Mr. Speaker. June 14 marks a sad day in Baltic history when the Soviet Union started a series of forced deportations from Latvia. Lithuania. and Estonia just prior to the Nazi invasion of June 22. 1941. The Baltic countries had the great misfortune to be invaded three times during World War II. twice by the Red Army and once by the German Army. Deportations and executions of these Baltic citizens continued right up until the Wermacht tanks rolled into the Baltic nations later in the month. When the Baltic nations were reoccupied. the brave people of those nations resisted heroically. From roughly 1944 to 1947 they fought pitched battles with regular Red Army troops. but mainly with MVD formations. All during this period the forced deportations continued and there are photographs available of some of these infamous happenings to prove what took place. An inordinate number of Balts came to populate the forced labor camps. Those who lived to be released from the camps were never permitted to return to their native lands. but were forced to live in Central Asia and other areas foreign to them.
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