No sooner had the Soviets become masters of these countries than they began the enslavement of the peoples there. Estonians. Latvians. and Lithuanians were arrested. imprisoned. and then many thousands of them were deported to the interior of the Soviet Union. The arrest and imprisonment of innocent people continued throughout the year. beginning mid1940. Then. just before Hitlers attack on Russia in late June of 1941. the Soviet Government embarked upon the wholesale deportation of the Baltic peoples. This policy of deportation reached its peak in midJune. and by that time more than 100.000 ablebodied Estonians. Latvians. and Lithuanians. besides other thousands of helpless peoples of all ages. were scattered in distant parts of the Soviet empire. Such was the tragic fate of the Baltic peoples that began 27 years ago. Some of them luckily survived the ordeal and were allowed to return to their native lands after the war. but more of them perished through starvation and under indescribable hardship. Today in observing the anniversary of their deportation. we pay tribute to the memory of those who lost their lives as the result of their deportation by the Soviet authorities. and express the genuine hope that some day the Baltic peoples will regain their freedom.
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deported deportation