Occupation, Resistance and Lithuania’s Regained Independence

• The Soviet occupation of Lithuania began on 15 June 1940; the country’s statehood was subsequently incorporated into the Soviet system.
• The first wave of Soviet deportations began on 14 June 1941, before Germany attacked the Soviet Union.
• German occupation began in June 1941 and lasted until 1944; during this period, the Nazi regime and its collaborators perpetrated the Holocaust in Lithuania.
• After the Soviet army returned in 1944, partisans fought the renewed occupation until 1953.
• On 3 June 1988, the initiative group of the Sąjūdis reform movement was elected.
• On 23 August 1989, the Baltic Way linked the Baltic capitals in a human chain about 600 kilometres long.
• On 11 March 1990, the Supreme Council restored the state’s independence.
• Soviet violence in Vilnius on 13 January 1991 killed 14 unarmed people and injured nearly 1,000. On 17 September 1991, Lithuania joined the United Nations.

Soviet troops occupied Lithuania on 15 June 1940. The country lost its political independence, and its authorities and institutions were absorbed into the Soviet system. This first period of Soviet occupation lasted until the German attack in June 1941. Soviet deportations began on 14 June 1941; according to the Lithuanian Centre for the Study of Genocide and Resistance, they were also intended to target potential opponents of Sovietization. Those affected included people working in public service and education, as well as their families. The deportations tore people from their everyday lives and often separated family members for long periods.

On 22 June 1941, Nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union, and German troops occupied Lithuania. The years that followed, until 1944, were marked by German rule, terror and the systematic murder of the Jewish population. The Nazi regime organized the Holocaust with the help of local collaborators. Jewish communities, which had shaped Lithuania’s cultural and urban life for generations, were almost entirely wiped out. The International Commission for the Evaluation of the Crimes of the Nazi and Soviet Occupation Regimes investigates this persecution separately from Soviet occupation crimes. For family histories, religious life and the country’s long-standing Jewish presence, read more in the article on Jewish history in Lithuania.

When Soviet troops returned in 1944, a second period of Soviet occupation began. The change of occupying power did not mean a return for Lithuania to the independent institutions of the interwar period. To understand the country’s development before 1940, start by reading about the history of the First Republic of Lithuania.

After 1944, armed Lithuanian partisans fought against Soviet rule. The Lithuanian Centre for the Study of Genocide and Resistance dates the armed resistance to 1944–1953. The resistance was not one single battle, but a movement made up of regionally organized groups, their support networks and the political goal of restoring independent statehood. The Soviet authorities used arrests and deportations against actual and suspected opponents; many families suffered repression and loss.

Resistance was not limited to armed struggle. People preserved religious and cultural traditions, circulated banned news and documented state interference. Clergy, dissidents and civil rights groups challenged state control in different ways. Underground publications spread information about arrests and restrictions beyond Lithuania. These activities were not without danger, and their aims were not all the same, but they were part of a society in which the demand for self-determination endured.

The long experience of changing foreign rule had deeper roots: in historical perspective, Soviet occupation was preceded by the era of the Russian Empire in Lithuania and, earlier still, the political union known as the Union of Lublin. The early forms of Lithuanian statehood and the development of Vilnius are explained in the articles on Mindaugas and Gediminas and Vilnius. This background helps explain why the restoration in 1990 was understood as the return of a state, rather than its creation for the first time.

In the late 1980s, public protest against Soviet rule grew. On 3 June 1988, people in Vilnius elected the initiative group of the Sąjūdis reform movement; its founding congress followed in October. The movement brought together calls for political self-determination, cultural renewal and public debate. Gatherings and the renewed visibility of national symbols also made the desire for independence visible in everyday life.

On 23 August 1989, people from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia formed a peaceful human chain about 600 kilometres long between the capitals. The Baltic Way commemorated the 50th anniversary of the German-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact and its secret protocol. At the same time, the event showed that the call for freedom was supported by a broad section of the population. UNESCO holds documents and images related to the event in its Memory of the World Register; the Lithuanian Parliament documents the political path from Sąjūdis to the restoration of statehood.

Visitors can connect this history with places in the capital: an overview of sights in Vilnius can help put the sites of political gatherings and the importance of the city centre into context. Historic places in Kaunas also add to the picture, as the city was formerly the political centre of the independent republic and remained an important centre of Lithuanian culture.

Elections to the Supreme Council were held on 24 February 1990. They were Lithuania’s first democratic parliamentary elections under occupation. On 11 March, the newly elected parliament adopted the Act on the Restoration of the Independent State of Lithuania. The act declared that the exercise of state sovereignty, removed by foreign powers in 1940, was being restored. The Lithuanian Parliament’s official website explains the path to the restoration of independence. The decision did not end Soviet control immediately: Moscow put Lithuania under economic and political pressure and continued to maintain a military presence.

In the early hours of 13 January 1991, Soviet troops attacked the television tower and the Lithuanian Radio and Television building in Vilnius with tanks and firearms. People had gathered there to protect the facilities and the restored state. Fourteen unarmed defenders were killed and nearly 1,000 people were injured. The Lithuanian Parliament describes how the determination of the people and the resistance of the Supreme Council defended the restoration of independence. The events of January made clear the cost of state self-determination, but did not change the parliamentary resolution.

On 17 September 1991, Lithuania became a member of the United Nations. Membership marked an important step in the international recognition of the restored state. It did not retroactively erase the period of occupation, but gave Lithuania a voice in the international organization. For a journey through more recent history, museums and memorial sites are worth visiting; the overview of museums in Lithuania helps you choose by region and subject.

When did the Soviet occupation of Lithuania begin?

Soviet troops occupied Lithuania on 15 June 1940. Deportations began the following year, and the occupying power changed in June 1941 after Germany attacked the Soviet Union.

What happened on 14 June 1941?

Soviet deportations from Lithuania began that day. Those affected included people working in public service and education, as well as their families. The German occupation began just a few days later.

How long did the armed partisan resistance last?

The armed anti-Soviet resistance is described as lasting from 1944 to 1953. There were also civilian, religious and cultural forms of resistance, which did not all end at the same time.

What was the Baltic Way?

On 23 August 1989, people from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia formed a peaceful human chain about 600 kilometres long to call for freedom and self-determination and to commemorate the 1939 German-Soviet Pact.

When did Lithuania regain independence?

On 11 March 1990, the Supreme Council declared the restoration of the independent republic. After Soviet troops attacked on 13 January 1991, Lithuania was admitted to the United Nations on 17 September 1991.