Vietinė savisauga (savigyna) Lietuvoje nacių Vokietijos okupacijos metais (1941-1944)

LTVokiečių okupacijos metais buvo aktualu užtikrinti krašto gyventojų saugumą, vidaus gyvenimo rimtį, gyvenamųjų vietovių, privataus ir visuomeninio turto apsaugą. Vietinės savisaugos kūrimas objektyviai neprieštaravo okupantų vokiečių interesams, tačiau turėjo ir jiems nepriimtinų tikslų. 1942 m. lietuvių savivaldos administracija parengė vietinės ginkluotos savisaugos kūrimo projektą. Okupacinė valdžia nepritarė vietinės ginkluotos savisaugos kūrimui. Jie siekė įvykdyti Lietuvoje karinę mobilizaciją, formuoti tautines karines policines formuotes ir siųsti jas į Rytus. Iki 1943 m. rudens, ypač Rytų ir Pietryčių Lietuvoje, kaimų ir miestelių apsaugai iš civilių gyventojų buvo suorganizuotos neginkluotos "naktinės sargybos. 1943 m. vasarą bandyta atkurti Lietuvos šaulių sąjungą. Vėliau nusistatyta savisaugai kurti naują organizaciją. 1943 m. rudenį vokiečiai Lietuvoje leido kurtis ginkluotai savisaugai. Rugsėjo mėn. pradėti kurti vietiniai savisaugos būriai, orientuoti kovai su sovietiniu pogrindžiu. Taip pat formuotas atskiras lietuviškas karinis dalinys iš 3 tūkst. vyrų. Nepaisant nepalankių aplinkybių, ginkluota savisauga kūrėsi visoje Lietuvoje, pirmiausia kaimuose ir miesteliuose. Tai buvo masinis reiškinys, ypač paplitęs Rytų ir Pietryčių Lietuvoje. Apskritai 1943–1944 m. veikusi vietinė ginkluota savisauga buvo lietuviškosios administracijos iniciatyva sukurtas darinys, per kurį Lietuvos gyventojai, daugiausia kaimo žmonės (valstiečiai), įsitraukė į kovą su sovietiniu ginkluotu pogrindžiu.Reikšminiai žodžiai: Antrasis pasaulinis karas, 1939-1945 (World War II); Sovietiniai partizanai; Nacių okupacija; Vietinė savisauga; Ginkluota savigyna; WWII; Soviet partisans; Nazi occupation; Local self-defence; Local defence.

ENIn the summer of 1943 a substantial turning point occurred on the Eastern front; the Germans lošt their strategic initiative and were driven far to the West. Lithuania was no longer a remote and quite country protecting the rear. In the summer of 1943 the Germans Consolidated the mass repressions in Lithuania due to the unsuccessful military and labour mobilization and spreading Soviet armed underground activities but proclaimed that locals were responsible for the acts of sabotage. In order to protect the Lithuanians from both the terror of Soviet partisans and of German retaliation, the Lithuanian self-government authorities volunteered to form about 30 thousand men into armed security units. These units were to act under the supervision of the regional authorities. The principle agreements on establishing these units were made during negotiations with the Germans in early September 1943 but the Germans refused to arm them, forcing the Lithuanians to arm the units. The planned local defence (self-defence) units were to be established in villages, towns, and cities. Their task was to protect the 'property and residents of settlements' and to fight the 'banditry of the Bolshevik elements' in general. Moreover, a separate military unit of 3 diousand men was to be formed to defend the major communication roads and objects and to support the local units. The armed local defence structures were formed under complicated conditions. The German officers themselves had no unanimous view, some of them considering the establishment of armed local defence units a privilege the Lithuanians did not deserve since their involvement in war was trivial.The national underground activists were tempted by the prospect of benefiting from local defence units who received arms from the Germans. On the other hand, these activists were also suspicious of the creation of these armed units since they could be used for German interests, be deployed outside Lithuania, etc. Moreover, the members of the armed units risked repressions by the armed Soviet underground. The creation of the local defence system was largely obstructed since the Germans had not yet solved the question of arming the units. The local defence units were armed from Lithuanian police reserves. Another important method of arming the units was for the members themselves to find sources and to finance the purchase of the arms. Despite the inauspicious factors and conditions, self-defence units were established throughout Lithuania. Their activities left significant traces everywhere the armed Soviet underground existed. Since historiography has suppressed the armed local defence units as a local phenomenon and has not evaluated their appearance and activities, the article provides facts from different regions of Lithuania about their existence and clashes with Soviet partisans. These facts are intended to show that the establishment and activities of the armed local defence units especially in Southeast and East Lithuania were a mass phenomenon during the Nazi German occupation. The mass occurrence of the armed local defence is evidenced by direct and indirect accounts from Soviet underground sources, armed clashes with Soviet partisans, the terror and violence perpetrated against local defence members, the villages and farmsteads burned down, the massacres of innocent inhabitants, and other repressions.The two most brutal acts committed by Soviet partisans were: on 29 January 1944 Kaniūkai Village in Eišiškės County was burned down (and about 35 people killed) and on 12 April 1944 (during Easter) Bakaloriškės Village in Trakai County was also burned down. The article presents the conclusion that the repressive measures the Red partisans used were not strong enough to deter the local village defence units from resisting the Soviet partisans, the repressions having been carried out to prevent the local defence from becoming a mass phenomenon. The article also evidences the mass occurrence of the armed local defence, presenting facts about the arms seized from village defence units by Soviet partisans when they tried to disarm these units, Soviet partisan losses during clashes with the local defence units, and unsuccessful attempts to push their way from Rūdninkai Forest deeper into the southeast of the country. The local defence, which consisted of all Lithuanian armed units formed during the German occupation, existed as an armed structure primarily to meet Lithuanian needs. Under singular political and historical circumstances, it struggled with Soviet partisans who were operating in Lithuania mostly under the supervision of the Soviet Union, which had aggressive political intentions in respect to the Lithuanian nation. The armed local defence units became a mass resistance movement against the armed Soviet underground and so followed the natūrai law that local defence unit members had to defend their homeland, property, and long cultural traditions. This was a factor that caused the mass occurrence of the local defence units. The fight against Soviet partisans, especially in Southeast Lithuania, mainly became a war against the Lithuanian peasantry. [From the publication]