Marytė or Marija Melnikaitė (18 March 1923 – 13 July 1943) was a
Soviet partisan
Soviet partisans were members of resistance movements that fought a guerrilla war against Axis forces during World War II in the Soviet Union, the previously Soviet-occupied territories of interwar Poland in 1941–45 and eastern Finland. The ac ...
and the only
Lithuanian
Lithuanian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Lithuania, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe
** Lithuanian language
** Lithuanians, a Baltic ethnic group, native to Lithuania and the immediate geographical region
** L ...
woman awarded
Hero of the Soviet Union
The title Hero of the Soviet Union () was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society. The title was awarded both ...
.
[ While her partisan career lasted less than two months, ]Soviet propaganda
Propaganda in the Soviet Union was the practice of state-directed communication aimed at promoting class conflict, proletarian internationalism, the goals of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and the party itself.
The main Soviet cen ...
exaggerated her duties and accomplishments. Many works, including a film and an opera, were dedicated to her. Several streets in the former Soviet Union (including Tyumen
Tyumen ( ; rus, Тюмень, p=tʲʉˈmʲenʲ, a=Ru-Tyumen.ogg) is the administrative center and largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Tyumen Oblast, Russia. It is situated just east of the Ural Mountains, along the Tura ( ...
, Minsk
Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...
, Almaty
Almaty, formerly Alma-Ata, is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population exceeding two million residents within its metropolitan area. Located in the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains ...
, Shymkent
Shymkent (, ; ) is a city in southern Kazakhstan, located near the border with Uzbekistan. It holds the status of a city of republican significance, one of only three cities in Kazakhstan with this distinction, alongside Almaty and Astana. As of ...
) are still named after her.
Early life
Melnikaitė was born to a family of a Russian mother Antonina Illarionovna and a Lithuanian
Lithuanian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Lithuania, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe
** Lithuanian language
** Lithuanians, a Baltic ethnic group, native to Lithuania and the immediate geographical region
** L ...
father Juozas Melnikas in Zarasai
Zarasai () is a city in northeastern Lithuania, surrounded by many lakes and rivers: to the southwest of the city is Lake Zarasas, to the northLake Zarasaitis, to the southeastLake Baltas, and the eastLake Griežtas. Lakes Zarasaitis and Griežtas ...
.[ She had four other siblings and the parents took assorted jobs to provide for the large family. They moved frequently in search for jobs (Zarasai, ]Anykščiai
Anykščiai (; see #Name, other names) is a ski resort city in Lithuania, west of Utena, Lithuania, Utena. The Roman Catholic Church of St. Matthias in Anykščiai is the tallest church in Lithuania, with spires measuring in height. Anykščia ...
, Rokiškis
Rokiškis () is a list of cities in Lithuania, city in northeastern Lithuania, close to the Latvia–Lithuania border, with a population of 11,606 (2023). The city is a capital of the Rokiškis District Municipality with a population of 28,715 (20 ...
, Zarasai, Marijampolė
Marijampolė (; also known by Marijampolė#Names, several other names) is the Capital city, capital of Marijampolė County in the south of Lithuania, bordering Poland and Russian Kaliningrad Oblast, and Lake Vištytis. The city's population stood ...
). Melnikaitė completed a primary school in Rokiškis and started working at ''Avanti'' confectionery at age 14 and studied sewing.[ In 1940, after Lithuania was occupied by the Soviet Union, Melnikaitė joined the ]Lithuanian Komsomol
The Leninist Young Communist League of Lithuania ( or LLKJS) or Lithuanian Komsomol () was the Lithuania, Lithuanian branch of the Soviet Union, Soviet Komsomol that served as the youth organ of the Communist Party of Lithuania. The organization w ...
and started evening classes. Reportedly her father did not approve her Komsomol activities, which included her singing in a choir.[
]
Partisan activities
After the German invasion of the Soviet Union
Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along a ...
