wing or even center.
Imagine being captured by those People. The insults you'll get Will feel like the comment section of a nonnbiased political internet video
🤣😂lmao!
Lol.
A couple more facts:
- The last partisan who was still actively fighting, had a shootout with KGB and died by his own hand in 1965. Men had already been to space and he was still fighting this war!
- There was another partisan who actually died in 1986 while still in hiding. He was living in barn for decades and coming out only at nights and still kept his pistol all these years. The interesting thing is that he was just a few years away from Lithuania's independence and, even if he had given up by 1986, he would have probably not been arrested because by then Gorbachev was in power and the Soviet Union had already been relaxed by a lot.
My great grandparents hidden and fed many of those brave souls. My grandma has some pretty interesting stories. One love to Estonians and Latvian brothers from Lithuania ❤️
My mother's grandfather joined the Forest Brothers at age 71 in the Jurbarkas area of Lithuania. He left his wife and my mother, never to see them again. My mother and her grandmother eventually fled, mostly on foot, eventually ending up in Crimmitschau and then Berlin, in attempts to find family, after the war.
Sometimes brotherhood and blood is more important than ideas.
Yes! We need to stick together regardless of political beliefs!
Sharing a common enemy also helps.
@Jason Bonaparte Why? Missing the good old days when it had a somewhat decent opponent? Bored of "fighting" other not so strong nations?
@Jason Bonaparte How about you start manufacturing your own damn goods for a change?
@Jason Bonaparte Yes. And after you start manufacturing your own goods it will be china.
Guys remember this thing are never going to be written in a history book
Respect for this people
There will always be history books, but whether or not they get read is the question.
Well, time to shove more history books for the students around the world. The ones who actually don't get all too sleepy while reading them shall become the teachers for the next generation.
No, it was written
It depends in witch country you live. In my books, this story took 3 pages.
This part of history is taught a lot in Lithuania where I live.
I always wanted to know more about Lithuania in WW2!
Glad we could help!
Summary would be. "It was a shit show from the beggining and all the way till 1991"
I’m Lithuanian myself so I am proud of the brave resistence fighters who fought for Lithuania’s freedom and dropped their differences to fight against the true enemy
Proud of facists and anti-semites? Your countrys people have never understood anything.
Benashunas, checking in.
@Jason Bonaparte So to believe in an ideology that states that people who are not capable to provide for society should be removed does not necessary have to be a bad thing? And hating a group of people to the point of wanting to exterminate them is not a bad thing?
Please stop telling people fairytales.
Are you that blind to your nationalism? I have always had respect for Lithuania as my neighbor but many of you are so misguided as in my country.
@@bololollek9245 we are proud of them for what they did not the person.
@@windex1613 they executed the Jewish population even before the Germans arrived. Murdered unarmed Men, Women and children. Your "Heroes" shot infants for being of the wrong religion. If they are heroes so is ISIS members.
So impressed by the Baltics and Finland. The way they had/have to fight for freedom against Soviets and Germans. Huge tenacity...
Finland fought the Germans?
@@Mystic_Stirling its called lappland war
Many of them happily joined the Nazis. Lithuanians supported the Nazis in killing Jews, Russians and Poles. Finland didn't participate in the Holocaust but it was Germany's ally. Estonia was also a German ally. The Serbs were better but unfortunately pro Communists. The real only independent pro-Western resistance, not tied to any axis faction was in Poland.
@@Seba00PL pashol naxui
@@Mystic_StirlingYes
The Everlasting Glory to Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian Partisans fallen for Freedom! The world didn't value their sacrifice properly yet. All is ahead.
As a Lithuanian, I can say this is very based
My man
Lithuania represent! Anyone else?
Benashunas baby!
Na zdrowie!
so a true gamer's resistance army
Which game?
Someone should make a game telling the story of these men
Could be, but I doubt its quality and overall success.
Lithuania - the gamer naition
Cus all gamers are racist
Why do Lithuanians oil their gardens?
