The Select Committee to Investigate Communist Aggression and the Forced Incorporation of the Baltic States into the U.S.S.R., also known as the Kersten Committee after its chairman,
U.S. Representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
Charles J. Kersten was established in 1953 to investigate the
annexation
Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...
of
Estonia,
Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
, and
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
into the
Soviet Union. The committee terminated March 4, 1954, when it was replaced by the Select Committee on Communist Aggression.
Background
In 1940, in accordance with the secret protocol of the 1939
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact with
Nazi Germany, the
Soviet Union directed the occupation and subsequent annexation of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. In each country, demands were made under threat of force from Moscow for
puppet
A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or Legendary creature, mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. The puppeteer uses movements of their hands, arms, or control devices such as rods ...
communist governments to be formed.
Fraudulent elections were held in July 1940 with solely
communists being represented in the parliament of each country's government. Those governments then were instructed by Moscow to
petition the
Soviet government to be added as constituent
Soviet republics.
The
United States, like other
Western democratic powers, such as the
United Kingdom,
Norway,
France, and
Denmark, never recognized the incorporation as valid and continued to accredit the legations of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. On June 23, 1940,
U.S. Secretary of State Sumner Welles
Benjamin Sumner Welles (October 14, 1892September 24, 1961) was an American government official and diplomat in the Foreign Service. He was a major foreign policy adviser to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and served as Under Secretary of State ...
declared the American non-recognition policy on the principles of the
Stimson Doctrine. The policy was maintained until the 1991
restoration of independence in all three countries.
Investigation
In 1953, the House of Representatives passed House Resolution 346 calling for a special investigation into the incorporation of the Baltic states into the Soviet Union. The House Select Baltic Committee was established on July 27, 1953, to oversee the investigation, which was chaired by
Charles J. Kersten.
[
The ]select committee Select committee may refer to:
*Select committee (parliamentary system), a committee made up of a small number of parliamentary members appointed to deal with particular areas or issues
*Select or special committee (United States Congress)
*Select ...
held hearings between November 30 and December 11, 1953, and reported its findings in February 1954. During the investigation, the Baltic Committee interviewed approximately 100 witnesses including Johannes Klesment, a former Estonian government official; Jonas Černius, the former prime minister of Lithuania; Juozas Brazaitis Juozas is a Lithuanian masculine given name, a shortened version of Juozapas, which in turn is the equivalent of English ''Joseph''.
List of people named Juozas
*Juozas Adomaitis-Šernas (1859–1922), Lithuanian scientific writer and book smuggl ...
, the acting foreign minister of Lithuania; and former President of the United States Herbert Hoover, all of whom provided testimony and additional information about Soviet activities in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania in 1940.
Among those accused of crimes during the Baltic occupation process were the Soviet politicians Andrei Zhdanov and Andrey Vyshinsky.The Iron Heel
'' Time Magazine'', December 14, 1953
Significance
The significance of the Kersten Committee was primarily related to the U.S. non-recognition policy of the Soviet incorporation of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. However, the investigation at the time was seen as a way for the
U.S. Congress to better study the manner in which the Soviet Union was able to direct the seizure of power in foreign countries. Specifically, the investigation coincided with United States involvement in the
Korean War and was seen by investigators as a way of studying communist methods that could be used in better articulating policy related to that conflict. Continued interest in the subject led the
U.S. House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
to replace the Baltic Committee with the Select Committee on Communist Aggression, which continued to operate until December 31, 1954.
[
]
References
Sources
* ''Hearings Before the Select Committee to Investigate the Incorporation of the Baltic States into the U.S.S.R.'', 83rd United States Congress, First Session, Under Authority of H. Res. 346, Part I (1954)
{{United States congressional committees
Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic
United States House of Representatives
Defunct committees of the United States House of Representatives
Reports of the United States government
Soviet Union–United States relations
1953 in the United States
1953 in Estonia
1953 in Lithuania
1953 in Latvia
Occupation of the Baltic states
1953 in international relations
Public inquiries in the United States
Lithuania–United States relations
Latvia–United States relations
Estonia–United States relations
Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic
Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic
Select Committees of the United States Congress
Anti-communist organizations in the United States