Post-war partisan songs, the return of the motives of national romanticism

Размещено на http://www.allbest.ru/

Post-war partisan songs, the return of the motives of national romanticism

Nakiene Auste,

Doctor of Humanities (Ethnology),

Senior Research Fellow at Department of Folklore Archives, Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore in Vilnius, Lithuania

The purpose of this article is to share the information concerning last investigations about artistic creation of the armed resistance participants that took place after the Second World War. The author investigates the songs by the partisans and their supporters composed in extraordinary circumstances: when hiding from the invaders' persecution, during preparations for fighting, at the times of mourning for the perished friends, and while dreaming of Lithuania, free and independent again. The main method of this study is historical analysis in ethnomusicology, sociocultural anthropology and history of music; specifically, analysis of the origin and development of the particular folk songs in specific social circumstances. The scientific novelty of the submitted research paper lies in the fact that for the first time in East-European ethnomusicology the actual research objectives are investigated complex and interdisciplinary way; this allows for a more accurate disclosure of the phenomenon under consideration. Conclusions. We have to emphasize, that a huge number of patriotic songs has been created in the course of a comparatively short period of the armed national resistance, the folksong creativity seemingly acquiring new powers. The continuation of the national romanticism and elaboration of numerous motives employed by the Lithuanian poets could perhaps explain this phenomenon.

The key words: Post-War times, Soviet times, partisan songs, national romanticism, resistance songs, national independence and freedom.

Аустє Накєнє, доктор гуманітарних наук (етнологія), старший науковий співробітник відділу фольклорного архіву, Інститут литовської літератури та фольклору у Вільнюсі, Литва.

Післявоєнні партизанські пісні, повернення мотивів національного романтизму

Мета статті - висвітлити інформацію, що стосується новітніх досліджень творчості учасників збройного опору, що відбувався після Другої світової війни. Це пісні, створені партизанами та їх прибічниками в надзвичайних обставинах: під час переховування від переслідувань загарбників, під час підготовки до боїв, у часи скорботи за загиблими друзями, у мріях про знову вільну та незалежну Литву. Основним методом цього дослідження є історичний аналіз в етномузикології, соціокультурній антропології та історії музики; зокрема аналіз виникнення та розвитку окремих народних пісень у специфічних суспільних обставинах. Наукова новизна поданої роботи полягає в тому, що вперше в східноєвропейській етномузикології актуальні завдання дослідження досліджуються комплексно та міждисциплінарно; це дозволяє точніше розкрити явище, що розглядається. Висновки. Слід підкреслити, що за порівняно короткий період збройного національного опору було створено величезну кількість патріотичних пісень, і народнопісенна творчість набула нової сили. Це явище можна було б пояснити продовженням національного романтизму та розробкою численних мотивів литовських поетів.

Ключові слова: повоєнні часи, радянські часи, партизанські пісні, національний романтизм, пісні опору, мрії про національну незалежність.

Statement of the problem

The aim of the article is analysing of actual folk songs and revealing the manifestations of national romanticism in them. The return of romantic motives of the 19th century in the middle of the 20th century is regarded as a continuation of tradition.

The relevance of this study is the insights into the phenomenon under consideration, which help to more clearly and accurately identify its characteristics and typology of individual cases.

Literature review

post war partisan song

The author continues the studies by folklorist Kostas Aleksynas [1; 2] and by literary scholar Vytautas Kubilius [10; 11]; however, this research is a folkloristic one, since the songs' lyrics are perceived as a layer of folklore created at a definite period and characterized by the common stylistic features.

The purpose of the article is to present the idea that the phenomenon under study can be more clearly described using historical, socio- anthropological and ethnomusicological analysis methods.

The object of study there is the artistic creation of the Lithuanian armed resistance participants that took place after the Second World War. The subject - particular examples of folk songs poetry.

Presenting main material

The Second World War remains one of the most painful episodes in the memories of the European nations, and the partisan songs are the most emotionally charged examples of Lithuanian songs' lyrics. Lithuanian folklorists observe that a great number of new songs were composed within a short time of resistance. `Harrowing experiences in the wake of the loss of independence were bound to find their reflection in the sung folklore that was amply created at that time. During this hard period of trials and tribulations, losses, physical and spiritual suffering there appeared as many songs of social content as - one can confidently say that - there had not been during any other period of the nation's history' [1, 7]. Signed by pseudonyms or anonymous songs by the partisans used to appear in underground publications, spread in the form of manuscripts, or existed as folklore, that is, people learnt them from one another while singing. During the years of Soviet occupation (1945-1990), the songs created by the partisans and their supporters were stored in memory and only on rare occasions sung to the most trusted people; the manuscript copies of these songs or song notebooks would not be shown to anyone and kept in secret nooks. It was only after the re-establishment of Lithuania's independence that the publication of partisan songs began (the first collection Susaudytos dainos (Shot-Trough Songs) appeared in 1990).