To keep their guns from rusting
Shouldn't have to bury them in the first place
@@justinmiller5095
alright smarty mc smart face
@@justinmiller5095 u wot? we had to hide guns in case KGB were to raid your house........
They might as well keep them in their gardens...it isnt like they used them against either the Soviets in 1940 or the Germans a year later.....for the Jews it was different.
@@jamesdykes2968 that has be one of the most ignorant things I have read in a long time. What would a population of 2.3mil that was not military advanced do to a 194mil population world super power? and a 71mil population nation that easily took over almost all of Europe?
Secondly, that saying appeared after the world wars, after which we were fighting Stalin's regime and still hold the title of the longest and the bloodiest gorilla fight in Europe's history.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend
Sometimes.
Now THIS is a proper United front
Drum, eins, zwei, drei
I've heard of the Forest brothers. They were brave to have done what they did. I salute them.
The Forrest Brothers should be honored with Braveheart and Saving Private Ryan-like movies
You do not honor 9 11 terrorists and SS with such movies, so why honor these?
@@bololollek9245 Because they fought against Nazi and Soviet tyranny.
@@bololollek9245 Where do you see correlation between terrorists and Lithuanian partisans?
@@motiejus8805 He must be one of Putin's trolls
@Jason Bonaparte how can you say something so controversial yet true
Makes me proud to be Lithuanian.
Eyy!
Makes me depressed to be lithuanian.
This bunch of nazi collaborating bandits is somehow celebrated as freedom fighters.
@@auregamer5 majority of forest brothers were young people that didnt want to join Red army so instead of going to jail they went in to the forest
And I am proud that our countries were one before partitions. Have a great day, from Pole :-).
@@auregamer5 what you forgot that these guys had initial reason to join germans of what Soviets did in first occupation, and that our commanders did everything to prevent from ss to form and after our territorial army was purged we went to Forrest fully.
im lithuanian and my grandgrandfather was forest brother. thx for doing this vid
Fun fact, there was not a single antisemitic move made in Lithuania before germans came to the country and government of Smetona, before first soviet occupation was pretty much neutral.
So it was literally r/PoliticalCompassMemes if they were all given guns
Oh my. That sub is something else.
@@TheFront It was great a year ago, but has become somewhat stale
@CR Productions Cope
Fascinating episode. Another unfamiliar aspect that I now want to learn more about. Disparate people uniting in response to a desperate situation, caught between two despotic powers. And lasting 8 yrs. after the war.
Pretty accurate video. I approve as a Lithuanian.
United by hate
We all saw power of love and friendship in movies and shows, it's power of hate irl
Power of love for your country, and hate for those that control it.
Uniting against an oppressor is only hateful to the oppressor
@@aldy9721 ...like jews?
@@Chikanuk were soviets and nazis jews?
@@reigoj8228 Were Jews Mexicans?
How to be effective in this melting pot?
Don’t talk about what your ideologies.
*Everyone just stays quiet.*
*silence intensifies*
Except if you're in battle - that's when talking is important.
Everyone has a plan until u get punched in the face. (Mike Tyson)
It is so unfortunate that many forget the resistance of the Baltic States and then they call us Russians.
Wait this is so recent I haven't seen anyone post a historical Lithuanian video in so long this is epic please continue uploading your videos Aciu!
Lithuania be like: I used the fascism to destroy the fascism.
As Indonesian who just doing research on Baltic Language, I start listening to Baltic Forest Brothers Song because it's just type of song I like to listen instead of Pop music and etc. XD
Found this video make me Surprised about their fight for freedom just like us xd, tho in the end we have on our way and future. Enjoyed it :)
Latvia and Estonia have a similar story, please do those aswell
Notably the Latvian forest brothers.
Well, Lithuanian partisan resistance was biggest in the Baltics
@@delliveromofficielle9551 and u know that how?
