Introduction
The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
The Vilnius Complex
A Trojan Horse?
An Uncertain Winter
The Soviet Invasion
The Refugee
Moscow’s Proconsul
The People’s Government
From Underground
“The Moor Can Go”
The Class Struggle
The Elections
Sovietization
The Balance Sheet
Notes
Index
Alfred Erich Senn is Professor Emeritus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA, and he is an adjunct professor at Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas, Lithuania. Besides his work on Lithuania, he is the author of The Russian Revolution in Switzerland (1971) and Power, Politics and the Olympic Games (1999).
"there is more to Alfred Senn’s book than you might expect. It
certainly contains a mass of empirical detail about the twelve
months from August 1939 to August 1940 but does not let the weight
of this material overshadow valuable broader insights into themes
that simply must be central to a modern history of Lithuania." -
in: Slavic Review, Vol. 67, Nr. 4 (Winter 2008)
"Senn is a leading American historian of Lithuania with many
publications … Senn’s book is the first detailed English-language
account of this complex story. Combining archival documents with
printed and unprinted memoirs, he convincingly criticizes Russian
and Soviet historians of Lithuania who assert the
'constitutionality' of the Soviet occupation" - in: American
Historical Review (December 2008)
"The author gives a stunning picture of how the Lithuanian state
disintegrated with the collapse of Smetona’s authoritarian regime
(like a “house of cards”, too), influenced by social and ethnic
conflicts." - in: Jahrbücher für Geschichte Osteuropas 56 (2008) H.
4
"for Western readers without access to the Lithuanian language this
is an extremely valuable and judicious restatement of a
long-accepted thesis among Lithuanian historians … the timing of
this book is impeccable in the light of a current Russian campaign
of disinformation … [Senn] is able to present the English-speaking
world with the latest fruits of Lithuanian historiography … If
widely-read, as it deserves to be, it should counter the recent
waves of anti-Baltic propaganda emanating from Moscow." - in:
Central and Eastern European Review, Vol. 2 (2008)
"Alfred Erich Senn’s volume is a purposeful effort to counter the
Russian interpretation of the events of 1940. Focusing on the
Lithuanian case, he challenges the notion that incorporation [in
the Soviet Union] was attended by widespread popular support. Senn
offers a compelling argument that Moscow organized and orchestrated
a campaign from above that resulted in the forcible incorporation
of a largely unwilling population. Largely focusing on an analysis
of the actions of key players based on archival data, memoirs, and
newspaper accounts, he falls back on his own well-honed historical
judgement to fill the gaps." - in: The Russian Review, Vol. 67, No.
2 (April 2008)
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