Currently, Lietuviu liaudies dainynas (Multi-Volume Collection of Lithuanian Folk Songs) is the most exhaustive source of songs that used to be sung during the Second World War and the post-war years. Two new volumes from the series of military-historical songs have been published by the Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore (both prepared by Kostas Aleksynas and Zivile Ramoskaite). One volume [LLD XIX], published in 2005 comprises 410 songs of soldiers, deportees, and political prisoners; another [LLD XXI], published in 2009 consists of 520 partisan songs. According to Aleksynas, `these songs reflect not only the hardships endured throughout the first decade of the new occupation, especially in its early years, but also the hope of the partisans and the general population to regain Lithuania's freedom, and the eventual loss of that hope' [LLD XXI, 717].

Quite often the partisans' songs and their poetry are imagined as `the history of fights written in verse': they mention actual individuals, give real facts and circumstances. It must be admitted that this history is of a fragmentary nature, as though put together of separate slips of paper. Still, when looking for links between partisans' songs and other documents that memorialise the post-war resistance, it becomes clear that the songs are a more important material for research into the historical narrative, not for research into historical events. They convey the perception of Lithuania's statehood, cherishing of freedom and independence, and self-sacrifice of the fighters. The literary historian Vytautas Kubilius maintained that the literature of the war and post-war years was genuine because the repression by the occupation authorities did not have to be made up - `reality surpassed the cruellest games of fantasy'. However, this creation did not record just the events of one or another day: it strove to speak of great values [11, 61]. According to Saule Matuleviciene, `the songs composed by Lithuanian partisans are fascinating communal evaluation of history that is really still in the making'. They represent a spontaneous upsurge of creativity, which only partly corresponds to the traditional concept of folk creativity. These songs are between traditional folk songs and literature [13, 24].

Partisan resistance - `a war after war'. In 1939, Lithuania saw the outburst of war, the western part of country - the Klaipeda region - was annexed by Germany. In June 1940, the USSR occupied Lithuania and other Baltic countries - Latvia and Estonia. It marked the beginning of violence, persecutions, imprisonments, and deportations. Mass deportation of the inhabitants of the Baltic countries was carried out: thousands of people were deported to Siberia, to the Altai region, and some even further north beyond the Arctic Circle. Families were deported unexpectedly and without any explanations. People had just few hours to collect basic necessities and be transported nobody knew where. The only guilt of the deported army officers, public servants, business people, farmers, priests, teachers, and even musicians was their love of the homeland and unwillingness to be loyal to the invader.

In 1941, Lithuania was occupied by the Nazis. The summer of 1944 saw the second onset of the Soviet occupation in Lithuania, and the postwar Stalinist totalitarian regime was even harder to bear [6]. The young generation of the Lithuanians were faced with a choice between hasty emigration, enduring the `red terror', or joining the ranks of freedom fighters in woods. Many of them chose the third path. Thousands of patriotically- minded young people joined armed fight for freedom and resisted the invader in partisan units until 1953.

The Baltic armed anti-Soviet resistance of 1944-1953 was one of the biggest guerrilla wars in Europe in the twentieth century, but it was unknown outside the region for a long time. The long negligence toward what happened in the Baltics after the Second World War allows calling the partisan fights an `invisible front', `an unknown war' or `a war after war'. According to Lithuanian historians, there was some spontaneity at the beginning of the resistance movement, but later a structure based on the military-territorial principle was established: the platoons formed a brigade and the latter was part of a district; two or three districts formed a region. The partisans continued the traditions of the Lithuanian Armed Forces and functioned as a military structure. They wore military uniforms and appropriate recognition badges [12, 28]. When joining the resistance, a partisan would receive a secret name: 4zuolas (`Oak'), Jovaras (`Sycamore'), Zaibas (`Lightning Bolt'), Kardas (`Sword'), Sturmas (`Storming'), Vanagas (`Hawk'), Milzinas (`Giant'), Klajunas (`Wanderer'), Naktis (`Night'), Vilkas (`Woolf), Tigras (`Tiger'), Siaubas (`Horror'), Kerstas (`Revenge'), and the like.

