Invaders

Translation of the transcript:

You said that the Russians arrived and started looting...

They stole.

What did they steal?

Well, everything that could be stolen. We had our own mill. And in it, there was grain and flour. During the night, they broke the lock and took everything.

Were they starving?

Well, yes, like all Russians.

And were they punished for doing this?

No, who would have punished them?

Their commanders?

Oh, you know... the commanders themselves stole.

And they didn't mistreat any young women?

No. In our country, the Germans ruled until 1945, they controlled us for 4 years. But there were no Germans in the village, only in the district. My brother had already joined their ranks, they were able to take him into the army, but there the militiaman who worked for the Germans was a nice person. When he came from one side of the village, he would start shooting so that we would have time to run away. Since they couldn't find anyone at home, no one was taken away.

Did anyone warn you that the NKVD agents were going to arrest you?

No, who could have done that?

And the Lithuanians who came to get you during the night, did you know them?

I knew one of them.

Was he from your village?

Not from our village, no. From a neighboring village, I knew him well.

Who was he? Why was he doing this?

He went to serve in their ranks. I heard that his father was smuggling alcohol and they caught him, so the son had to go work for the NKVD.

Maybe he didn't want to do it himself, maybe they forced him. Was he young?

Yes. He was young. That's how we lived...

And village people were enrolled into the police?

They made them work for them.

They made them work in your area?

Of course they did.

And the one you mentioned, he was an understanding person, right?

He was a good guy, and he was already working for the Nazi regime in Lithuania before the war and during the German occupation.

But it was dangerous to warn you, he could have been denounced. Wasn't he afraid of that?

No.

What happened to him when the Russians arrived?

Well, I don't know, we didn't really know each other.