In June 1940, as Nazi troops marched into Paris, the Soviet Red Army marched into Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia; seven weeks later, the USSR Supreme Soviet ratified the Soviet takeover of these states. For half a century, Soviet historians insisted that the three republics had voluntarily requested incorporation into the Soviet Union. Now it has become possible to examine the events of that tumultuous time more carefully. Alfred Erich Senn, the author of books on the formation of the Lithuanian state in 1918-1920 and on the reestablishment of that independence in 1988-1991, has produced a fascinating account of the Soviet takeover, juxtaposing a picture of the disintegration and collapse of the old regime with the Soviets' imposition of a new order. Discussing the historiography and the living memory of the events, he uses the image of a "shell game" that focused attention on the work of a supposedly "non-communist" government while in the hothouse conditions of military occupation Moscow undermined the state's independent institutions and introduced a revolution from above.

This book explores the impact on different generations of Lithuanians of the fifty-year Soviet modernisation project which was implemented in Lithuania from 1940 to 1991. It reveals the specific characteristics of ‘the last Soviet generation’, born in the 1970s, and sets this generation apart from those who were born earlier and later. It analyses changes in attitudes, choices and relationships in a variety of social spheres and contexts and the adaptation skills which were required during the late Soviet and post-Soviet transformation processes. Overall, it presents a great deal of detail on the social experiences of different generations in late Soviet and post-Soviet society.

"This gripping and well-documented account of the history of the town of Vilnius and its surrounding region from the Polish ultimatum of March 1938, which forced Lithuania to open diplomatic relations with Poland, to the incorporation of Lithuania into the Soviet Union in June 1940 is set against the evolution of Lithuania's relations with her neighbours during this crucial period. It is a major contribution to the outbreak of war in September 1939 and the subsequent evolution of Nazi Soviet relations. Prof. Liekis presents a remarkable history based on archival sources never before utilized in any English-language study. In revealing the geopolitical, ideological, economic, social and ethnic dimensions of an immense tragedy in the heart of Europe, the author provides a new perspective on the unraveling of a society and nation during the initial days of World War II as prelude to the most violent period in European history."--Publisher's description.

Hero–or Nazi? Silvia Foti was raised on reverent stories about her hero grandfather, a martyr for Lithuanian independence and an unblemished patriot. Jonas Noreika, remembered as “General Storm,” had resisted his country’s German and Soviet occupiers in World War II, surviving two years in a Nazi concentration camp only to be executed in 1947 by the KGB. His granddaughter, growing up in Chicago, was treated like royalty in her tightly knit Lithuanian community. But in 2000, when Silvia traveled to Lithuania for a ceremony honoring her grandfather, she heard a very different story—a “rumor” that her grandfather had been a “Jew-killer.” The Nazi’s Granddaughter is Silvia’s account of her wrenching twenty-year quest for the truth, from a beautiful house confiscated from its Jewish owners, to familial confessions and the Holocaust tour guide who believed that her grandfather had murdered members of his family. A heartbreaking and dramatic story based on exhaustive documentary research and soul-baring interviews, The Nazi’s Granddaughter is an unforgettable journey into World War II history, intensely personal but filled with universal lessons about courage, faith, memory, and justice.

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 56. Chapters: Occupation of the Baltic states, 1940 Soviet ultimatum to Lithuania, The Holocaust in Lithuania, Occupation of Lithuania by Nazi Germany, Reichskommissariat Ostland, June Uprising in Lithuania, Polish-Lithuanian relations during World War II, Lithuanian Territorial Defense Force, Battle of Raseiniai, Vilna Ghetto, Lithuanian Security Police, Resistance in Lithuania during World War II, Rainiai massacre, People's Seimas, Supreme Committee for the Liberation of Lithuania, Lithuanian Activist Front, iauliai Offensive, Kovno Ghetto, Jay M. Ipson, Local Self-Defence in Lithuania during the Nazi occupation, Nachman Dushanski, Koniuchy massacre, Kaunas Offensive, Kaunas pogrom, Baltic Operation, Tautinio Darbo Apsaugos Batalionas, Fareynikte Partizaner Organizatsye, Provisional Government of Lithuania, Serov Instructions, Marcinkonys Ghetto, Petras Raslanas, June deportation. Excerpt: The occupation of the Baltic states refers to the military occupation of the three Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania by the Soviet Union under the auspices of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact on 14 June 1940 followed by their forcible illegal incorporation into the USSR as constituent republics. On 22 June 1941 Nazi Germany attacked the USSR and within weeks occupied a significant part of it including the Baltic republics. In July 1941 the Baltic territory was incorporated into the Reichskommissariat Ostland of the Third Reich. As a result of the Baltic Offensive of 1944, Soviet Union recaptured most of the Baltic states and trapped remaining German forces in Courland pocket until their formal surrender in May 1945. The Soviet "annexation occupation" (Annexionsbesetzung or occupation sui generis) of the Baltic states lasted until August 1991 when the Baltic states regained independence. The Governments of the Baltic states, the...

The independence of the Baltic states ended when Stalin occupied and annexed Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia to the USSR in 1940. In 1991, after four years of intense but peaceful struggle that contributed to the demise of the Soviet Union, the Baltic states regained their independence.

How do museums and cinema shape the image of the Communist past in today’s Central and Eastern Europe? This volume is the first systematic analysis of how visual techniques are used to understand and put into context the former regimes. After history “ended” in the Eastern Bloc in 1989, museums and other memorials mushroomed all over the region. These efforts tried both to explain the meaning of this lost history, as well as to shape public opinion on their society’s shared post-war heritage. Museums and films made political use of recollections of the recent past, and employed selected museum, memorial, and media tools and tactics to make its political intent historically credible. Thirteen essays from scholars around the region take a fresh look at the subject as they address the strategies of fashioning popular perceptions of the recent past.

Of all the Soviet Union's subject nationalities, the three Baltic republics, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, were the most determined and best organised in seizing the opportunities created by glasnost and perestroika to win freedom from Moscow's grip. At the time of first publication, in 1991, the final section of the book was speculative. Now for this revised edition, the authors have provided a new final chapter which brings the story up to date -- and the three republics to political independence again.