There were three stages of the armed resistance. The first stage (19441946) constitutes the years of the fiercest fighting against the occupying army; these years were full of determination, belief in victory, and romanticism. However, tremendous losses forced the partisans to change the tactics of their struggle. During the second period of guerrilla war (1946- 1948) open battles were avoided and partisan detachments were divided into smaller groups. Instead of camps set up in the forests partisans built well- camouflaged bunkers. During the third stage (1948-1953) guerrilla war lost its strength. The greatest attention was devoted to publishing underground newspapers, books, and leaflets [12, 35].

The central aim of partisan resistance was the re-establishment of Lithuania's independence, and only upon achieving it did the partisans hope to return to their homes and resume their ordinary life. The majority of the freedom fighters did not violate the sworn oath and fought until their last breath. The people of Lithuania believed in the principle of self-determination of nations. They hoped that the question of the occupation of the Baltic countries would be raised sooner or later and that the changed borders of the European countries would be deliberated in the near future. They expected the fight not to be long and that independence would be soon re-established. The partisans' return to their homes is depicted quite romantically in the songs:

Darkness enveloped the fields and forests,

A mother swept seeing off her son.

- Goodbye, dear mother, I don't know, if I'll return...

Having left our homes, when we walked through the forest,

Oaks swayed and birds sung to us.

We will return once there are no more enemies in Lithuania,

When our tri-coloured flag will fly above the castle of Gediminas,

When the strings of guitars will ring,

And Lithuanian girls will sing a songs.

(Laukus, miskus irpievas apgaube sutema. LLD XXI, No. 2)

However, although with passing time the partisans came to realise that they were facing long decades of captivity, they still awaited the attention of the leaders of the big powers and the support of the democratic world. This way of thinking of the young Lithuanians was not thoroughly idealistic as it was only in a free country that they could hope to live as full citizens. `Your fate will depend on your nation's fate: individual existence runs against the big questions of freedom, statehood, and peace' [11, 189].

The partisans spent long years hiding in the woods of Lithuania. They lived carefully covering their tracks, sleeping in clammy bunkers set up under ground; they fought protected by the darkness of the night. The henchmen of Moscow were running the show in the so-called Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic, but the partisans refused to accept their power as legitimate. Although the invaders' red flags were flying in public places, it was the tri-colour that dominated resistance:

Yellow is colour of sun,

Green is colour of fields,

Red colour means blood,

All three colours mean the state of Lithuania.

(Vingiuoja melsvos upes. LLD XIX, No. 1)

People called the partisans `forest brothers', but to Soviet propaganda they were bandits: it claimed that only those people who had lost their jobs and homes during the war, who failed to integrate in society, and thus had to hide in forests joined partisan units. Actually, partisans came from the families of well-off farmers, many of them had worked or studied in the city, and thus could have been capable of supporting themselves. A partisan song about a brother-in-arms who fought in their ranks and met an honourable death has the following words:

You left following your calling,

You were innocent,

You left to bring back freedom,

And you will never return.

(Tu isejai ispasaukimo. LLD XXI, No. 308)

Having forsaken legal life and left for the forests, they lived in the underground `state of the partisans'. Freedom fighters followed the political and legal provisions of Independent Lithuania and saw themselves as the alternative power; they resisted occupation and Sovietisation as strongly as they could [17, 159]. The verses of their songs and their poetry conveyed the extraordinary condition they found themselves in by remaining loyal to free Lithuania.

The chance of the resistance for victory was slim, yet the partisans tried to make life difficult for Soviet invaders. The partisans were attacked by Soviet forces much bigger in size of their own. One of the battles, which took place in the Kalniskes forest made its way to folksongs. In this battle, courage was shown by the men and the women who fought it. Many partisans, the commander called Lakunas (a partisan code name which means `Pilot') and his wife called Pusele (`Pine'), were shot in the forest. The fate of captured partisans was horrible: they were imprisoned and tortured. Because of this savageness freedom fighters used to choose death instead of captivity. Their last bullets in the battle were reserved for themselves. About 20,000 freedom fighters were killed in action, captured by the enemy, imprisoned and shot during the period of armed resistance. Numerous graves appeared in village cemeteries and forests:

Wild animals hide in the caves, birds have nests,

Only a Lithuanian cannot find a safe place to rest.

