{"id":1052,"date":"2023-07-19T11:37:01","date_gmt":"2023-07-19T16:37:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/lwf-refugee-service\/?page_id=1052"},"modified":"2026-06-26T14:45:45","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T19:45:45","slug":"occupation","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/lwf-refugee-service\/occupation\/","title":{"rendered":"Occupation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; admin_label=&#8221;Header&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.22.2&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; background_color=&#8221;#FFFFF0&#8243; background_enable_image=&#8221;off&#8221; background_size=&#8221;initial&#8221; background_position=&#8221;top_right&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;||0px|||&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{%22gcid-3f47e762-ddb9-4bcc-9a88-eb1cda6175db%22:%91%93}&#8221;][et_pb_row column_structure=&#8221;1_2,1_2&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.22.2&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;1_2&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.22.2&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;d31e2bc2-7099-47ba-9c37-1cdc94e70270&#8243; header_font=&#8221;Prata||||||||&#8221; header_font_size=&#8221;50px&#8221; header_line_height=&#8221;1.1em&#8221; position_origin_a=&#8221;center_left&#8221; horizontal_offset_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; horizontal_offset_phone=&#8221;&#8221; horizontal_offset_last_edited=&#8221;on|phone&#8221; position_origin_a_tablet=&#8221;bottom_left&#8221; position_origin_a_phone=&#8221;&#8221; position_origin_a_last_edited=&#8221;on|desktop&#8221; position_origin_f_tablet=&#8221;&#8221; position_origin_f_phone=&#8221;&#8221; position_origin_f_last_edited=&#8221;on|desktop&#8221; position_origin_r_tablet=&#8221;&#8221; position_origin_r_phone=&#8221;&#8221; position_origin_r_last_edited=&#8221;on|desktop&#8221; background_layout=&#8221;dark&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;||7px|||&#8221; header_font_size_tablet=&#8221;64px&#8221; header_font_size_phone=&#8221;30px&#8221; header_font_size_last_edited=&#8221;on|phone&#8221; header_line_height_tablet=&#8221;1.2em&#8221; header_line_height_phone=&#8221;1.3em&#8221; header_line_height_last_edited=&#8221;on|desktop&#8221; positioning_tablet=&#8221;&#8221; positioning_phone=&#8221;&#8221; positioning_last_edited=&#8221;on|desktop&#8221; locked=&#8221;off&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h1><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Baltic States under Occupation<\/span><\/h1>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.22.2&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; text_font_size=&#8221;18px&#8221; text_line_height=&#8221;1.8em&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p>The experiences of Baltic Lutherans through the 1940s was shaped by multiple foreign occupations; cultural suppression and and political cooption; war and atrocities; voluntary and forced displacement; and, ultimately, resettlement or repatriation. This overview summarize the factors that drove this population to flee, or not, and the entanglements with oppressive regimes &#8211; the Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, and the USSR once again &#8211; that impacted displaced Baltic Lutherans, the so-called &#8220;Churches in Exile.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=&#8221;1_2&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_image src=&#8221;https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/lwf-refugee-service\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1702\/2023\/08\/Latvian-Congregation.jpg&#8221; alt=&#8221;Original Caption: %22The Latvian Lutheran congregation at Esslingen worships in the modern South Church on the hill above their camp.%22&#8243; title_text=&#8221;Latvian Congregation&#8221; show_in_lightbox=&#8221;on&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.22.2&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; box_shadow_style=&#8221;preset1&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; admin_label=&#8221;Services&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.22.2&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; background_color=&#8221;#FFFFF0&#8243; custom_margin=&#8221;-65px|||||&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{%22gcid-abdd1dfe-115d-40b5-9c1d-c1c9635de504%22:%91%93}&#8221;][et_pb_row column_structure=&#8221;1_2,1_2&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.21.0&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;1_2&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.21.0&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_image src=&#8221;https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/lwf-refugee-service\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1702\/2023\/08\/Screen-Shot-2023-08-01-at-4.45.54-PM.jpg&#8221; alt=&#8221;A news flyer regarding the Soviet occupation of Lithuania, likely propaganda. (Wikimedia Commons)&#8221; title_text=&#8221;A news flyer regarding the Soviet occupation of Lithuania, likely propaganda. (Wikimedia Commons)&#8221; show_in_lightbox=&#8221;on&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.22.2&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; box_shadow_style=&#8221;preset1&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_image src=&#8221;https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/lwf-refugee-service\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1702\/2023\/08\/Screen-Shot-2023-08-01-at-4.52.15-PM.jpg&#8221; alt=&#8221;A protest sign from a Baltic person in exile, calling on U.N. to abolish Soviet colonialism in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. From the exhibition %22Nyet, nyet, Soviet! Political protests and demonstrations outside Latvia 1945-1991%22 at the Latvian Railway History Museum. (Wikimedia