News

One of the most dreadful tragedies in the history of Lithuania occurred in 1941, 13-15 June.

Without any trial and any caution about 17,500 Lithuanians, intelligence and farmers, teachers and scientists, engineers were put into train wagons for animal transportation. The destinations of the deportation were Altaj, the surroundings of Novosibirsk, Kazakhstan und Komi ASSR.

The weaker did not support the inhuman “travel” conditions died on the way and most of the deported did not survive the first winter. Without committing any crime whatsoever and without understanding why a state of power had decided to destroy them.

Most of the deported persons were Lithuanians (about 12,000), Jews (about 2,000), Poles (about 1,600) and the others from various nations. Among the deportees were 5,060 children under 16.

During the first Soviet occupation (1940-41) in Lithuania about 35,000 persons were deported, imprisoned or shot to death. For a small country such figures are dramatic. The mass deportations have influenced the people’s feelings to a large degree – it was the first encounter with the indomitable terror of the occupants.

After Word war II another eight mass deportations were executed: the first in September 1945, the last on 2 October 1953, already after Stalin’s death. Lithuania’s population was also deported on 18 February 1946, 17 December 1947 and in March 1950. But the largest mass deportation after that terrible of June 1941 happened in Febraury 1948. Other similar deportations were executed 24 - 27 March and 27 - 28 June 1949.