Both at home and in the woods he tries to hide,

But the brutal invader always finds him.

A mother is weeping in the cemetery: embracing a grave,

She calls her son by name. Invader's bullet took him away from her.

A father is mourning in the garden, under the sycamore tree:

The invaders buried three of his sons somewhere without a coffin.

(Zverys slapstosi urvuose, pauksciai lizdus turi. LLD XXI, Nr. 409)

However, the places of burial of many a partisan remained unknown to their next of kin. If the bodies of the dead fell into the hands of the enemy, they were handled without any respect. The bodies would be left in such public places as roadsides or town squares with the aim of intimidating the relatives, friends, and supporters of the dead, and then buried in unknown places. Such inhumane behaviour was one of the reasons that triggered composing poetic verses about the partisans to properly honour and memorialise them in at least such a way:

Oh spruce tree, hide me from the enemy:

The NKVD go through the woods.

The forest buzzed - a bullet pierced my chest.

They will lay me near the street.

My girl will not press close to me: my chest is bloody.

My mother will not recognise me: my face is covered by sand.

My friends will bury me.

While putting me in the coffin, they will sing a hymn of freedom.

(Eglute, zalia ir galinga. LLD XXI, No. 162)

According to Kostas Aleksynas, `The death of each partisan was a painful shock both to their families and relatives and to their brothers-in- arms. When paying respect to the dead, a good word about the fighter or a gun salute were not always enough; often, a hastily composed poem would be read at the grave. A poem heard and memorised at a spontaneously evolved funeral ceremony, or obtained in writing from the author could have become a song. <...> Most of them were composed in Dzukija [SouthEastern Lithuania]' [2, 23].

The last freedom fighters were idealists who were aware they had no chance of survival. Lionginas Baliukevicius-Dzukas, who perished in 1950, wrote in his diary: “I would not go to America if somebody offered me freedom there. I'd rather die fighting than waiting for something doing nothing. Our blood will not be spilt in vain. We will be able to look people straight in the eyes because we did not abandon our Homeland” [5].

Partisan Songs, Patriotic Poems, and Romances. The songs by partisans and their supporters continued the historical narrative of the independent Republic of Lithuania. The fights for independence of 1918 - 1920 were an example of heroism to the partisans, which explains why the historical military songs of that period were so close to them. These songs could be sung again, with only a small change - replacing the word savanoriai (`volunteers') withpartizanai, but more often new texts would be written to the well-known tunes of the volunteers of 1918-1920, for instance:

On the dark and stormy night

When the wind was raging in the fields,

Partisans marched silently.

On their shoulders hung guns,

And in their hearts, steel courage.

(Audringq, tamsiq ziemos nakti. LLD XXI, No. 479)

The research of the songs created during war and post-war period reveals that they harbour many typical romantic literary motives [15]. They exalt the beauty of the homeland praising its green villages, winding rivers with meadow banks, the roadside crosses, and faraway woods. These motives are often entwined with those of spring, blossoming, and youth. The native country is frequently portrayed in the songs as a beloved girl with a “rue spray in her hair” and as a mother taking care of her children. The motive of Lithuanian woods, or green forests is especially prominent both in the romantic literature and in the post-war folksongs. From ancient times, the woods used to protect Lithuanians against their enemies; during the postwar period, they also served as the only shelter for people prosecuted by the fierce regime. In the songs' lyrics, there are harsh winds blowing, thunders striking, falcons taking up to the skies notwithstanding, and one is led to hope for the dawn, sunrise, and the glorious morning of freedom.

As it was written by Vytautas Kubilius, `In an occupied land, a nation's historical memory remains an essential reference point. The power of the invaders cannot recall or eliminate what there used to be. The past is not scared of terror. The past is standing on the other side of the orders of the war commandant. <...> The visions of free existence, tales, and meanings constantly wake up in the years of captivity preventing one's identification with the occupational order and melting in it' [11, 143].

Pre-war Lithuania, its public life, as well as the personal life of each freedom fighter did not fade from the memory. Reminiscences and images of the past were the sources not only of the partisans' spiritual fortitude, but also of their poetic creation. Song creators were inspired not only by the oral tradition but also by the written tradition of Lithuanian poetry, especially the poems by the bard of national revival Maironis, that everyone knew by heart (for example, LLD XIX, No. 38). Of Maironis's poetry, Vytautas Kubilius singled out the poem `Oi, neverk, matusele' (Oh don't cry, beloved mother) and named it an unsurpassable hymn that inspired outstanding poets and unknown authors:

Oh, don't cry, beloved mother, that young son

Will go to defend dearest fatherland,

That collapsed as a great oak tree of lush forests

He will await for the final day of justice.