@@aigaozolina7377 in total there were 100k Lithuanian forests brother in direct combat and who provided support while Estonia and Latvia combined I think had only 80k
@@delliveromofficielle9551 From my limited knowledge the Lithuanian and Latvian groups were pretty close when it came to working with each other
Thanx so much for this. Not alot of people know about what happened in the Baltic States.
The Soviet Union really shouldn't have annexed the Baltic countries and parts of Finland. They made enemies out of those countries, the last things you'd want with your ideological adversary gearing up to invade you.
And I thought the French resistance was a mess of Ideologies
LOL
Small correction, not that it had any influence later on: Lithuania was firstly drawn-up to be in the German sphere, until the parties agreed an exchange of an extra part of Poland for Germany in trade for Lithuania to the Soviets.
Edit: Would be great to get your sources!
8:50 Yes, he had pet hawks. His code name was "The Hawk".
When you run an RPG campaign where all the PCs hate one another, but promise to put their hatred on hold for the near future.
Thx for maakin this
Thanks for this great video about the brave and pragmatic Lithuanian resistance. You do a wonderful job elucidating little known history. Keep up the great work, brother!
I am proud to be the granddaughter of Lithuanian Forest's brother. My grandfather fought in the forests for a long time, but after the death of his whole squad, he was captured and exiled to Siberia (fortunately, he survived the camp and managed to return to Lithuania), as did a large part of my family, just because they were educated or managed large farms, not everyone came back from Siberia...
Sadly, fight for the freedom did not end all the way to the 1990s. I have Mad respect for people who fight in the forests, stand against Russian Tanks while holding hands for the sake of our freedom.
Even thouh Lithuania surrendered peacefully in 1940 Soviet Union still exiled ~20k people from Lithuania in 1941 that really enraged local population. Also when Soviets reocupied Lithuania 1944 Stalin had a plan to forcefully recruit 250k Lithuanian men in Red Army that was moving towards Berlin due to that plan many lithuanian men fled to forest and joined various parisan groups. Regardless of the Red Army was still able to recruit ~98k men in Lithuania.
I managed to visit the Genocide Museum in Vilnius. Some of this is new to me about the Forest Brothers. I didn't know that they were made up of such a diverse group. I know that Lithuania, unlike the other Baltic states never had any SS divisions like the Estonians and Latvians that I always thought was a mistake for their nationalist cause that today Russia uses to beat them over the head with whatever their motives.
It’s more that we formed terrritorial army instead and prevented ss from forming and after they refused to declare loyalty to Hitler the high command was to be purged and sent to concentration camps and remnants just took the guns and equipment became part of partisans
What about Ponary genocide?
@@janpiwnik1136 What about it?
@@TonkistLT he just wanted point out what Nazis has done in Paneriai, located close to Vilnius
@@vytautassulcas6494 Oh i would know that place because i live there. However, i don't see the point of him pointing out the Paneriai genocide
Welcome to Baltic. We do set differences aside for common goal
My grandma worked as a surgical nurse during war and after, and as bad as it sounds was in favor of germans. Yes they were against minorities, but soviets was against humans, with no respect for anything. The forest brothers or people who might know their locations were torture (beaten up, kicked, shot, needles put under nails, eyes poked etc) and than barely breathing or dead and beaten up beyond recognition drop on town squares as an example for others. People with any knowledge about forest brothers was threaten by their or their families lives.
Most of intellectuals and their families deported to Siberia, leaving only the working class non threatening people to live in the country (also introduced huge problem of alcoholism that we are still fighting). My mother never celebrated Xmas as a child because my grandparents didn't want any extra attention to be drawn to their family (as a surgical nurse my grandma most likely was already watched by the regime since she was dealing with a lot of victims). She would secretly pass on little bundles of food for kids to be deported to Siberia with their families with a great knowledge that most of them won't survive event the trip in a cattle train. For many lithuanans soviet symbolic is much much more painful than nazi's, everyone knows at least one family that had someone deported, that had someone dropped in prison etc and all that is very fresh in our memory since the country was under occupation until 1990.
