Servant of God Elena Spirgevičiūtė

Elena Spirgevičiūtė (22 December 1924 – 4 January 1944) was a Lithuanian student. She was shot and killed by Soviet partisans for resisting rape. One of the four men, Alfonsas Čeponis was posthumously recognized as the Hero of the Soviet Union. She was a devoted Catholic and is recognized as a Servant of God. Her beatification case was initiated by the Archdiocese of Kaunas in 2000. Spirgevičiūtė was born in Kaunas into a family of Lithuanian workers. She was the oldest of three children. She began attending school at the age of seven and later joined the scouts movement. After finishing her primary studies, Elena was enrolled at the Saulė Society Girls' Gymnasium of Kaunas, directed by the Sisters of Saint Casimir. During the school years, she kept a diary from 2 October 1940 to 2 June 1942 which reflected her ordinary day-to-day life and connection to God. She graduated in 1943 and wanted to study medicine at the Vytautas Magnus University, but the university was closed by the occupying German authorities. She then took courses in German and French hoping to become a teacher. In fall 1943, she received a teaching assignment in Jonava, but decided to remain home due to the ongoing war. At about 10pm on 3 January 1944, four men gained entry into Spirgevičius's home by claiming to be police officers. These Soviet partisans demanded to be given food and drank vodka that they brought. They pocketed any valuables and began harassing women for sex. Stasė Žukaitė, Spirgevičiūtė's aunt and neighbor born in 1916, heard the noise and came to investigate. When she tried to run away to get help, she was shot and killed. The men raped Spirgevičiūtė's mother and threatened Spirgevičiūtė to give in to their advances. However, she steadfastly refused. Reportedly, her last words were "Only I will die, you will live" (Mirsiu tik aš, jūs gyvensite) to her family. She was shot under the right eye.