Forest Brothers of Lithuania

Dr. J. P. Kazickas was introduced to the Forest Brothers organization and its archive of 5000 hours of documentary video tapes in 2008. The organization‘s mission is to accumulate historical video material as a testimonial of events over the recent history of Lithuania in order to strenghten Lithuania‘s freedom and statehood. With the significant help of eyewitnesses, history is being told from the historically valuable sites at which memorable events took place. 

The Forest Brothers – formerly Lithuania‘s Freedom Fighters organization unites freedom fighters of the WWII and post-WWII. Before and after the reinstatement of Lithuania‘s Independence on 1990.03.11, the Forest Brothers appealed to the powers of the World such as the US, UK and Japan in order to show to the world intentions of the Kremlin against the state of Lithuania. The bloody events of January 13, 1991 in Vilnius were filmed by Albinas Kentra, member of the organization.The footage of Kremlin‘s military actions against a peaceful crowd who took to the streets in their newly independent country to protect key institutions from the Soviet military forces, shocked the World.

Thanks to the KFF grants, videos are recorded, old video tapes are being transferred to new formats, copies made and stored for future generations. They will eventually be available to the public. Every year couple hundred hours of new video footage are added to the archive. The Forest Brothers, the Union of Lithuanian Freedom Fighters and the Union of Lithuanian Political Prisoners and Deportees are working together for the preservation of Lithuania's history. 
 

To view an interview with Albinas Kentra, former partisan, GULAG prisoner and deportee, watch the video by Algis Kuzmickas for the Baltic Initiative and Network. 

In 2020 Albinas Kentra-Ausra, a partisan and chronicler of the Lithuanian Atgimimas (Revival) movement, was awarded the annual Freedom Prize in Lithuania. E-portal 8diena.lt talks to Mr. Kentra and shares his incredible life story which is an important part of Lithuanian history as well. English translation