{"id":4200,"date":"2026-06-01T17:28:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T22:28:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/lwf-refugee-service\/?page_id=4200"},"modified":"2026-10-02T12:11:30","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T17:11:30","slug":"baltic-timeline","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/lwf-refugee-service\/baltic-timeline\/","title":{"rendered":"Baltic Timeline"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Timeline to Displacement<\/h1><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
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To help us to understand why the Lutheran World Federation Service to Refugees served so many Baltic Lutheran DPs, this chronology page documents converging forces that led tens of thousands of Latvians, Lithuanians and Estonians to flee their homes and become displaced in Germany by the mid-1940s. The story does not begin with the onset of World War II, but with a revolution in the Russian Empire, which had colonized the Baltics in the 18th century.<\/span><\/h5>\n

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1917-1919<\/h1>\n

From Russian Revolution to Baltic Independence<\/h3>\n

In the Revolution of 1917-1919, the Bolsheviks, a radical Marxist faction led by Vladimir Lenin, drove an uprising against Russia's czarist state. Compounded by the instability brought by <\/span>World War I, the Russian revolt led to in the abdication of Czar Nicholas II in 1917 and ultimately the establishment of the Soviet Union (USSR) in 1922.1<\/sup> In the power vacuum that opened as the Bolshevik leadership sought to consolidate power, the Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia each declared and fought for their independence from Russia between 1918-1920.2<\/sup> This political transformation carried implications for the status of churches in the region, as well. 3<\/sup>\u00a0<\/sup><\/span><\/p>\n

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1919-1939<\/h1><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
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Baltic Independence and the Churches<\/h5>\n\t\t\t\t

With their newfound independence, the Baltic states could determine the religious structures in their respective states.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lutheranism was the dominant Christian denomination in Latvia and Estonia. \u201cIn Estonia some 800,000 Lutherans constituted over three quarters of the population, while some 1,094,000 Lutherans made up 56.6 per cent of Latvia\u2019s population\u2026 there were tens of thousands more in Lithuania.\u201d4<\/sup> Lithuania was majority Catholic where Lutherans were a recognized minority church. <\/span>5<\/sup><\/p>\n

The Baltic governments allowed the Lutheran churches in their jurisdictions to grow. They built churches and fostered community among each other.<\/span>\u00a0<\/sup>Meanwhile, the Christian churches within the USSR faced great persecution by the Bolsheviks. Within the Soviet ideology of class conflict, \u00a0religion was deemed bourgeois. Like all other traditional social structures, which the Soviets claimed hindered the advancement of the proletariat, the churches must be dismantled. However, it is important to note that the Russian Orthodox Church was the most persecuted within the USSR, while the Lutheran Churches were granted certain privileges, presumably in order to create a rift between the denominations.<\/span>6<\/sup><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>

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NSDAP ascends in Germany<\/h5>\n\t\t\t\t

Germany in the aftermath of World War I saw immense social, political and economic instability, as the stark terms of the Versailles Treaty made recovery all the more difficult. Diverse political parties, including German communist factions, continued to vie for power in the weak Weimar Republic. Among them, the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP), founded in 1922 and led by Adolf Hitler, had as its platform pillars anti-communism, anti-Semitism, and ethnic nationalism, and the nationalization of industry and other state interests.<\/p>\n

Though its early attempts to seize power by putsch were unsuccessful, voter support for the NSDAP in state and national elections increased steadily until 1933 when Adolf Hitler was elected Chancellor. Political opponents were dealt with violenty, and when President Paul von Hindenberg died in 1934, Hitler eliminated the role and declared himself \"F\u00fchrer,\" ruling often by emergency decree.<\/p>\n

The Lutheran and Catholic Churches of Germany did not stand in open opposition to the rise of National Socialism or its cooption of the churches in state ideology. Theological movements such as the \"Bekennende Kirche\" (confessing church), associated with Lutheran pastors Martin Niem\u00f6ller, Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Karl Barth rejected the nationalist Christianity being shaped by Nazism.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>

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Lutheran World Convention established<\/h5>\n\t\t\t\t

While the aftermath of World War I saw the rise of authoritarism and new nationalisms, the massive devastation of the war also provoked new cooperations among the Christian churches. The roots of the World Council of Churches can be found in this period, though its official founding did not come until 1937.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lutheran churches likewise formed coalitions to facilitate more efficient aid dispersal to the congregations that needed it. The Lutheran World Convention (LWC) was established in 1923 with the intention that its member churches might \u201c...edify one another and...strengthen one another in our common faith.\u201d7<\/sup> Their first conference, held in Eisenach, Germany, was attended by 147 delegates representing 22 countries across four continents.8<\/sup> Two more meetings followed, at which \u201cChristians were learning the fine art of helping each other to bear heavy burdens.\"9<\/sup> Preparations for a LWC meeting in Philadelphia in 1940 were halted, however, by the outbreak of World War II.10<\/sup><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>

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Soviet Anti-Religious Propaganda<\/h3>\n

Propaganda is a mass communication tool used by large institutions such governments to persuade their audiences to adopt a belief. Soviet ideology's insistence that religion slowed progress and was thus of no use to the new proletariat future was depicted in state propaganda like these posters from the 1920s. They are emblematic of the religious oppression enacted within the USSR.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>

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Translation (Russian): \u0442\u043e\u0440\u0436\u0435\u0441\u0442\u0432\u043e \u0445\u0440\u0438\u0441\u0442\u0438\u0430\u043d\u0441\u0442\u0432\u0430 - \"The triumph of Christianity\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Translation by Arevik Armenakyan (St. Olaf, Class of '28)<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>