Don't break your arms in the way birch branches

Are broken by furious winds.

You still have sons left; who will lose his homeland

Won't pray out a second one.

<...>

According to researcher, `the history of Lithuania - a history of neverending invasions, revolutions, and fights for liberation - invoked not as much hymns of joy as those of mourning, which for a long time consolidated their place in the literary circulation. The paradigm of such a hymn has not been changing since the times of Maironis: there are values that must be protected even at the cost of one's life; you are not scared to die when justice is on your side; a death for the nation's freedom is meaningful; such a death commits others to continue the fight to the end' [11, 24].

The return of the romantic ideals of the 19th century in the middle of the 20th century was hardly surprising, since it was natural in the war and post-war times - the critical period again required resistance and defence from the literature and poetry:

Having served your duty to the motherland,

You died in the battle field. <.. .>

Your eyes were closed not by your mother,

Your sister did not weep by your grave.

In the battlefield cannons tolled,

Misty autumn mourned. <.>

You extinguished when the freedom dawned,

You won the battle, but not for yourself.

(Atlik^spareigq tevynei. LLD XXI, No. 510)

In the understanding of the song creators, the post-war resistance was part of the eternal struggle for freedom, and although the freedom fighters died, the struggle did not stop.

As partisan songs were created by the younger generation, they remind us not only of traditional war songs and patriotic songs, but also of love songs. If one had to briefly define the genre of the partisan songs, it would be the romances of the interwar period. Due to historical changes, the romances changed and started to speak not only of a lost love, but also of lost freedom; they became even more sentimental, painful, and wistful. One of the popular romances was Jau ruduo atejo' (The autumn has come) with the characteristic motif of separation. With the accents of its meaning changed, it became a partisan song:

Don't wait me, dear girl, don't lean against the gate,

I won't come: I left to fight for the native land.

If I don't return, may another visit you

And may songs ring out at your home.

(Nebelauk, mergaite, nerymokprie vartq. LLD XXI, No. 61)

The melody of this romance contains wistful syncopation and a heartrending twist of the tune in its second part. Similar tunes are characteristic of other partisan songs (see: LLD XXI, Nos. 151, 271, 427). Beyond doubt, the aesthetics and stylistic aspects of the romance were close to the well- known creators of partisan songs Ele Radzeviciute, Petras Bartkus- Alkupenas, and others. One of Petras Bartkus's songs features `the typical smart Lithuanian soldier inherited from the pre-war military songs', but here `this typical soldier is placed in romance situations' [11, 86].

Be well, my dear girl,

Dream about sweet love,

While the fate of a partisan awaits me.

Give me your hand,

Let me gaze into your eyes -

This moment will be

My most treasured memory.

(Liki sveika, mergyte mano. LLD XXI, No. 17)

Romantic are not the only personages of the songs: the place of action is also endowed with very romantic features. In the songs of the partisans and of the homesick deportees, the landscapes of Lithuania look like postcards: their native homesteads are surrounded by swaying crops and green meadows, the gardens are in blossom, and the fragrance of the jasmine bushes is overpowering. The following songs could serve as examples of a romance-partisan song depicting such a `green homestead': `Grazioj gimtinej as uzaugau (I grew up in a beautiful homeland), `Lietuva brangi, numyleta' (Lithuania, dear and beloved), `G koks grazus Dzukijos krastas' (Oh how beautiful the land of Dzukija is) and others.

Some aspects of entertainment culture can also be discerned in partisan songs: their melodies resemble German waltzes, Polish tangos, and American foxtrots. Many melodies were recomposed and do not sound exactly like the `originals', or one part of the melody echoes a popular tune and the rest is individual creation. According to the musicologist Zivile Ramoskaite, some of the melodies `might have caught up with them from the music played in interwar restaurants' [18, 52]. It is doubtful, however, whether the young people who had left for the woods could have heard these tunes in the capital's restaurants. More likely, they hear d them on the radio or from gramophone records. In those days, wealthier farmers and public servants owned radio sets or gramophones; often the emigrants returning from America brought them home, so in all probability the tunes to which verses of partisan tangos and foxtrots were written came from such sources.