Commons)&#8221; title_text=&#8221;A protest sign from a Baltic person in exile, calling on U.N. to abolish Soviet colonialism in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. From the exhibition %22Nyet, nyet, Soviet! Political protests and demonstrations outside Latvia 1945-1991%22 at the Latvian Railway History Museum. (Wikimedia Commons)&#8221; show_in_lightbox=&#8221;on&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.22.2&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; box_shadow_style=&#8221;preset1&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.22.2&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; text_font_size=&#8221;20px&#8221; text_line_height=&#8221;1.8em&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>The total number of those deported, murdered, or missing during the Year of Terror (1940-41) under Soviet occupation is 34,250 Latvians, 39,000 Lithuanians, and 61,000 Estonians.<span style=\"font-size: small;\"><a href=\"#fn\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">2<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=&#8221;1_2&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.6&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;90865f4d-2cce-42a7-b40e-d3fbad25605a&#8221; header_font_size=&#8221;51px&#8221; header_2_font=&#8221;Prata||||||||&#8221; header_2_text_color=&#8221;#141414&#8243; header_2_font_size=&#8221;60px&#8221; header_2_line_height=&#8221;1.2em&#8221; custom_margin=&#8221;||0px||false|false&#8221; header_2_font_size_tablet=&#8221;32px&#8221; header_2_font_size_phone=&#8221;20px&#8221; header_2_font_size_last_edited=&#8221;on|tablet&#8221; header_2_line_height_tablet=&#8221;1.3em&#8221; header_2_line_height_phone=&#8221;1.4em&#8221; header_2_line_height_last_edited=&#8221;on|phone&#8221; locked=&#8221;off&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{%22gcid-3f47e762-ddb9-4bcc-9a88-eb1cda6175db%22:%91%93}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h1>Independence Lost<\/h1>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_accordion open_toggle_background_color=&#8221;RGBA(0,0,0,0)&#8221; closed_toggle_background_color=&#8221;RGBA(0,0,0,0)&#8221; icon_color=&#8221;#141414&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.6&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; toggle_font=&#8221;Prata||||||||&#8221; toggle_font_size=&#8221;22px&#8221; toggle_line_height=&#8221;1.4em&#8221; body_font=&#8221;Lato||||||||&#8221; body_font_size=&#8221;18px&#8221; body_line_height=&#8221;1.8em&#8221; max_width=&#8221;700px&#8221; module_alignment=&#8221;center&#8221; toggle_font_size_tablet=&#8221;18px&#8221; toggle_font_size_phone=&#8221;16px&#8221; toggle_font_size_last_edited=&#8221;on|desktop&#8221; toggle_line_height_tablet=&#8221;1.6em&#8221; toggle_line_height_phone=&#8221;&#8221; toggle_line_height_last_edited=&#8221;on|desktop&#8221; body_font_size_tablet=&#8221;15px&#8221; body_font_size_phone=&#8221;14px&#8221; body_font_size_last_edited=&#8221;on|phone&#8221; border_width_all=&#8221;0px&#8221; border_color_all=&#8221;rgba(20,20,20,0.3)&#8221; border_width_bottom=&#8221;1px&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{%22gcid-9452e02f-d11f-42fc-a9f8-16803f93b5d0%22:%91%93,%22gcid-3f47e762-ddb9-4bcc-9a88-eb1cda6175db%22:%91%93}&#8221;][et_pb_accordion_item title=&#8221;Estonia&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.6&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; open=&#8221;on&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p id=\"isPasted\">The first Soviet occupation of Estonia occurred between 1940 and 1941. Following the Bolshevik motto \u201creligion is the opium of the people,&#8221; the Soviet Union banned religion in public areas (schools, broadcasting, and periodicals) as well as private settings (singing sacred music, devotional literature, and theological studies). At the same time, anti-religious propaganda was implemented throughout the country&#8217;s schools and radio stations. Finally, taxes that paid the congregation were banned with clergy members being categorized as non-workers and capitalists.<\/p>\n<p>During both occupations, the NKVD-Soviet secret police were notoriously known for interrogating and arresting clergy members at night. They threatened them and their families for information and encouraged criminalizing fellow members of the congregation. In one year alone, two Evangelical Lutheran pastors were murdered, seventeen were arrested and deported to the Soviet Union, six were drafted into the Red Army, twenty-seven members of the parish were murdered, and a number of leading church members were arrested and deported to Siberia.<\/p>\n<p>In the second Soviet occupation (1944 to 1948), these conditions only worsened.\u00a0 More and more pastors were deported to concentration camps in the Soviet Union, while those that remained were not able to observe church holidays or obtain suitable rations.<span style=\"font-size: small;\"><a href=\"#fn\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">1<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title=&#8221;Latvia&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.6&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; open=&#8221;off&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tensions between Latvia and the Soviet Union erupted on June 17, 1940, when the USSR launched a formal invasion into the country.<a href=\"#fn\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">2<\/span><\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Latvia was unable to suppress the Soviet\u2019s advancing army, and became an occupied state quickly. The quest to \u2018Sovietize\u2019 Latvia was immediately apparent.<a href=\"#fn\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">3<\/span><\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> During <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1941, during the &#8220;Year of Terror,&#8221; theology schools were banned, religious leaders were hunted down, arrested, or disappeared, and anti-religious propaganda was extreme. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But it was not just the religious leaders experiencing this terror. More generally, Latvians remember the deportations, arrests, and killings of June 1941 as a genocide aimed at wiping out the Latvian nation, while the Soviets claimed to be relocating Latvians to prevent a bourgeois uprising.<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"#fn\">4<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These acts of terror were halted with the advance of the Nazi\u2019s into the Baltics. On June 26, 1941 the Germans advanced, resulting in Latvia being occupied twice in the span of just one year.<a href=\"#fn\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">5<\/span><\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Despite the return to certain rights, such as religion, the Latvian people still struggled under their occupiers. In the month of February, 1943, 30,000 Latvians were conscripted to go work for the Nazis in labor camps.<a href=\"#fn\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">6<\/span><\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Then, news reached Latvia that the Soviet Army was advancing towards their borders in the summer of 1944.<a href=\"#fn\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">7<\/span><\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Many families fled, preferring life in exile over the possible deportation and death of their families in Soviet labor camps. These fears soon proved to be well-founded, during the 1945-1946 year, 60,000 Latvians were deported.<a href=\"#fn\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">8<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title=&#8221;Lithuania&#8221; open=&#8221;off&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.6&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; body_font_size=&#8221;18px&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lithuania was invaded and became occupied by the Soviet Union on June 15th, 1940.<a href=\"#fn\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">9<\/span><\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Following this take over, the Soviet government sought to make sweeping changes to the government structure, work, and religious life.<a href=\"#fn\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">10<\/span><\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Through the deportation of over 5,000 people in 1940 to work camps in Siberia, they were able to replace many Lithuanian political leaders with their own.<a href=\"#fn\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">11<\/span><\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> This wave of deportations started in the middle of the night of July 11. Whole families disappeared, and many died due to the conditions of the work camps. Among those deported were social elites, industrial owners, and members of the clergy.<a href=\"#fn\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">12<\/span><\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> This act, along with the forced sovietization of the occupied state, led many to fear the Soviets and welcomed anyone who could intervene.<a href=\"#fn\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">13<\/span><\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> On June 22, 1941, Germany successfully invaded and occupied Lithuania. Thus, in the span of two years, Lithuania went from an independent country to being occupied by two competing forces.<a href=\"#fn\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">14<\/span><\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With the Nazi occupation came a reprieve from religious and cultural oppression enforced by the Soviets. But this freedom was short-lived. Soon, Nazi Germany began to integrate the Lithuanian people into their pool of conscripted workers, whether they wanted to come and work or not. Despite promises of Lithuanian independence, the Nazi leaders in Lithuania continued to suppress nationalist movements and forced citizens to either work in labor camps for them, or be drafted into fighting.<a href=\"#fn\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">15<\/span><\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0 Despite the German occupiers\u2019 efforts, high levels of military desertion and labor shortage continued.<a href=\"#fn\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">16<\/span><\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> When news of the USSR\u2019s advance in 1944, many Lithuanians fled to Germany in hopes of keeping their families alive.<a href=\"#fn\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">17<\/span><\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> On August 1, 1944, the Soviet Union recaptured Lithuania.<a href=\"#fn\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">18<\/span><\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Immediately, they continued their plans from before, resulting in around 100,000 additional Lithuanians deported to Siberia during 1945-46.