The Lithuanian people have long led the struggle against the communist system imposed upon them by the Soviet armies. On June 15. 1940 Lithuania was forcibly annexed to the Soviet Union. Since then the history of Lithuania has been one of struggle against Soviet dominance. From 1944 to 1952 some 50.000 people died in protracted guerrilla warfare. Under Stalin. almost onesixth of the people of Lithuania were deported to Russia and Siberia in an effort to subjugate the Lithuanian nation. The struggle for freedom and religious expression goes on in Lithuania. As recently as last year some 17.000 Lithuanian Catholics signed a bitterly worded petition demanding an end to religious persecution.
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