, Melnikaitė along with other Komsomol
The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League, usually known as Komsomol, was a political youth organization in the Soviet Union. It is sometimes described as the youth division of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), although it w ...
members was evacuated to Russia where she took a job at a machine tool plant in Tyumen
Tyumen ( ; rus, Тюмень, p=tʲʉˈmʲenʲ, a=Ru-Tyumen.ogg) is the administrative center and largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Tyumen Oblast, Russia. It is situated just east of the Ural Mountains, along the Tura ( ...
. In July 1942, she joined the Soviet Army (16th Rifle Division
The 16th Rifle Division (; ; ) was a formation in the Red Army created during World War II. The division was formed twice, and was given the title 'Lithuanian' during its second formation.
It was originally established at Tambov in May 1918. It ...
) and was sent to a saboteur school in Balakhna
Balakhna () is a town and the administrative center of Balakhninsky District in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Volga River, north of Nizhny Novgorod, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: 33, ...
.[ In May 1943, she finished the studies and together with 35 other partisans (including two other women) were airlifted to the Rasony District in Belarus. From there, they needed to travel on foot to partisan headquarters in forests near .][ Melnikaitė and a few others were assigned to the native Zarasai where she joined the ]Soviet partisan
Soviet partisans were members of resistance movements that fought a guerrilla war against Axis forces during World War II in the Soviet Union, the previously Soviet-occupied territories of interwar Poland in 1941–45 and eastern Finland. The ac ...
group Kęstutis under the name of Ona Kuosaitė.[
Melnikaitė's partisan life lasted less than two months. Her Soviet biographers claimed that she participated in sabotage operations that derailed German trains carrying weapons to the front lines or bombed German warehouses. There is some evidence of only one diversion where a small train carrying gravel and sugar was derailed.][ In July 1943, she and several other partisans were sent on a mission to bring more weapons from the Soviet partisans operating in Belarus. Local inhabitants spotted the group near Apvardai Lake in ]Ignalina District
Ignalina District Municipality is one of 60 municipalities in Lithuania.
Structure
District structure:
* 2 cities – Dūkštas and Ignalina;
* 3 towns – Mielagėnai, Rimšė and Tverečius;
* 726 villages.
* Ignalina District Municipalit ...
and called Lithuanian policemen.[ During a shootout, several partisans were killed. There is reliable evidence of only one policeman (Igoris Kazanas) who was killed by the partisans. Melnikaitė and a man (likely Fatėjus Sapožnikovas) were captured and their custody was transferred to the German police. After five days of torture, they were shot in the cemetery of Kaniūkai village.][ Since Melnikaitė's family was not repressed while Sapožnikovas' and other partisans' families were killed or arrested, it is likely that Melninkaitė did not give up her real identity.][
Her story was rediscovered in spring 1944 when ]Motiejus Šumauskas
Motiejus or Matas Šumauskas (2 October 1905 – 28 May 1982) was a Lithuanian communist activist and Soviet politician. He served as the chairman of the Council of Ministers (equivalent to Prime Minister) from 1956 to 1963 and chairman of the pre ...
, leader of Lithuanian Soviet partisans, searched for a Lithuanian version of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya
Zoya Anatolyevna Kosmodemyanskaya ( rus, Зо́я Анато́льевна Космодемья́нская, p=ˈzojə kəsmədʲɪˈmʲjanskəjə; September 13, 1923 – November 29, 1941) was a Soviet partisan. She was executed after acts of s ...
.[ Melnikaitė was posthumously awarded the title ]Hero of the Soviet Union
The title Hero of the Soviet Union () was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society. The title was awarded both ...
on 22 March 1944. The death of the twenty-year-old was used by Soviet propaganda
Propaganda in the Soviet Union was the practice of state-directed communication aimed at promoting class conflict, proletarian internationalism, the goals of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and the party itself.
The main Soviet cen ...