<a href=\"#fn\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">19<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_accordion_item][\/et_pb_accordion][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; admin_label=&#8221;FAQ&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.22.2&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; background_color=&#8221;#FFFFF0&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{%22gcid-abdd1dfe-115d-40b5-9c1d-c1c9635de504%22:%91%93}&#8221;][et_pb_row column_structure=&#8221;1_2,1_2&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.21.0&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;1_2&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.21.0&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.6&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;90865f4d-2cce-42a7-b40e-d3fbad25605a&#8221; header_font_size=&#8221;65px&#8221; header_2_font=&#8221;Prata||||||||&#8221; header_2_text_color=&#8221;#141414&#8243; header_2_font_size=&#8221;60px&#8221; header_2_line_height=&#8221;1.2em&#8221; custom_margin=&#8221;||0px||false|false&#8221; header_2_font_size_tablet=&#8221;32px&#8221; header_2_font_size_phone=&#8221;20px&#8221; header_2_font_size_last_edited=&#8221;on|tablet&#8221; header_2_line_height_tablet=&#8221;1.3em&#8221; header_2_line_height_phone=&#8221;1.4em&#8221; header_2_line_height_last_edited=&#8221;on|phone&#8221; locked=&#8221;off&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{%22gcid-3f47e762-ddb9-4bcc-9a88-eb1cda6175db%22:%91%93}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h1>Life Under Occupation<\/h1>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_accordion open_toggle_background_color=&#8221;RGBA(0,0,0,0)&#8221; closed_toggle_background_color=&#8221;RGBA(0,0,0,0)&#8221; icon_color=&#8221;#141414&#8243; module_id=&#8221;volk&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.6&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; toggle_font=&#8221;Prata||||||||&#8221; toggle_font_size=&#8221;22px&#8221; toggle_line_height=&#8221;1.4em&#8221; body_font=&#8221;Lato||||||||&#8221; body_font_size=&#8221;18px&#8221; body_line_height=&#8221;1.8em&#8221; max_width=&#8221;700px&#8221; module_alignment=&#8221;center&#8221; toggle_font_size_tablet=&#8221;18px&#8221; toggle_font_size_phone=&#8221;16px&#8221; toggle_font_size_last_edited=&#8221;on|desktop&#8221; toggle_line_height_tablet=&#8221;1.6em&#8221; toggle_line_height_phone=&#8221;&#8221; toggle_line_height_last_edited=&#8221;on|desktop&#8221; body_font_size_tablet=&#8221;15px&#8221; body_font_size_phone=&#8221;14px&#8221; body_font_size_last_edited=&#8221;on|phone&#8221; border_width_all=&#8221;0px&#8221; border_color_all=&#8221;rgba(20,20,20,0.3)&#8221; border_width_bottom=&#8221;1px&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{%22gcid-9452e02f-d11f-42fc-a9f8-16803f93b5d0%22:%91%93,%22gcid-3f47e762-ddb9-4bcc-9a88-eb1cda6175db%22:%91%93}&#8221;][et_pb_accordion_item title=&#8221;German Invasion &#8221; open=&#8221;on&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.6&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p id=\"isPasted\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The 1941 German occupation of the Baltic states is sometimes referred to as a \u201cliberation.\u201d <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For some Baltics, this feeling rang true, and this sentiment is reflected in scholarship on that history. When German forces entered Latvia, they were greeted by cheering crowds of Latvians (see photo, right). Relief was felt for many, as they felt they were being \u201cliberated\u201d from a year of totalitarian Soviet rule.<a href=\"#fn\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">20<\/span><\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Yet liberation did not mean freedom for all. The Germans used the brutality and intensity of Soviet rule over the Baltic states (1940) to their advantage; to receive the Germans as liberators from the Soviets laid the groundwork for the kinds of collaboration that existed between Germany and those under its occupation of the Baltics.<a href=\"#fn\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">21<\/span> <\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Baltics were eventually incorporated under a German civilian administration called Reich Commissariat Ostland. Under this administration, many Baltic citizens joined Waffen SS or auxiliary police units. Reasons for joining varied, but many\u2019s participation was undergirded by a sense of patriotism, hope for an independent state, and anit-communist sentiment.<a href=\"#fn\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">22<\/span><\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Meanwhile, the Jewish peoples of the Baltics became subject to the same persecution and policies of extermination carried out by Germany in Eastern Europe. In Latvia alone, which had the second largest Jewish population of the three Baltic nations, historians estimate that by the end of 1941, the Germans, with varying levels of assistance from other Latvians, murdered at least 69,750 of the country\u2019s estimated population of 80,000 Jewish people.<a href=\"#fn\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">23<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>As the war returned in 1944, Latvian refugees began gathering in Riga, Latvia but feared the return and spread of maltreatment under Soviet occupation. The Germans, despite considering providing aid, did nothing to provide much needed food and shelter. In the end, while tens of thousands of Latvian soldiers, some inside SS units, stayed to fight for Latvia&#8217;s independence, hundreds of thousands of refugees chose to flee west. Seeking shelter from the war and bringing what they could, they traveled down roads crowded by military convoys.<a href=\"#fn\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">24<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title=&#8221;SS Entanglements &#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.6&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; open=&#8221;off&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There existed Estonian, Latvian, and Ukrainian auxiliary units within the Waffen SS commanded by Nazi Germany. Baltic connection to these units and Nazi German sentiments is tenuous. Modern evidence suggests there was a positive movement of Estonians and Latvians to enlist as local police, concentration camp guards, and anti-partisan troops. The Balts were likely motivated to enlist as retaliation against Soviet oppression or for their assumptions that Jewish people supported the Soviets and communism. These began as volunteer units, but as the need for men grew, the Nazis began conscription. In the end, the Waffen SS killed thousands of Jewish people and participated in the suppression of Jewish ghetto uprisings.