One can presume that when Soviet occupation descended on them, the young patriots based their songs on the cultural impressions of independent Lithuania that were still alive in their minds. When writing the songs, they not only saw the views of independent Lithuania but also preserved the sounds of that earlier Lithuania in their memories. Nostalgic feelings were conveyed both by the pre-war melodies and by the musical instruments that used to be played in leisure time: the violin, the accordion, and especially the guitar (LLD XIX, No. 2, 10). The singing of the beloved accompanied by the guitar and its gently weeping strings are frequently mentioned in romances; this instrument features in a number of war and post-war songs, for example:

I often see my native land in my dreams,

There in a homestead a girl is sitting at the window.

Please, don't cry, my dear, play a tune on the guitar,

Just remember that love never dies.

(Ryty fronte lyja kulkos nuolatos. LLD XIX, No. 94)

In the songs of the partisans and the deportees, the guitar is a symbol of love, youth, and freedom. In post-war music, it is possible to discern the opposition `romance-march': the romance performed with the accompaniment of a guitar meant love and a desire to live in freedom, while the military march implied hatred and the striving to overpower others.

The changes of the Lithuanian historical narrative. After the Soviet occupation, Lithuania and other occupied Baltic countries experienced the replacement of the general narrative. The nations, whose statehood was based on the European tradition, were forced to adopt an alternative narrative according to which the `evil' history of the past ended to give way to a new, better and brighter, era of communism. The propagandistic literature of the 1940s-1950s spoke of `vast areas of the country, a great number of cities, a multitude of new settlements, factories, and plants that sprang up as though in an empty field' [16, 30].

Partisan songs were composed at the time when historical memory of independent Lithuania was being erased and the communist narrative, which was not historical but futuristic, was being inculcated. The Second World War was depicted as a heroic struggle against fascism and crushing of this regime as a victory of the Red Army. Nobody spoke about what was happening after the war when the victor, the Soviet Union, took Easter

European countries under its control. Lithuanian national culture was suppressed, and its famous creators silenced. Therefore, the idealist creativity moved to the underground, while traditional national and romantic motives were further developed in the illegal publications by the partisan movement and in the orally spread folksongs. Having noted a coherent continuation of the tradition of national romanticism, the author suggests defining the new wave of this style originating in the post-war period as folk romanticism.

The 1960s stood out as the time of increased interest in regional studies and the new beginning of folklore expeditions. Groups of students would arrive in a selected location to examine its natural surroundings, daily life, folklore tradition and the like. Individuals responsible for communist education did all they could to stop the young from receiving a single historical book from older people and to prevent them from hearing songs filled with idealism and national romanticism. Several decades `zealous attempts had been made to render those partisan songs, hazardous to the Soviet individual, harmless. Basically, it was done in two ways: ideologically, by threatening with gulags, and aesthetically, pointing to the worthlessness of twentieth-century romances. <...> During the period of the so-called stagnation, the folklorists would be advised to record only the valuable old folklore' [9, 19]. Somebody would sing a patriotic song to the folklore collectors after the old songs had been sung, but would ask if the tape recorder had been switched off as that song was not for recording.

Nevertheless, the imposed general narrative was rejected by the Lithuanian society who wished to reconstruct fragments of its authentic narrative. Lithuanian society became post-totalitarian in the 1960s, but it could return to the genuine historic narrative only in the late 1980s, when the national awakening started. According to Isaiah Berlin, “fascism and communism caused a havoc in Europe - less so by their doctrines but primarily through actions of their followers who tried to stamp out genuine values which nevertheless proved viable even as outcasts only to come back as invalids of war in order to disturb the European conscience” [4, 127]. As the history of the twentieth century showed, totalitarian regimes destroyed historical and cultural values by erasing them from human memory and burying them in secret vaults, but sooner or later these values returned.

In 1988, with the rise of national revival in Lithuania, the desire to speak about the actual history and about anti-Soviet and anti-Fascist resistance was shown. Memoirs of people who had survived the Holocaust, the deportations, and Soviet gulags began to appear. It was a time when a number of politically-charged books were published to bring the names, images, and experiences of the victims back into the nation's collective memory. After the re-establishment of Lithuania's independence, the communication and education has reversed. During the years of the occupation, the partisans were contemptuously referred to as bandits, but today the freedom fighters and their supporters are heroes in Lithuania. Now young people are encouraged to learn about the history of freedom fights, to examine archival documents, to commemorate previously suppressed events and forgotten names. The historians studying the post-war resistance invite the young to retrace the partisans' paths, to visit their former hideouts in forests and the sites of their combat with the invader's troops and of their death. It is by visiting memorable places and by saying `Thank you, forest brothers' that in 2018 patriotic young people celebrated the centenary of the Republic of Lithuania.

