Lithuania. and Estonia all declared their independence and enjoyed democratic governments. Then. at the outset of World War II. they lost their freedom when Hitler and Stalin decided that these three nations should be part of the Soviet Union. Tens of thousands of Baltic people were killed and over 1 million were deported to slave labor camps. Many others were deported from their homes because of their resistance to the subjugation or because of their religious or political views. They were replaced by people from other parts of the Soviet empire in an exchange of population that Moscow hoped would totally destroy the national identities of the Baltic peoples. These brave nations have not been forgotten.
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deported