\u00a0 The murder of millions of Jews would not have been possible without the assistance of Baltic auxiliary units.<a href=\"#fn\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">25<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, after World War II,\u00a0 the international tribunal of Nuremberg determined that Balts were forcibly drafted in obvious disregard of international laws, and it was therefore deemed unjust to classify former members of Latvian Legion as collaborators with the Nazi regime and bar their immigration into the US. As a result, the U.S. State Department deemed many Baltic persons as eligible for immigration, despite their SS entanglements.<a href=\"#fn\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">26<\/span><\/a>\u00a0 In consequence, only known war criminals were subject to full, fair scrutiny.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While American Lutherans at the time wanted to save the Balts from Soviet oppression and, like much of the US post-WWII, prioritized anti-communist over anti-Nazi sentiments, this was not a perfect system of scrutiny and soon created tensions with Jewish organizations and within modern understandings of Baltic history.<span style=\"font-size: small;\"><a href=\"#fn\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">27<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title=&#8221;Volksdeutsche\/Ethnic Germans&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.6&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; custom_css_before=&#8221;volk&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; open=&#8221;off&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Volksdeutsche or Ethnic Germans included those with German heritage yet were residing outside of Germany such as in Poland and Eastern European countries (ie. Baltics, Romania, and Ukraine).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> However, this definition is not so simple when looking at the history of WWII. As Doris L. Bergen contends, Volksdeutsche was a term created with the purpose of motivating Nazi movement into Eastern Europe, creating a rise of anti-Semetism and Nazism in ethnic Germans, and expanding ranks of SS units. For instance, Nazis often made ethnic Germans beneficiaries of land taken from Jewish people. Yet they also made ethnic German-ness a loose definition which often relied on a display of Nazi sentiments.<span style=\"font-size: small;\"><a href=\"#fn\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">28<\/span><\/a><\/span> Through intermarrying, speaking different languages, or merely not following Nazi sentiments, not all ethnic Germans followed this definition of \u201cGerman-ness,\u201d which made them vulnerable to being sent to concentration camps or having their children taken and sent to a \u201cmore German\u201d family.<span style=\"font-size: small;\"><a href=\"#fn\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">29<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even before the fall of WWII, around May of 1945, expulsions of ethnic Germans from their countries to Germany and Austria began. Yet, this was not the beginning of ethnic German flight with around 3 to 4 million fleeing the Red Army starting in 1944.<a href=\"#fn\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">30<\/span><\/a> Before the Potsdam Conference and Agreement, the first ethnic German expulsions and flights often were ad hoc, disorganized, and violent in nature.<span style=\"font-size: small;\"><a href=\"#fn\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">31<\/span><\/a><\/span> After the Potsdam Agreement stated that their expulsion was \u201cto be effected in an orderly and humane manner,\u201d these expulsions became more organized, yet still resulted in loss of possessions, harassment, and poor travel conditions.<span style=\"font-size: small;\"><a href=\"#fn\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">32<\/span><\/a><\/span> It is estimated that about 12 million entered Germany between 1945 and 1947.<span style=\"font-size: small;\"><a href=\"#fn\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">33<\/span><\/a><\/span> In the end, most of the expulsions and flights ended in 1949, leaving many ethnic Germans to settle into Germany or depart for areas like the U.S..<span style=\"font-size: small;\"><a href=\"#fn\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">34<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_accordion_item][\/et_pb_accordion][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=&#8221;1_2&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.21.0&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_image src=&#8221;https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/lwf-refugee-service\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1702\/2023\/07\/Screen-Shot-2023-07-25-at-6.14.38-PM-e1690327145328.jpg&#8221; alt=&#8221;A crowd welcomes the Germans, expecting liberation from the Soviet Occupation. August 28th 1941, Tallinn, Estonia (Wikimedia Commons)&#8221; title_text=&#8221;A crowd welcomes the Germans, expecting liberation from the Soviet Occupation. August 28th 1941, Tallinn, Estonia (Wikimedia Commons)&#8221; show_in_lightbox=&#8221;on&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.22.2&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; box_shadow_style=&#8221;preset1&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_image src=&#8221;https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/lwf-refugee-service\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1702\/2023\/07\/Screen-Shot-2023-07-27-at-2.19.46-PM.jpg&#8221; alt=&#8221;Latvia