On February 16. 1918. a newly elected 20 member council declared an independent Lithuanian State based on democratic principles and freedoms. After finally freeing itself from repressive Czarist Russia. the young state was faced with the military aggression of both Hitlers Germany and the Soviet Union. On June 15. 1940. the Soviets forced the Lithuanians to form a friendly government and occupied the country. As a result. many Lithuanians fled the country. while over 30.000 others were unjustly arrested and deported to Siberian concentration camps. When World War 11 finally ended. the Lithuanian people. who had suffered the brutality of both the Germans and the Soviets. remained under Soviet domination. Despite their long history of religiuus. cultural. and political oppression.
Keywords matched
deported