, which exaggerated her duties, accomplishments, and circumstances of her death. For example, in March 1944, Antanas Sniečkus
Antanas Sniečkus ( – 22 January 1974) was a Lithuanian communist politician who served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Lithuania ('' de facto'' leader of Lithuanian SSR) from 15 August 1940 to his death on 22 January 1974. ...
wrote in ''Tiesa
''Tiesa'' (English: ''truth'') was the official daily newspaper in the Lithuanian SSR. Established in 1917, the newspaper soon became the official voice of the Communist Party of Lithuania. After the Lithuanian victory in the Lithuanian–Soviet ...
'' that the shootout lasted a day and that Melnikaitė personally killed seven policemen, was badly injured, attempted to commit suicide with a grenade, and even after brutal torture did not betray her fellow partisans.[ Her first biographer ]Antanas Venclova
Antanas Venclova (7 January 1906 – 28 June 1971) was a Soviet and Lithuanian politician, poet, journalist and translator.
Early life
Born in Kalvarija Municipality, Trempiniai in Suwałki Governorate, Venclova studied Lithuanian, Russian ...
later admitted in his memoirs that he was given just the basic facts (name, dates of birth and death, and a few words on the circumstances of her death) and a deadline of next morning to produce her heroic biography.[ Until 1965, when documents were discovered that proved she was shot, her biographers claimed that she was publicly hanged and that her last words praised the ]Lithuanian SSR
The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (Lithuanian SSR; ; ), also known as Soviet Lithuania or simply Lithuania, was '' de facto'' one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union between 1940–1941 and 1944–1990. After 1946, its terr ...
and comrade Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...
.[
]
Honors and memorials
* Memorial museum in Zarasai (1969); closed
* Monument in Druskininkai
Druskininkai (; also see other names) is a spa city on the Nemunas River in southern Lithuania, close to the borders of Belarus and Poland. The city of Druskininkai is known for being a spa resort since the 19th century.
Name
The exact origi ...
(1952); sculptor Robertas Antinis
Robertas Antinis Jr. (born 9 June 1946 in Kaunas) is a Lithuanian sculptor, performance artist, and poet.
He is a winner of the National Culture and Art Prize.
Life
His dad, Robertas Antinis (1898-1981), was a sculptor and painter. He first creat ...
, currently located in Grūtas Park
* Monument in Zarasai
Zarasai () is a city in northeastern Lithuania, surrounded by many lakes and rivers: to the southwest of the city is Lake Zarasas, to the northLake Zarasaitis, to the southeastLake Baltas, and the eastLake Griežtas. Lakes Zarasaitis and Griežtas ...
(1955); sculptor , currently located in Grūtas Park.[ Her remains were reburied under the monument; in 1991 they were reburied again in Zarasai cemetery next to her family.][
* Plaque on the intersection of Melnikaitė and Republic streets in Tyumen
* Plaque on the machine tool plant in Tyumen (the former factory "Mechanic")
* Film ''Marytė'' by ]Mosfilm
Mosfilm (, ''Mosfil’m'' , initialism and portmanteau of Moscow Films) is a film studio in Moscow which is among the largest and oldest in the Russian Federation and in Europe. Founded in 1924 in the USSR as a production unit of that nation's fi ...
(1947); directed by Vera Stroyeva
Vera Pavlovna Stroyeva (, (''Maiden and married names, née'' Richter); 21 September 1903 – 26 August 1991) was a Soviet film director and screenwriter. Between 1926 and 1983, she directed fifteen films and wrote ten screenplays. Her Boris ...
, small debut role of Donatas Banionis
Donatas Banionis (28 April 1924 – 4 September 2014) was a Soviet and Lithuanian stage and film actor and theatre director. He has more than 80 credited roles in cinema and is best known for his performance in the lead role of Andrei Tarkovsky, ...
* Opera ''Marytė'' by Lithuanian Opera and Ballet Theatre
Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre (LNOBT) (), founded as Operos vaidykla, is an opera house and ballet theatre in Vilnius, Lithuania.
History
Operos vaidykla was founded in 1920 by the Society of Lithuanian Creators of Art in the ...
(1953); directed by Antanas Račiūnas
Antanas Račiūnas (4 September 1905, Užliaušiai – 3 April 1984, Vilnius) was a Lithuanian and Soviet composer and pedagogue. He was awarded People's Artist of the Lithuanian SSR in 1965.
