They remembered their history and when the czarist government fell to the Bolsheviks. the Lithuanians took the initiative and proclaimed their freedom. For one generation. democracy flourished and the nation was respected as an independent state in the world community. During World War II. though. the forces of tyranny overran the small country and Lithuania once more became a part of the Soviet Union. A ruthless plan was effected whereby thousands of Lithuanians were deported and thousands more executed. It was the plan of the Soviet authorities to stamp out Lithuanian nationality. but those who escaped to the West carried with them the hope and desire for liberty. We in America recognize this hope.
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deported