Speech #980056521

This horror began in 1940 when the Communists invaded these nations with the intent of incorporating them into the Soviet Union. In order to make the transition from free. independent nations to Communistcontrolled ones. the Soviets needed to eliminate the differences in culture these nations enjoyed. The Red army began by arresting. forcibly deporting. and in some cases executing intellectuals. peasants. and politically active persons. Each nation lost tens of thousands of people through deportation. These citizens were herded into cold unsanitary boxcars and shipped to Siberia and other remote parts of the Soviet Union. The remaining citizens were subjected to severe restrictions on religious practices. customs. and the use of native languages. These efforts intensified in 1941 until interrupted in June of that year by the Nazi invasion. When the Communists regained control in 1944. their destruction of the heritage and identify of the Baltic States resumed. In addition. more deportations took place in 1949. including an estimated 30.000 from Estonia and 50.000 from Latvia. About 10 percent of the entire population of Lithuania was deported in 1948 and 1949. Today these countries remain under Soviet control while native citizens struggle to maintain a sense of national identity. The Soviets continue to try to destroy this identity with force.