Documents
His orders and writings, and documents about him and his family: scans from the Lithuanian Special Archives (LYA) with archival references.
His orders and writings
Documents that Kazimieraitis wrote and issued in 1945–1946. The later leadership of the Lithuanian partisans as a whole relied on them. Arranged by date; those marked can be opened as PDFs – scans of files from the Lithuanian Special Archives. The documents are in Lithuanian unless stated otherwise.
Order No. 1
“The purpose of the diaries: to leave a true picture of the fight for freedom as material for history, and to help later find those quiet heroes known to few…”
The first order of the Dzūkai Group commander to partisan unit commanders: internal order, command, communications, supplies, first aid for the wounded and the duty to keep diaries.
Lithuanian Special ArchivesView in the exhibition ↗ (LT)The partisan oath and disciplinary statute (LT)
It banned drunkenness, robbery and using the partisan name for personal gain; it ordered friendly treatment of the population and avoidance of any cruelty.
Dzūkai Group staff action diary
He wrote it himself from the very first days. On 12 January 1946 the diary was seized by the Skroblus; only a Russian translation survives, which has been translated back into Lithuanian.
Order No. 9 of the Dzūkai Group commander (LT)
“To be announced to all partisans”. It bans unauthorised raids and robbery, allows food to be obtained only in one’s own rural district and with the battalion commander’s consent, and orders that the property of the condemned must not be taken, as their families may be entirely innocent.
Order No. 10 · Dzūkai Group command
Who commands the battalions and the group staff: group commander Kazimieraitis, head of the 2nd section Daktaras. The original has not survived – this is a Russian translation made by the NKVD in February 1946.
Dzūkai Group Order No. 15 (LT)
Provisional rules for partisan insignia and the appointment of commanders: signs for liaisons, machine-gunners and medics, who appoints section, platoon and company commanders, wound stripes, and the announcement of heroism in orders. The copy was certified by Daktaras.
Protocol No. 4
Meeting with the VLIK representatives J. Deksnys and J. Valiulis: the aims and structure of the partisan struggle, passed on to the West. Signed by Kazimieraitis.
Letter of the “A” District commander to the commander of Geležinis Vilkas
Requirements for the winter staff site: rooms for the commander, the radio and the typewriter, a printing room, and food supplies for a month.
Partisan training brochure and NCO programme
Printed on a duplicator in 300 copies – for partisans wishing to obtain the rank of non-commissioned officer.
Mobilisation instructions for Lithuanian partisans
What to do when war breaks out and Lithuania can restore its army. He wrote them alone in the bunker on Christmas Day.
Order No. 4 of the “A” District commander
Appointments of brigade commanders, the division of Alytus county between the Dzūkai and Merkys brigades, and the removal of fallen partisans from the rolls. A Russian translation made by the security service survives.
“Partisan Tactics and Command”, “Formation and Command of Partisan Units”
Regulations on tactics and formation based on the statutes of the Lithuanian Army, as well as regulations for the field court-martial and for awards.
Letter No. 53/IIIa of the “A” District staff to the Merkys Brigade commander (LT)
On partisan training: an 11-subject programme – weapons, shooting, grenades, drill, orientation, communications, first aid, discipline, patriotic education. Squad leaders and NCOs were trained according to it. Signed by Kazimieraitis.
“Laisvės varpas” No. 3 (5) (LT)
Publication of the “A” District staff. He wrote down the radio news from London and Hamburg himself; Kazimieraitis was one of its editors.
Order No. 8 of the “A” District commander (LT)
Rules for awarding the ranks of squad leader, junior and senior sergeant and sergeant major: exams, bravery in battle, at least six months of conscientious service. The rank insignia are the same as in the army of independent Lithuania.
Declaration of the Lithuanian partisan commanders (LT)
The first political declaration of the partisan commanders: the system of an independent Lithuania will be free and democratic, and power will belong to the nation.
Extract from Order No. 3 of the Southern Lithuania partisan commander (LT)
Requirements of the commander of the Southern Lithuania partisan region: treat the population fairly, take clothing and food only against a requisition receipt, do not drink alcohol, keep communications secret. It ends with an address to the partisans on the meaning of the song “Išėjau aš už tėviškės žemę” (I went out to fight for my homeland).
Documents about him and his family
Certificate of the honorary badge of the Order of Gediminas (LT)
Major Juozas Vitkus is awarded the honorary badge of the Order of Grand Duke Gediminas of Lithuania.
Provisional statute of “Kęstutis” (LT)
The statute of the Lithuanian Front’s political and military organisation. J. Vitkus was one of the founders of “Kęstutis” and chief of staff of its Vilnius district.
Letter “To Mr Kazimieraitis” (LT)
A liaison’s letter with encoded place names: he is sending a radio battery and a pencil, and writes that the correspondence reaches the addressee too slowly. Written two weeks before his death.
MVD report on Kazimieraitis’s death
A report addressed to the deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of the Lithuanian SSR on the operation in Varėna county and the shoot-out in Žaliamiškis on 2 July, in which the “A” District commander Kazimieraitis was severely wounded. It proposes rewarding the participants of the operation.
A note signed “Pergalė” (Victory) (LT)
On 23 July 1946 a stranger brought Genovaitė Vitkienė a note reporting her husband’s death and asking her not to lose heart. The family suspected a security service provocation: no one knew of such a partisan, and the word “pergalė” (victory) was a favourite of the Soviets.
Agent’s report on the family (LT)
A report by a Soviet security informer code-named “Kam” about Juozas Vitkus’s family. This is how material was gathered for the family’s deportation.
MGB Alytus branch report on Juozas Vitkus (LT)
A security report stating that Juozas Vitkus had been a partisan district commander. This document became the basis for repression against his family.
MGB decision to deport the family (LT)
Decision of the Ministry of State Security of the Lithuanian SSR to deport Genovaitė Vitkienė and her children.
MGB certificate on the family’s deportation (LT)
Certificate of the Kaunas branch of the MGB on the deportation of Genovaitė Vitkienė and her children to the Irkutsk region.
Act conferring the title of Hero of the Freedom Fighters (LT)
In 1949, by decision of the Presidium of the Movement of the Struggle for the Freedom of Lithuania, Juozas Vitkus-Kazimieraitis was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Freedom Fighters and the highest partisan award.
Notice of release from exile (LT)
Notice from the Irkutsk regional directorate of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs on the release of Genovaitė Vitkienė.