Dirva = Field. [volume] (Cleveland, Ohio) 1915-current, 1945-07-20

Lithuania is now living UNI
der the third foreign occupa-
ton to be forced upon her
since the beginning of the Sec
ond World War. Each of these
occupations has resulted in
the uprooting of thousands of
Lithuanians from their home
land.
On January 10, 1941, Soviet
Russia signed an agreement
with Germany concerning the
repatriation of Germans from
Soviet-occupied Lithuania. I'm
der that agreement $1,000
persons of allegedly German
origin were transferred from
Lithuania into Germany. Of
ficial German sources had nev-
er claimed the existence of
more than 10000 persons of
German origin in Lithuania.
Actually, more than half of
the "repatriates" were persons
of pure Lithuanian stock who
sought by this means to escape
the Bolshevik terror.
Tens of thousands of Lith-
uanians were deported to Asia
tic Russia by the Russians in
1940-41. Up to the present,
the Soviets have not allowed
! any organized assistance to be
extended to those deportees by
Lithuanian charity or religious
groups in the United States,
or by any international organi-
zation. 1t is presumed that
most of the deportees have al
ready perished in the Siberian
wastelands.
German occupation
The three-year German oc-
cupation (1941-44) resulted to
a particularly great extent in
the displacement and annihila-
tion of Lithuania's population.
The Germans forcibly mobilized
Lithuanian youth into their
armed forces, and recruited
them for slave labor in Ger
many. The number of persons
rounded up for slave labor
alone exceeded 100000. Due
to the Germans barbarous ex-
termination policies, only about
80 percent of Lithuania's Jews
survived.
When in the summer of 1914
Soviet troops again approached
Lithuania's borders, the Ger
mans intensified their policy
of forced evacuation. At the
same time, large numbers OF
Lithuanians, fearing the much.
dreaded Soviet political police
(NKVD), sought to leave Lith,
uania and to escape abroad
The only path open to the ma
jority was escape to Germany
where slave labor and starva.
ton awaited them. Other at
tempted the perilous journey
to Sweden. However, since
both the Germans and the Rus
slams did all they could to pre-.
vent the escape of refugees tt
Sweden, even shooting at the
boats and sinking them, many
.,erished on the way, and only
about three hundred persons
were successful in reaching
| Swedish shores.
These refugees are termed
"enemies of the people, OF
"fascists" by the Soviets sim
ply because they stand for al
independent and truly demo
cratic Lithuania, and cannot
endure totalitarian order,
Swedish press dlSpatcneS IN
dicate that Soviet officials are
trying to induce Lithuanian re.
| |fugees in Sweden to return tc
Lithuania. So far not a single
one has shown any desire te
do so, so long as the Soviets
remain in occupation.
| There are also several hun
dred such refugees in France
Ominous news from that coun
try indicates that some Lith
uanian refugees there were
turned over to the Sovie
authorities against their viii
and are being deported to Si
IBERIA or 'repatriated" to Lith
uania where reprisals, if mo-
} liquidation, await them.
Desperate situation
The plight of the hundreds
of thousands of Lithuanian:
in Germany is desperate. NJ
exact figures are available, bu'
Il