was occupied by Germany from 1941 to 1944, during World War II. The picture shows Latvian volunteer soldiers who fought on the German side. (Wikimedia Commons)&#8221; title_text=&#8221;Latvia was occupied by Germany from 1941 to 1944, during World War II. The picture shows Latvian volunteer soldiers who fought on the German side. (Wikimedia Commons)&#8221; show_in_lightbox=&#8221;on&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.22.2&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; box_shadow_style=&#8221;preset1&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_image src=&#8221;https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/lwf-refugee-service\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1702\/2023\/07\/Screen-Shot-2023-07-27-at-1.59.43-PM-e1690485781133.jpg&#8221; alt=&#8221;%22How most rural residents fled their homes ahead of the battlefront%22 (Insula- Island of Hope)&#8221; title_text=&#8221;%22How most rural residents fled their homes ahead of the battlefront%22 (Insula- Island of Hope)&#8221; show_in_lightbox=&#8221;on&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.22.2&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; box_shadow_style=&#8221;preset1&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; admin_label=&#8221;Endnotes&#8221; module_id=&#8221;fn&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.6&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; background_color=&#8221;gcid-a950cd5a-da4d-4ed7-9be9-78132498d37a&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;0px||||false|false&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{%22gcid-a950cd5a-da4d-4ed7-9be9-78132498d37a%22:%91%22background_color%22%93}&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;][et_pb_row _builder_version=&#8221;4.21.0&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.21.0&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.6&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; text_text_color=&#8221;#FFFFF0&#8243; header_text_color=&#8221;#FFFFF0&#8243; background_color=&#8221;gcid-a950cd5a-da4d-4ed7-9be9-78132498d37a&#8221; custom_margin=&#8221;||11px|||&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;||3px|||&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{%22gcid-a950cd5a-da4d-4ed7-9be9-78132498d37a%22:%91%22background_color%22%93}&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\">Endnotes<\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lutheran World Federation, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lutheran World Federation Service to Refugees in Germany 1947-1949. Materials for Report<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, ed. Howard V. Hong, vol. 1, 1949.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">R. J. Misiunas, R. Taagepera, and G. von Rauch, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Baltic States, Years of Dependence, 1940-1980<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, University of California Press, 1984, 19.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Misiunas et al., <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Baltic States<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, 44.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Valdis O. Lumans, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Latvia in World War II<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, 1st ed, World War II&#8211;the Global, Human, and Ethical Dimension (New York: Fordham University Press, 2006),<\/span><span style=\"color: #fffff0;\"><a style=\"color: #fffff0;\" href=\"http:\/\/catdir.loc.gov\/catdir\/toc\/ecip0610\/2006007965.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #ccffff;\"> 134, 138 <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">http:\/\/catdir.loc.gov\/catdir\/toc\/ecip0610\/2006007965.html<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Misiunas et al., <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Baltic States<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, 44.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Misiunas et al., <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Baltic States<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, 53.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Misiunas et al., <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Baltic States<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, 68.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Misiunas et al., <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Baltic States<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, 70.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Misiunas et al., <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Baltic States<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, 19.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Misiunas et al., <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Baltic States<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, 24.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Misiunas et al., <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Baltic States<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, 24, 39.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Misiunas et al., <i>The Baltic States<\/i>, 24, 39.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">D. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hristenko, \u201cWartime Decisions Lead to Peacetime Problems: Leadership of the Lutheran Churches in Baltic States, 1944\u20131949.\u201d <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cel\u0326\u015b (Riga)<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, no. 74 (December 2023): 48.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Misiunas et al., <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Baltic States<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, 44.