The uncertain status of the Lithuanians is well illustrated by the ease with which first the Germans and then the Russians included her in their sphere of influence by secret protocols to the GermanSoviet nonaggression pact of 1939. On June 15. 1940. an ultimatum to form a friendly government and immediate occupation by the Soviet army decided the issue. Within a month. a phony election with handpicked candidates resulted in a unanimous request to incorporate Lithuania in the U.S.S.R. It is estimated that on the night of the occupation over 30.000 Lithuaniansmostly the educated ones and the leaderswere deported to Siberia. Others were executed on the spot. Then with the attack on Russia came the German invasion and its purges and exterminations.
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