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Translation (Ukrainian): ...<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>

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1939<\/h1><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
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Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact<\/h5>\n\t\t\t\t
By 1939, enormous political tensions emerged between the Fascist and Communist countries of Europe. Yet, in order for each to assure its own imperial ambitions, Germany and the USSR signed a secret agreement on August 23, the so-called Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, to split Eastern Europe between them. The focus was their shared neighbor, Poland. Initially, in the agreement, the USSR would invade Estonia and Latvia, while Germany would take Lithuania. However, Stalin demanded that the Soviet Union control all three Baltic states.<\/span>11 <\/sup><\/span>So, in September, in exchange for control of Lithuania, Stalin agreed for Germany to take the majority of Poland and repatriate Germans who lived in the Baltic states.12<\/sup><\/span><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
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Invasion of Poland<\/h5>\n\t\t\t\t
On September 1, Germany invaded Poland.13<\/sup> Two days later, Britain and France declared war on Germany. This was the beginning of World War II. On <\/span>September 17, the USSR followed through on its agreement with Germany and invaded Poland from the east.14<\/sup><\/span><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
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Baltic Mutual Assistance Treaties<\/h5>\n\t\t\t\t

Through intimidation tactics,<\/span> the Soviet Union convinced all three Baltic States to sign Pacts of Defense and Mutual Assistance Treaties (MATs). <\/span>The MATs enabled Soviet military forces to occupy Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania without resistance.<\/span><\/p>\n

Estonia signed the Soviet's Mutual Assistance Treaty (MAT) on September 28 after the USSR flew military planes over the Estonian capital, Tallinn, as an act of intimidation.15<\/sup> 16,000 Estonian troops faced 25,000 Soviet troops. <\/span>Latvia soon followed and signed a MAT with the USSR on October 5. 20,000 Latvian troops faced 30,000 Soviet troops. <\/span>Finally, Lithuania signed a MAT with the USSR on October 10. There were 20,000 Soviet troops present.16<\/sup><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>

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"Volksdeutsche" Resettlements<\/h5>\n\t\t\t\t

Volksdeutsche or \"ethnic Germans\" was a term to describe those with German heritage who resided outside of Germany, such as in Poland, the Baltics, and further Eastern European countries including Romania and Ukraine. <\/span>Historian Doris L. Bergen contends that notion of Volksdeutsche was created with the purpose of expanding National Socialism rule into Eastern Europe via \"Umsiedlung\" or Resettlement.17<\/sup> The Nazi government initiated a massive resettlement campaign of ethnic Germans from the Baltics into other parts of Eastern Europe between October 1939 to May 1940. 14,000 \"Volkdeutsche\" left Estonia, and 51,000 left Latvia in 1939. In 1940, 7,000 Volksdeutsche left Estonia and 10,500 left Latvia.18<\/sup><\/span><\/p>\n

These resettlements stoked a rise of anti-Semitism and pro-Nazi sentiment among those ethnic Germans, as well as expanded the ranks of Germany's SS military units. E<\/span>thnic Germans were made beneficiaries of land taken from Jewish people who were deported or murdered. Yet the definition of \"Volksdeutsch\" remained loose and often relied on a display of Nazi allegiance. Whether through intermarriage, language, or insufficient show of Nazi support, not all ethnic Germans followed this particular definition of \u201cGermanness,\u201d making them vulnerable to deportation themselves or having their children taken and sent to a \u201cmore German\u201d family.19<\/sup><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>

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Vyacheslav Molotov, Foreign Minister of the Soviet Union (left), shaking hands with Joachim von Ribbentrop, the Foreign Minister of Germany (right).<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>

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Mapping the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact<\/h3><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
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While Germany and the USSR had planned on splitting Europe fairly evenly, this did not curb either country from pursuing its imperial ambitions.<\/p>\n

The image to the left depicts the intended areas of German and Soviet rule described in the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. The image on the right shows what actually transpired in 1940 during World War II.<\/p>\n

To read the conditions of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact in their entirety, visit Fordham University's English translation:<\/p>\n

Click Here<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>

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1940<\/h1><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
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First Soviet Occupation of the Baltics<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t

The USSR set up a military blockade of the Baltic states from June 12 to 17, 1940. The Soviet Red Army first occupied Lithuania on June 15, followed by Latvia on June 16 and Estonia on June 17.20 <\/sup><\/span>In July, the Soviet Secret police (NKVD) were established in Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. The NKVD enforced the USSR's rules within the Baltics, and its policies became harsher the more power it gained over the government structures.21<\/sup><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>

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Baltic States annexed by the USSR<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t

The Baltics states were annexed by the USSR in quick succession: Lithuania was annexed by the Soviet Union on August 3, f<\/span>ollowed by Latvia on August 5 and Estonia on August 6.22<\/sup><\/span><\/p>\n

With these annexations, the religious oppression these countries had been spared from during their short 20-year period of independence resumed under Stalin, who by this point was actively purging any sites of political competition, including organized religion.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>

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Soviet Suppression of Religion in the Baltics<\/h3>\n

\u201cShortly after the Soviet troops invaded the republics, the Baltic governments were requested to suppress all religious activities... [and the] Union of Anti-Religious Fighters\u201d was established.23<\/sup> The following religious activities became prohibited by the Soviet Union upon occupation and annexation of the Baltic states:<\/p>\n