Lithuanian American Nationalist Mission in Washington, 23–24 March 1945: Contribution to the Cause of the Liberation of Lithuania

Abstract

The article deals with the little-known so-called Lithuanian American Mission (LAM) carried out by Lithuanian American nationalists in Washington on March 23–24, 1945. The LAM could be viewed as a congress of Lithuanian American representatives, dedicated to the freedom and independence of Lithuania. It was clearly understood that this could only be achieved if the US government supported the question of Lithuanian independence. Therefore, all the attention of Lithuanian Americans was focused on this, in order to have direct contact with US politicians. For the first time, a delegation of Lithuanian American soldiers’ mothers to the White House was organised, meeting the US Vice President Harry S. Truman and Mrs. E. Roosevelt. For the first time, Lithuanians managed to invite a large number of congressmen and senators to the Mission event. Some of the speeches made during the meeting appeared in the US Congressional Record. LAM was eager to cover the Lithuanian issue in the US press. A delegation of the LAM to the International Conference in San Francisco was approved with
the support of the Americans. The LAM event in Washington confirmed the nationalists’ closer contact with the US government representatives, some of whom supported Lithuanian aspirations. This further intensified the activities of the Lithuanian nationalists in the USA, and the name of Lithuania and its problem were once again more widely known.