Let's not forget how the red army burned down a village of innocent people because one of their soldiers got got.
I could defiantly see how the soviets were viewed just as bad as the Nazis if not worse judging how both factions took a lot of the same actions with gulags and concentration camps and shipping people off.
The important thing they all had in common was they were pro-Lithuania, and against any foreign power trying to control them.
Like the Jewish kids they killed by bashing their heads into walls..
great video as always
I have cousins adopted from Lithuania, it's good to know a little history about their ancestral country
Based braļukas🇱🇻🇱🇹
I think I would have preferred to be Robin Hood for 50 years rather than run to sweden
Final last words before being captured 2 weeks later
@@Mystic_Stirling life well lived
Excelent video. Try talking about the resistance in Romania. The Legionari. Just as badass. But less diverse.
Would have been epic to see a monarchist Lithuania, ngl
It was kinda way back before the polish lithuanian commonewealth it was a big ass duchy and due to russian aggression it was forced to join up with poland and that lead to lithuanias downfall
I mean some German dude tried to become king in the early 20th century.
@@joutakujo9773 I think his name was Mindaugas II if I can remember. He claimed to be a rightful king of Lithuania through royal lineage.
@@compatriot852 Mindaugas was a king in 13 century, but there was actually a german guy that was made Lithuanian king in 20 century so germans would have influence on Lithuania. I think This happened around in WW1 time.
Also it would be cool to see similar video about forest brothers in Latvia and Estonia. And there is also interesting history and war stories about Latvian SS and Estonian SS
Just remember The Forest Brothers live on via the Litho Special Forces...trained to operate like the original Forest Brothers. it seems stubbornness is strong within the Lithuanians. Proud to be a Litho
Awesome!!
I got weird looks on the street when you started describing the Lithuanian Resistance because I simply could not compute the information that was being given to me.
On a side note, these days we see people talking about being unable to co-operate with the other side. We should start pointing them to those cheeky Lithuanian Resistance members.
You should do a video on forest brothers in general. I mean the movement in all the baltic states.
This needs more coverage. Please elaborate. Any other YT Channel’s who have covered this btw?
This is thoroughly researched. This was a very important part of the world to cover because of its influence in changing everything back to pre-Stalin.
4:48 wow really I couldn’t have imagined that
A Lithuanian living in K.Veverskis street;)
People among the world should know why Soviets are same as nazis and etc.
Nazis and Jews? Catholics and Marxist-Leninists? I'd say the whole thing was amazing!
It is also completely false.
I must admit, they're basically the Rebel Alliance, what with these mixed ideologies and sides.
Brilliant
:O lithuanian gang here
The Front---I really hope you read this comment. Because I would like you to make a video on "the Russian Dunkirk." It was a real event. And something that should be touched upon by someone.
We are called Lit-huanians for a reason
or
lit-L-aliens
All in all thanks to this fight the dream of freedom was never crushed
i cant exactly hear it well but is that the dark souls 1 menu music playing at some point in the video?
Can you talk about the latvian and estonian resistances to?
8:44: What happened to "bayonets for days"?
I'm American, Lithuanian descent.
My family left lithuania well before WW2 for America and I'm damn grateful my great grandparents had the knowing something bad was around the corner and to get the hell out.
And Lithuanian history of aiding the Nazis makes me kind of sick.
Very strange film. You made a "cocktail" and presented it like "Lithuanian".
Only Lithuanian partisans (The Forest Brothers) were true fighters for Freedom in Lithuania. The Polish and soviet "partisans" were controlled from outside and can't be considered as "Lithuanian movements". The Jew partisans are the different story. They were the escapers from ghettos and didn't fight for Lithuania. Some of them were influenced by communism and had contacts with the soviets.
Care to comment on the nationalist ones being anti semites?
@@totallynotalpharius2283 Most likely became so after the Lithuanian Jews worked with the Soviets to enforce mass arrests, killings and exiles of Lithuanians prior to the German invasion. I wonder what made those guys dislike Jews so much?