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Misiunas et al., <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Baltic States<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, 63.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Misiunas et al., <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Baltic States<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, 63.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">D. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nasaw, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Last Million: Europe\u2019s Displaced Persons from World War to Cold War<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Penguin Press, 2020, 52.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Misiunas et al., <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Baltic States<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, 68.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Misiunas et al., <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Baltic States<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, 70.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Valdis O. Lumans, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Latvia in World War II.<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<li>Valters Nollendorfs et al., \u201cThe Three Occupations of Latvia, 1940\u20131991: Soviet and Nazi Take-Overs and Their Consequences,\u201d Museum of the Occupation of Latvia, 2005, 26.<\/li>\n<li>Valters Nollendorfs et al., \u201cThe Three Occupations of Latvia,&#8221; 26. Latvia was also occupied from 1945-1991. Because of this, national consciousness concerning Soviet occupation is largely negative.<\/li>\n<li>Ar\u016bnas Bubnys, Matthew Kott, and \u00dclle Kraft, \u201cThe Baltic States: Auxiliaries and Waffen-SS Soldiers from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania,\u201d in The Waffen-SS: A European History, ed. Jochen B\u00f6hler and Robert Gerwarth (Oxford University Press, 2016), <span style=\"color: #ccffff;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1093\/acprof:oso\/9780198790556.003.0005\" style=\"color: #ccffff;\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1093\/acprof:oso\/9780198790556.003.0005<\/a><\/span>. For a more complete exploration of the complex issue of the participation of Baltic citizens in Waffen-SS and police auxiliary units, see Bubnys, Kott, and Kraft.<\/li>\n<li>Timothy Snyder, <em>Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin<\/em> (New York: Basic Books, 2010), 193.<\/li>\n<li>United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, \u201cLatvia,\u201d Holocaust Encyclopedia, n.d., <span style=\"color: #ccffff;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/encyclopedia.ushmm.org\/content\/en\/article\/jewish-population-of-europe-in-1933-population-data-by-country\" style=\"color: #ccffff;\">https:\/\/encyclopedia.ushmm.org\/content\/en\/article\/jewish-population-of-europe-in-1933-population-data-by-country<\/a><\/span>.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">David Nasaw, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Last Million: Europe\u2019s Displaced Persons from World War to Cold War,<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Penguin Press, 2020, 135.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nasaw, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Last Million,<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 128.<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Bergen, Doris L. \u201cThe Nazi Concept of \u2018Volksdeutsche\u2019 and the Exacerbation of Anti-Semitism in Eastern Europe, 1939-45.\u201d <i style=\"font-size: 14px;\">Journal of Contemporary History<\/i><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\"> 29, no. 4 (1994): 569-82. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/260679\"><span style=\"color: #fffff0;\"><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">http:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/260679<\/span><\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Bergen, Doris L. \u201cThe Nazi Concept of \u2018Volksdeutsche'&#8221;, 572.<\/li>\n<li>Ulrich Merten,\u00a0<i>Forgotten Voices: The Expulsion of the Germans from Eastern Europe after World War II<\/i> (New Brunswick, N.J: Transaction Publishers, 2012), 7-20.<\/li>\n<li>Ulrich Merten,\u00a0<i>Forgotten Voices.<\/i><\/li>\n<li>Ulrich Merten,\u00a0<i>Forgotten Voices<\/i>, 10.<\/li>\n<li>Mark Wyman, <i>DPs: Europe\u2019s Displaced Persons, 1945-1951<\/i> (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 2014), 20.<\/li>\n<li>Merten, <em>Forgotten Voices<\/em>, 20.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<div class=\"csl-bib-body\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>For a More In-Depth Understanding of Ethnic Germans\/Volksdeutsche: <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Barton, Betty. <i>The Problem of 12 Million German Refugees in Today\u2019s Germany<\/i>. Philadelphia: American Friends Service Committee, 1949.<br \/>Merten, Ulrich. <i>Forgotten Voices: The Expulsion of the Germans from Eastern Europe after World War II<\/i>. New Brunswick, N.J: Transaction Publishers, 2012.<br \/>Wyman, Mark. <i>DPs: Europe\u2019s Displaced Persons, 1945-1951<\/i>. 1 online resource vols. