While the armed anti-Soviet fight lasted until in1953, some women partisans kept their stories of resistance secret until Lithuania regained independence in 1990.
Genutė Griškevičiūtė-Steponavičienė, now 92 years old, said there was little hope at the time that Lithuania could ever become independent.
The woman became a partisan messenger after graduating high school and served in the Ukmergė region in 1947–1952. At the same time, she worked as a teacher and provided for her two younger sisters after their parents’ death.
Genutė’s father served in the short-lived Lithuanian Territorial Defence Force and later hid in the woods. The young woman’s uncle and aunt were also part of the resistance movement.
Knowing this, partisans from the nearby platoon led by Antanas Stimburys-Tankistas paid a visit to Genutė’s house when she moved to work in Varžai village.
The woman and her teenage sister Birutė soon swore as messengers and received partisan nicknames – Pakalnutė (Lily of the Valley) for Genutė and Pušelė (Little Pine) for her sister.
Read more: Women partisans among Lithuania’s Forest Brothers: from lovers to fighters
NKVD inspection
Asked to describe a day in the life of a partisan messenger, Genutė said that it was too difficult to tell everything.
“We received tasks. We took care of everything that partisans asked for. I was a leader because I was older, while Birutė delivered things that they needed,” she said.
But serving as a partisan messenger in Soviet Lithuania was dangerous. Genutė once received a warning that NKVD, the Soviet troops tasked with fighting the resistance, was interested in her and became more careful relying instead on her younger sister.
“She was only a teenager. I involved a teenage girl in such a movement. But she completed very important tasks,” said Genutė.
The woman remembered that sometime after the warning, NKVD officers indeed approached her. They told her to inform the authorities if partisans tried to talk to her.
Later, they tested Genutė’s trustworthiness by sending partisan impersonators that asked for information on Antanas Stimburys-Tankistas’ platoon.
“They pretended to be partisans. I looked at their shoes and uniform and thought to myself ‘you will not trick me’. They said they needed to meet Tankistas’ partisans. I told them I did not know anyone,” the woman explained.
Later, Genutė informed NKVD that partisans came to her pretending she did not know that they staged the visit.
Betrayal
The partisan messenger also experienced betrayal. In one regional high school, the students started a movement against the Soviet regime.
But the officials found out about the organisation forcing its members to hide. One girl came to Varžai village. Genutė sheltered her and they worked together helping partisans.
After two years of hiding, however, NKVD captured the girl and she told officers everything she knew about the resistance fighters and their helpers. Sometime after the betrayal, officers arrested Genutė as well.
“I did not deny anything. They kept me all night in the NKVD basement and released me in the morning,” the woman said.
According to Genutė, officers kept persecuting her even after the incident. She often saw them in school or simply following her in her everyday life.
Serving as a partisan messenger, Genutė also witnessed death. The NKVD killed the leader and other major partisans of her platoon in 1948. The remaining freedom fighters joined nearby squads but neither of them survived for long.
Love and fear
While working with partisans, Genutė met her future husband who also served as a messenger. Once, she had to pass a parcel on to him. They kept in touch and got married a few years later.
But according to the woman, despite some beautiful moments, the only constant emotion during the period of Lithuanian freedom fights was fear.
“How could I not be afraid? I did not tell my children [about work with partisans] until Lithuania regained independence. [...] I was afraid until the very last minute,” Genutė said.
The woman added, however, that she was luckier than most because she survived, and the Soviet regime never sentenced her despite betrayal and persecution. Members of the resistance movement also tried to lift each other’s spirits.
“Independence will come, and we will march together [...]. We will sing and rejoice at Lithuanian independence,” Genutė remembered her platoon leader saying.
But the former messenger admitted that belief in Lithuania becoming independent faded after the Soviets suppressed the resistance movement and killed most of the partisans.
“I did not believe it. Even now I say that the miracle has happened,” Genutė said. “I knew very well the oppression and fear, so this is nothing less than a miracle.”
According to the woman, the relationship between partisans and messengers was warm, as everyone worked for the same goal.
“They respected us, and we respected them. There was huge respect and love of the motherland,” she said.
Read more: Lithuania gives proper burial to last anti-Soviet resistance leader
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