When the enemy of your enemy is your friend amazing things can happen, but jews fighting on the same side as fascists is unbelievable
To be honest there has been more non ideological fighters. A lot of young guys of age 18 went to fight to the forest even in 50's, what kind of ideology could they have at that point? People were fighting because of oppresion.
Lol, in Finland jews fought together with the Germans.
People who supported hate having to get on with their mortal enemies and take on a new form of hate, now theres real diversity, but as usual its justs another small country who fought back to protect themselves as they needed to
There was yet another strong resistance group within that landscape. In Vilnius and in the area around Vilnius also Polish Home Army had a very strong presence to the extend, that soon after capture of Vilnius, Soviets and Polish Home Army together were policing Lithuanian capital. Very soon however Polish Home Army members were prosecuted by Soviets.
8:23 Suomi perkele!
When your policies are so bad, that manage to combine EVERYONE from all politacal parts
Dang, not a monarchist party? Fighting for a king or queen is up my alley.
Which Lithuanian monarch would they be fighting for? The Grand duchy of Lithuania ended in 1795.
@@ronmaximilian6953 rip, then a decedent from the royal family would do then.
@@ronmaximilian6953- there was a plan to set up independent lithuania as a monarchy. Prince Wilhelm of Urach was elected as king of lithuania as "Mindaugas II", though moments later everybody suddenly realized that is a stupid idea and that did not go anywhere.
Darian Valdez - Even then, polish lithuanian commonwealth was elective monarchy, going over Swedish, German and other monarchs.
You could take a prince from anywhere, restore the commonwealth law and it would fit.
And theres people crazy enough to fight for a king or queen when doing that is so very obviously bad for themselves. ..Though support for forming a democratic republic is always far more significant.
@@ronmaximilian6953 Also idk but i feel like there hadn't been a lithuanian Lithuanian monarch for so long people probably would have had a different allegiance if they were into monarchy.
🇱🇹 🇱🇹
Tevynės Labui
Wait is this narrator the same guy as Geetsly?
Not surprised that they thought the communists worse.
The uprising did not fight alongside the wehrmacht. Lithuania was already soviet-free when the Germans came. Lithuanians just used the opportunity. They even managed to install a provisional government. Germans did not like it. They did not trust locals, because Lithuania refused the German offer to attack Poland together in 1939.
Damn bro imagine thinking that the SOVIET UNION itself wasn’t communist enough, especially under Stalin, what would that even look like? Would it look like a communist version of Oceania from the book 1984?
Stalin before WW2 prefer to let over countries do their stuff. His motto was "lets build communism in USSR first, and then we succeed everyone will follow". Only after a war and start of NATO he choose to import communism to over countries.
True hardcore communists was radicals, who was thinking what communism must be forced across the globe as fast as it possible. So yeah, Stalin was pretty moderate by their standarts.
Stalin, despite popular beliefs, was an extremely pragmatic man.
@@Chikanuk yeah I understand that, trotsky on the other hand wanted a world revolution
Everyone here is missing something. The Soviet Union never was communist
@@gnas1897 what
@@anthonykatsivalis224 it simply wasn't, it was socialist but not yet communist
What song is the intro?
Check the description!
"Rise Up You Fallen,Fighters Rise and Take Stand Again" For He Who Fights and Runs Away' Live to Fight Another Day! True Warriors👍👌☮️
-Bob Marley
They just hated everyone else more than they hated each other.
8:47 Rifle, grenade, anti soviet attack hawks, ready for battle.
Reminds me halwk from assassin's creed :D
FPO: so, we’re not doing the “enemy of my enemy” thing anymore?
LAF: *look in hindsight Barbarossa should have been a red flag*
I said we're done when I'm done
EVERY EXTREME IS ON THE SAME TEAM
Csgo matchmaking be like:
My brain at 3am in the morning
How all ideologies come together to fight one common enemy the soviet union