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 2014. <span style=\"color: #ccffff;\"><a style=\"color: #ccffff;\" href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.7591\/9780801456046\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.7591\/9780801456046<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_button button_url=&#8221;@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF9saW5rX3VybF9wYWdlIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsicG9zdF9pZCI6IjM5In19@&#8221; url_new_window=&#8221;on&#8221; button_text=&#8221;Bibliography&#8221; button_alignment=&#8221;left&#8221; admin_label=&#8221;Bibliography Button&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.6&#8243; _dynamic_attributes=&#8221;button_url&#8221; custom_button=&#8221;on&#8221; button_text_size=&#8221;14px&#8221; button_text_color=&#8221;#000000&#8243; button_bg_color=&#8221;#e0d8c8&#8243; button_border_width=&#8221;0px&#8221; button_border_radius=&#8221;0px&#8221; button_letter_spacing=&#8221;1px&#8221; button_font=&#8221;|700||on|||||&#8221; transform_translate=&#8221;-4px|-15px&#8221; custom_margin=&#8221;|-60px|0px||false|false&#8221; custom_margin_tablet=&#8221;|0px|||false|false&#8221; custom_margin_phone=&#8221;&#8221; custom_margin_last_edited=&#8221;on|desktop&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;16px|28px|16px|28px|true|true&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; locked=&#8221;off&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; admin_label=&#8221;Photo Credit&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.6&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; background_color=&#8221;#FFFFF0&#8243; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; collapsed=&#8221;off&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; custom_margin=&#8221;||||false|false&#8221;][et_pb_row _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.6&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.21.0&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.6&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; header_3_text_color=&#8221;#000000&#8243; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]<\/p>\n<h3>Images<\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Congregation sitting in pews, L<span>utheran World Federation Service to Refugees 1947-1949 Photographic Section, used with permission of the Lutheran World Federation and Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">News flier regarding the Soviet occupation of Lithuania, likely propaganda, Jones, Adam. \u201c<span style=\"color: #003366;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Propaganda_News_Item_on_Soviet_Takeover_of_Lithuania_-_Memorial_Museum_Adjacent_to_Ninth_Fort_-_Nazi_Genocide_Site_-_Kaunas_-_Lithuania_(27306653623)_(2).jpg\" style=\"color: #003366;\">File:Propaganda News Item on Soviet Takeover of Lithuania &#8211; Wikimedia<\/a><\/span>.\u201d Wikimedia Commons license, November 17, 2017.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Protest sign from a Baltic person in exile, calling on the U.N. to abolish Soviet colonialism in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. From the exhibition &#8220;Nyet, nyet, Soviet! Political protests and demonstrations outside Latvia 1945-1991&#8221; at the Latvian Railway History Museum, \u00a0 Contributors to Wikimedia Projects. \u201c<span style=\"color: #003366;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Nyet,_nyet,_Soviet_(11).jpg\" style=\"color: #003366;\">File:Nyet, Nyet, Soviet.Jpg &#8211; Wikimedia Commons<\/a><\/span>.\u201d Wikimedia Commons license, May 22, 2022.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A crowd welcomes the Germans, expecting liberation from the Soviet Occupation. August 28th 1941, Tallinn, Estonia, Contributors to Wikimedia Projects. \u201c<span style=\"color: #003366;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Lentr%C3%A9e_de_larm%C3%A9e_allemande_en_Estonie_en_1941_(7622403826).jpg\" style=\"color: #003366;\">File:Lentr\u00e9e de Larm\u00e9e Allemande En Estonie En 1941<\/a><\/span>.\u201d Wikimedia Commons, February 17, 2023.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"color: #003366;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-J16133,_Lettland,_Appell_der_SS-Legion.jpg\" style=\"color: #003366;\">\u201cThe Latvian SS Volunteer Legion on parade celebrating the 25th anniversary of National Latvia Day\u201d<\/a><\/span> November 1943,\u00a0 Contributors to Wikimedia Projects \u201cCategory:Waffen-SS.\u201d Wikimedia Commons license, June 26, 2023.<\/span><\/li>\n<li>\u201cHow most rural residents fled their homes ahead of the battlefront&#8221;,\u00a0<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">from: <\/span>Ventis Plume, John Plume, and Vaira V\u012bke-Freiberga, <i style=\"font-size: 14px;\">Insula, Island of Hope: A Latvian Memoir<\/i><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\">, Revised and enlarged edition. Bookstand Publishing, 2013.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Baltic States under OccupationThe experiences of Baltic Lutherans through the 1940s was shaped by multiple foreign occupations; cultural suppression and and political cooption; war and atrocities; voluntary and forced displacement; and, ultimately, resettlement or repatriation. This overview summarize the factors that drove this population to flee, or not, and the entanglements with oppressive regimes [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4325,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1052","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/lwf-refugee-service\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1052","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/lwf-refugee-service\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/lwf-refugee-service\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/lwf-refugee-service\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4325"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/lwf-refugee-service\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1052"}],"version-history":[{"count":97,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/lwf-refugee-service\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1052\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4799,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/lwf-refugee-service\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1052\/revisions\/4799"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/lwf-refugee-service\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}