It was on this memorable date. 48 years ago. that the Lithuanian people for a brief moment were able to cast off the shackles which had bound themfirst to their neighbors the Poles. then to the Russian bear. and finally to the jackboots of the German Army. After less than 20 years. the independent state of Lithuania was. as we all know. made what is euphemistically called a constituent republic of the Soviet Union. In the process. thousands upon thousands of innocent human beings lost their lives or were deported as a vigorous new attempt to eradicate them as a national group was undertaken by the successors to the Russian czars in the chain of power in Moscow. We may only draw inspiration from the fact that when the czars attempted russification in the 19th century. they failed dismally. Although we know that a similar program has been undertaken since 1940. and reporters tell us that Russian is the major language now spoken in this proud peoples capital of Vilnius. we may rest assured that this new attempt is similarly doomed to failure.
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