Lietuvos vietinės rinktinės Lazdijų (Seinų) apskrities komendantūra 1944 m. pavasarį

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Lietuvos vietinė rinktinė; Lazdijų (Seinų) apskrities komendatūra; 1944 m.; Lithuanian local team; Lazdijai (Seinai) county commandant's office; 1944.

ENOn February 16, 1944, by the Order No.1 of the Commander of the Lithuanian Local Team (LLT) General P. Plechavičius, 25 officers were appointed as commanders of LLT counties. The commanders were appointed since February 10-12, 1944, they held these positions before General Povilas Plechavičius address on the radio on the Lithuanian Independence Day. The commanders urgently carried out preparatory work for the formation of the Local Team. Military units were established at the LLT county commandant’s offices. In addition to the village boys, a very large number of volunteers from the last years of studies at gymnasiums and special high schools joined these units. The heads of educational institutions did not oppose this noble commitment of young people and supported the initiative of the young patriots. Lieutenant Colonel Jonas Kazitėnas-Kaziutis was appointed the Commandant of the Lazdijai (Seinai) County. Major Stasys Vladas Asevičius was appointed Deputy Commandant and Head of Property. The Commandant’s Office of Lazdijai County was formed in March 1944. It is known from archival sources that Lt. Kazimieras Batūra, Lt. Juozas Krakauskas (platoon leader), Lt. Pranas Razminas, and Zenonas Šarka (b. 1923, from Leipalingis) who was the scribe, served in Lazdijai Commandant’s Office. On April 26, 1944, by the Order No.8 of the LLT Commander, 8 doctors were appointed to county commissions to check the health of the conscripts: Lts. Viktoras Miliauskas and Steponas Norkus were appointed to Lazdijai County. A troop consisting of three squads was established at the Lazdijai County Commandant’s Office. Lt. Baltrus Jurkša was appointed the Commander of the troop. 112 soldiers served in the troop, they were armed with 9 light machine guns and 103 rifles.The names of several soldiers are also known from archival sources: Balys Černiauskas (b. 1917), Juozas Krikščiūnas (b. 1924), Julius Kaleininkas (b. 1925). The main tasks of the service were city patrols and the Commandant’s Office protection. The members of Plechavičius troops wore German uniforms and were armed with French rifles. It is known that the Lazdijai County Commandant’s Office unit had gone several times to look for Red partisans. For the first time at the end of April 1944, the platoon of about 20 soldiers, led by Lt. Juozas Krakauskas, searched the forest in the vicinity of Kapčiamiestis, but did not find Red partisans. A second operation against the Red guerrillas was held at the beginning of May in Leipalingis. It was attended by a group of about 20 soldiers led by Jonas Pinkevičius. The members of the Plechavičius troops used to go by truck to the search sites. During both operations, the Lazdijai County Commandant’s Office unit did not encounter any Red partisans and did not suffer any losses. In May, a group Llt. Juozas Krakauskas’ platoon solders were sent to Šulneliai forest (12 km from Lazdijai) to cut firewood. The members of the Plechavičius troops unexpectedly encountered a group of Red partisans in the forest. During the shooting, Lithuanian soldiers managed to capture one armed Red partisan. Once, the soldiers of the Lazdijai County Commandant’s Office together with the police went to the Green Forest to catch Red partisans. The members of the Plechavičius troops detained several Red partisans during this operation. When the Nazis liquidated the Lithuanian local team, most of the soldiers of the Lazdijai County Commandant’s Office and the troop, under the instructions of their commanders, dispersed with weapons and were not arrested by Germans.The Commandant’s Office of Lazdijai County was liquidated on June 1, 1944 when the last employees were dismissed: Lt Truska, scribe Vailionis, and translator Tadas Palionis. On August 3, 1944 some of the former soldiers of the Lazdijai County Commandant’s Office retreated from Lazdijai towards Samogitia (Žemaitija) but were directed to Tilžė in Kalvarija by the German gendarmerie. The officers were separated and taken to Dresden, and the soldiers were recruited into the German anti-aircraft protection unit. Some of them stayed there and later emigrated to the West. However, some members of the Plechavičius troops were repressed after the Soviet reoccupation. Brief memoirs are written by the witnesses of the events related to the service at the LLT Lazdijai (Seinai) County Commandant’s Office in the spring of 1944. These memoirs have been mentioned in the article. [From the publication]