The current historical narrative of the post-war resistance idealises the freedom fighters, depicts them as courageous men of tremendous spirit, yet the dark side also exists in the memories about traitors and the partisans who broke and turned into enemy's agents [3]. The narrative of the post-war resistance is put together from a variety of sources: documents, diaries, reminiscences, plans of the bunkers, and photographs depicting the partisans' daily life. Partisan songs, which embody the understanding of Lithuania's statehood, the cherishing of freedom and independence, the selfsacrifice of the freedom fighters, and their personal responsibility for the continuity and not disruption of the country's history, are a part of this narrative [14]. Honouring the partisans and memorialisation of their fights is seen as a mission of national importance.

Conclusions

The study of the songs created by the partisans confirms the historians' thesis: the main aim of the partisan fights of 1945-1953 was the re-establishment of Lithuania's independence. Only upon achieving it did the partisans hope to return to their homes and resume ordinary life. The fights for independence of 1918-1920 were an example of heroism to the partisans, it explains why the war songs of that period were close to them. Song writers were inspired not only by the oral but also by the written tradition of Lithuanian poetry, especially the patriotic poems by the bard of national revival Maironis, that everyone knew by heart. The heroes - young freedom fighters - were depicted as romantic characters who chose death over slavery.

The lyrics of partisan songs spoke about the terror approaching from East, and about the tragic fate of Lithuania and its population. They also praised the `green village' lifestyle, destroyed by the invaders. As the songs were created by the younger generation, they reminded not only of traditional war songs, but also of love songs. The public life of the pre-war years had not faded from their memory yet; their reminiscences and mental images of the past were sources not only of partisans' spiritual strength, but of their poetic creation, too.

As noted by the folklore researcher Kostas Aleksynas, a huge number of patriotic songs has been created in the course of a comparatively short period of the armed national resistance, the folksong creativity seemingly acquiring new powers. The continuation of the national romanticism and elaboration of numerous motives employed by the Lithuanian poets could perhaps explain this phenomenon. Composition of the new folksongs did not require forming of a new poetic language, since the well-established romantic tradition presented itself to use, and only certain appropriate motives had to be selected.

Acronyms

LLD XIX - l.ieliivni liaudies dainynas [Multi-Volume Collection of Lithuanian Folk Songs], vol. XIX. Karines-istorines dainos [Military-Historical Songs], vol. 5 - Antrojo pasaulinio karo ir pokario dainos [Songs of the Second World War and PostWar] . Parenge Kostas Aleksynas, melodijas parenge Zivile Ramoskaite. Vilnius: Lie'tuviu literatures ir tautosakos institutas, 2005.

LLD XXI - Lietuvii liaudies dainynas [Multi-Volume Collection of Lithuanian Folk Songs], vol. XXI. Karines-istorines dainos [Military-Historical Songs], vol. 6 - Partizani dainos [Partisan Songs]. Parenge Kostas Aleksynas, melodijas parenge Zivile Ramoskaite. Vilnius: Lie'tuviu literatures ir tautosakos institutas, 2009.

References:

1. Aleksynas, Kostas (2005). Pratarme [Foreword]. Lietuviu liau dies dainynas, [MultiVolume Collection of Lithuanian Folk Songs], vol. XIX. Karines-istorines dainos [Military-Historical Songs], vol. 5 - Antrojo pasaulinio karo ir pokario dainos [Songs of the Second World War and Post-War]. Parenge Kostas Aleksynas, melodijas parenge Zivile Ramoskaite. Vilnius: Lietuviu literatures ir tautosakos institutas [in Lithuanian].

2. Aleksynas, Kostas (2009). Pratarme [Foreword]. Lietuvip liaudies dainynas [Multi - Volume Collection of Lithuanian Folk Songs], vol. XXI. Karines-istorines dainos [Military-Historical Songs], vol. 6 - Partizanp dainos [Partisan Songs] Parenge Kostas Aleksynas, melodijas parenge Zivile Ramoskaite. Vilnius: Lietuvip literatures ir tautosakos institutas [in Lithuanian].

