Partisan supporters. The unseen participants in the resistance

ENThis chapter consistently and comprehensively reveals the features of the network and operation of Lithuanian partisan supporters. Using normative documents compiled by the freedom fighters and discussing the different types of supporters, it is asserted that such activities were an inseparable and irreplaceable part of the resistance, and those who provided such support were an integral part of the anti-Soviet post-war resistance in Lithuania, without which there would not have been such a long, vast, and successfully centralized resistance. An analysis of the local network of partisan supporters has shown that becoming a supporter was often determined by one’s place of residence, and the involvement, in one way or another, of the local community and one’s relatives in resistance activities, and it also revealed the important role played by familial ties with partisans. Under such circumstances, engaging in resistance activities was more spontaneous and self-evident rather than a measured and well-considered solution. An analysis of supporters’ questionnaires and their fates reveals the post-war conflict to undoubtedly to have been a highly traumatic experience. [Publisher annotation]