Pirciupis
Pirčiupis
a village in Varena Raion, Lithuanian SSR. On June 3, 1944, the fascist German invaders set the village afire, killing 119 of its inhabitants for their association with the partisans. A granite monument to the victims of fascism was erected in the village in 1960 (sculptor G. Iokubonis, who was awarded the Lenin Prize in 1963; architect V. Gabriunas). The monument consists of a large statue—The Mother—and a wall decorated with reliefs and inscribed with the names of the victims. The statue is a deeply psychological portrait of a mother—an old Lithuanian peasant filled with anger and grief. The monument is noted for the expressiveness of generalized forms and for the integration of architectural and spatial elements with the surrounding landscape. A memorial museum is located in the rebuilt village.