Biography
He graduated from the Kaunas People's C ...
* Essay ''Tarybų Sąjungos Didvyrė Marija Melnikaitė'' by Antanas Venclova
Antanas Venclova (7 January 1906 – 28 June 1971) was a Soviet and Lithuanian politician, poet, journalist and translator.
Early life
Born in Kalvarija Municipality, Trempiniai in Suwałki Governorate, Venclova studied Lithuanian, Russian ...
(1944)[
* Poems ''Marija Melnikaitė'' by ]Salomėja Nėris
Salomėja Bačinskaitė-Bučienė, mostly known by her pen name Nėris (; 17 November 1904 – 7 July 1945) was a Lithuanian poet.
Biography
Salomėja was born in , Suwałki Governorate (current district of Vilkaviškis). She graduated from t ...
, ''Lietuvos duktė'' by Vacys Reimeris Vacys Reimeris (3 August 1921, Kuršėnai – 6 February 2017, Vilnius) was a Soviet and Lithuanian poet, translator, and Honored Culture Worker of the Lithuanian SSR (1965).
Biography
He graduated from elementary school in Kuršėnai in 1934 and ...
, ''Tam krašte'' by
* One of the main streets in Tyumen
Tyumen ( ; rus, Тюмень, p=tʲʉˈmʲenʲ, a=Ru-Tyumen.ogg) is the administrative center and largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Tyumen Oblast, Russia. It is situated just east of the Ural Mountains, along the Tura ( ...
was named in her honor; also streets in Minsk
Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...
, Almaty
Almaty, formerly Alma-Ata, is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population exceeding two million residents within its metropolitan area. Located in the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains ...
, and Shymkent
Shymkent (, ; ) is a city in southern Kazakhstan, located near the border with Uzbekistan. It holds the status of a city of republican significance, one of only three cities in Kazakhstan with this distinction, alongside Almaty and Astana. As of ...
* Textile company in Utena
Utena () is a city in north-east Lithuania. It is the administrative center of Utena district and Utena County. Utena is one of the oldest settlements of Lithuania. The name of the city is most probably derived from a hydronym. The name of the ...
was named in her honor;[ renamed to in 1995
* ]Kolkhoz
A kolkhoz ( rus, колхо́з, a=ru-kolkhoz.ogg, p=kɐlˈxos) was a form of collective farm in the Soviet Union. Kolkhozes existed along with state farms or sovkhoz. These were the two components of the socialized farm sector that began to eme ...
es in Dotnuva
Dotnuva (formerly , , ) is a small town with a 2003 population of 775 in central Lithuania, 10 km northwest of Kėdainiai, in the Kėdainiai district municipality. It is located on the Dotnuvėlė River. The geographical center of Lithuania, ...
(the first in the Lithuanian SSR
The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (Lithuanian SSR; ; ), also known as Soviet Lithuania or simply Lithuania, was '' de facto'' one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union between 1940–1941 and 1944–1990. After 1946, its terr ...
) and several others were named in her honor
See also
* List of female Heroes of the Soviet Union
This is a list of female Hero of the Soviet Union, Heroes of the Soviet Union; of the 12,777 people awarded the title, 95 were women, 49 of whom were posthumous recipients of the title.
Recipients
Soviet military personnel
Soviet partisa ...
* Helene Kullman
* Aniela Krzywoń
Aniela Krzywoń (27 May 1925 – 12 October 1943) was a private in the "Emilia Plater" Independent Women's Battalion of the Polish People's Army during the Second World War and became the only woman in history who was not a citizen of the Soviet ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Melnikaite, Maryte
1923 births
1943 deaths
Soviet female resistance members
Belarusian partisans
Heroes of the Soviet Union
Recipients of the Order of Lenin
Lithuanian people of World War II
People from Zarasai
People executed by Germany by firearm
Lithuanian people executed by Nazi Germany
Executed Soviet people from Lithuania
Resistance members killed by Nazi Germany
Soviet military personnel killed in World War II