3. Anusauskas, Arvydas (ed.) (2006). The Anti-Soviet Resistance in the Baltic States. Vilnius: The Genocide and Resistance Research Centre of Lithuania.

4. Berlin, Isaiah (1995). Europos santarve ir jos pokyciai [European Unity and Its Vicissitudes]. Berlin Isaiah. Vienove ir jvairove: zvilgsniai j ideju istorijq [Unity and Diversity: Issues on Ideas History], Vilnius: Amzius [in Lithuanian].

5. Baliukevicius-Dzukas, Lionginas (2008). The Diary of a Partisan. Vilnius: The Genocide and Resistance Research Centre of Lithuania.

6. Girnius, Kestutis (1986). Soviet Terror in Lithuania during the Post-War Years. Lituanus, 32, No. 4, Winter.

7. Grinkeviciute, Dalia (1988). Lietuviai prie Lapteva juros [Lithuanians at Laptev Seas]. Vilnius [in Lithuanian].

8. Grinkeviciute, Dalia (2002). A Stolen Youth, a Stolen Homeland. Translated by Izolda Geniusiene. Vilnius.

9. Jurgutiene, Ausra (1990). Pratarme [Foreword]. Susaudytos dainos [Shot Songs]. Sudare ir parenge Vytautas Ledas ir Henrikas Rimkus. Vilnius: Vaga [in Lithuanian].

10. Kubilius, Vytautas (1993). Romantizmo tradicija lietuvip literaturoje [The Tradition of Romanticism in the Lithuanian Literature]. Vilnius: Amzius [in Lithuanian].

11. Kubilius, Vytautas (2001). Neparklupdyta muza. Lietuvip literatura vokietmeciu [A Muse don't brought to he r Knees. Lithuanian Literature in the Years of German Occupation]. Vilnius: Lietuvip literatures ir tautosakos institutas [in Lithuanian].

12. Kuodyte, Dalia; Tracevskis, Rokas (2013). The Unknown War: Armed Anti-Soviet Resistance in Lithuania in 1944-1953. Vilnius: The Genocide and Resistance Research Centre of Lithuania [in Lithuanian].

13. Matuleviciene, Saule (2002). Pokario atminties formos. [Forms of the Post-War Memory]. Liaudies kultura [Folk Culture], 6, 22-27 [in Lithuanian].

14. Nakiene, Auste (2018). Partizanp dainos ir nepriklausomos Lietuvos istorinis pasakojimas [Partisan Songs and Historical Narrative of Independent Lithuania]. Liaudies kultura [Folk Culture], 6, 14-30 [in Lithuanian].

15. Nakiene, Auste (2021). Romantizmo motyvai partizanp ir tremtinip dainose [Romantic Motives in the Lithuanian Partisan and Deportee Songs]. Tautosakos darbai [Folklore Issues], Vilnius: Lietuvip literatures ir tauto sakos institutas, 61, 71-96 [in Lithuanian].

16. Pelurityte-Tikuisiene, Audinga (2015). Didysis pasakojimas sovietmeciu: keli panoraminiai problemos strichai [Grand Narrative in Soviet Time: Several Panoramic Features]. Literatura [Literature], 57 (1), 22-42 [in Lithuanian].

17. Petrauskiene, Aiste (2017). Lietuvos partizanp pogrindzio valstybes bruozai [Features of the Lithuanian Partisan Underground State]. Tautosakos darbai [Folklore

Issues], Vilnius: Lietuvip literatures ir tautosakos institutas, 53, 155-174

[in Lithuanian].

18. Ramoskaite, Zivile (2005). Antrojo pasaulinio karo dainp melodijo s [The Melodies of the Second World War]. Lietuvip liaudies dainynas [Multi-Volume Collection of Lithuanian Folk Songs], vol. XIX. Karines-istorines dainos [Military-Historical Songs], vol. 5 - Antrojo pasaulinio karo ir pokario dainos [Songs of the Second World War and Post-War]. Parenge Kostas Aleksynas, melodijas parenge Zivile Ramoskaite. Vilnius: Lietuvip literaturos ir tautosakos institutas [in Lithuanian].

19. Vyliute, Jurate; Kirdiene, Gaila (2013). Lietuviai ir muzika Sibire [Lithuanians and Music in Siberia]. Vilnius: Lietuvos kompozitorip s^junga [in Lithuanian].

Размещено на Allbest.ru

...