Strictly Secret Order of the People's Commissar Serov for the Interior of Lithuanian SSR in 1940

STRICTLY SECRET ORDER OF THE PEOPLE'S COMMISSAR SEROV
FOR THE INTERIOR OF LITHUANIAN SSR IN 1940.
ORDER NO. 0054,
KAUNAS, NOVEMBER 28, 1940.

On June 15, 1940 the U.S.S.R. invaded the Republic of Lithuania with 300,000 soldiers, stationing one armed soldier to every 10 or 12 inhabitants. This act is in direct violation of the Soviet, Lithuanian Non-Aggression and Nonintervention Pacts in which the U.S.S.R. committed itself to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lithuania.

The Soviet colonial occupation of Lithuania is also in violation of International Law and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations. The United Nations Charter states that all members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state. However, the U.S.S.R, a member of the United Nations, continues to expand its colonial empire* using the cover of progressive Marxist theory or carry on the traditions of Imperial Czarist Russia.

The United States does not recognize the illegal military occupation of the Baltic States by the U.S.S.R.

The following is a translation from Lithuanian issued to N.K.V.D. units engaged in turning Lithuania into a Soviet Republic. It is of historical interest on the mechanics of deportation. Text follows: This is the document's first printing in English. The original appeared in Lithuanian and Russian.

About negligence in accounting concerning antisoviet and socially alien element.

In connection with the great pollution of the republic of Lithuania with the antisoviet and socially alien element, the account concerning same acquires an especially great importance.

For the operative work it is important to know how many there are in Lithuanian territory: former policemen, white guardsmen, former officers, members and the like of antisoviet political parties and organizations, and where the said element is concentrated.

This is necessary in order to define the" strength of the counter-revolution and to direct our operative-agencies apparatus for its digestion and liquidation.

Despite the importance of keeping all such accounts, our operative organs did not seriously undertake this work.

The materials cleared by the agencies' investigative apparatus remain scattered in the cabinets of operative collaborators without proper usage.

Executing the order No. 001223 of NKVD of the USSR about the accounting concerning the antisoviet element and concerning the liquidation of negligence in this work.

1. Chiefs of operative branches of the Center and of county branches and units to take over within 3 days all files and cases entered on the account of 1st Spec(ial) division — the formulars and persons mentioned therein.

2. Within 10 days to take over into the 1st Specdivision all antisoviet element, listed in the alphabetical files (index accounting).

3. At the same time to undertake clarification of all antisoviet and socially alien element on the territory of the republic of Lithuania and to transfer same to the jurisdiction of operative account of 1st Specdivision.

4. The accounts of persons mentioned in agency files, also in the alphabetical files (index accounting), to be concentrated in the Specdivision of NKVD of LSSR, for which purpose special cards must be filled-in concerning each transferred person by the county branches and units of NKVD and by the City Council of Vilnius, and said cards must be mailed to the 1st Specdivision of NKVD of the LSSR.

5. The index account must cover all those persons who by reason of their social and political past, national-chauvinistic opinions, religious convictions, moral and political inconstancy, are opposed to the socialistic order and thus might be used by the intelligence services of foreign countries and by the counter-revolutionary centers for antisoviet purposes.

a) All former members of antisoviet political parties, organizations and groups: trotskyists, rightists, essers (socialist revolutionists), mensheviks, social-democrats, anarchists, and the like;

b) All former members of national chauvinistic antisoviet parties, organizations and groups: nationalists, young Lithuania, voldemarists, populists, Christian democrats, members of nationalist terroristic organizations ("Iron Wolf"), active members of student fraternities, active members of Riflemen's Association, Catholic terrorist organization "White Horse";

c) Former gendarmes, policemen, former employees of political and criminal police and of the prisons;

e) Former officers and members of military courts of the armies of Lithuania and Poland;

g) Persons expelled from the Communist Party and Komsomol for anti-party offences;

h) All deserters, political emigrants, re-emigrants, repatriates and contrabandists;

i) All citizens of foreign countries, representatives of foreign firms, employees of offices of foreign countries, former citizens of foreign countries, former employees of legations, firms, concessions and stock companies of foreign countries;

j) Persons having personal contacts and maintaining correspondence with the abroad, foreign legations and consulates, esperantists and philatelists;

m) Religionists (priests, pastors), sectants and active religionists of religious communities;

n) Former noblemen, estate owners, merchants, bankers, commercialists (who availed themselves of hired labor), shop owners, owners of hotels and restaurants;

6. For preparation of index accounts of antisoviet elements all sources must be availed of, including: agencies' reports, special investigative materials, materials of party and soviet organizations, statements of citizens, testimony of the arrested persons, and other data. As a rule, statements, testimony and other official materials must first be verified in an agency manner.

7. Operative branches and county branches and units must prepare separate rosters for accountable persons who had departed elsewhere, and must take steps to clarify same. At the same time, cards of sought persons must be filled in and transferred to the 1st Specdivision.

8. Files-formulars must be introduced and transferred into active agency account concerning the former activists of antisoviet politparties and organizations (trotskyists, mensheviks, essers, nationalist associations and the like), counter-revolutionary authorities Of religionists (priests, mullas, pastors), responsible collaborators of police, ministries, foreign firms and the like, in accordance with available material about antisoviet activity.

9. Chiefs of 1st Specdivision of NKVD or the LSSR are to report to me every day about the progress of this order.

10. The order is to be discussed in operative consultations and concrete means for its execution are to be provided for.

On account of antisoviet, criminal and socially dangerous element in Mažeikiai county.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
		Of these
		_________________________________________________
Coloring	Total cases /pers	For arrest cases /pers	Foe exile cases /pers
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
FIRST SECTION Active members of counterrevolutionary parties and participants of antisoviet nationalistic, whiteguardist organizations (tautininkai, catholic organizations, shaulissy et al.) Lithuanian National Counterrevolution. A) Leadership personnel of organization of tautininkai:
1. Members of committees, starting with apylinkės (district) to chief leadership.	31/55	16/16	15/36
2. Activists-agitators (accdg to materials).	(according to materials)
3. Regular contributors to political press of tautininkai. B) Leadership of organization Yownoyi Lietuva: 1. Chiefs of subdivisions from apylinkės (districts) to members of supreme board.
2. Activists-agitators (accdg to materials).	(according to materials)
3. Regular responsible contributors to magazines "Jaunoji Karta" and "Akademikas".
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

On account of anti-soviet, criminal and socially dangerous element in .......... county.

In this "daily report," the auxiliary informative account, all "antisoviet element" is grouped as follows:

Active members of counterrevolutionary parties and participants of antisoviet nationalistic, whiteguardist organizations (tautininkai, catholic organizations, Šauliai et. al.)

1) (Members of committees, starting with districts and ending with supreme leadership,

1) chiefs of subdivisions, starting with district and ending with supreme leadership,

c) Leadership personnel of organizations of intellectuals and student youths of nationalist and voldemarist organizations:

d) Leadership personnel of merchants and industrialists association ("Verslininkų Sąjunga") (central and county committee men, according to materials available).

f) Members of central and county committees of teachers' association named after Basanavičius.

g) All active members of the voldemarist organization "Geležinis Vilkas" (Iron Wolf), regular contributors to "Žygis" and "Tėvų Žemė."

h) Leadership personnel of Šaulių Sąjunga (Riflemen's Association), beginning with platoon commanders and ending with supreme commander; members of the supreme board; members of the staff; unit-company, county unit personnel — both men and women; regular contributors to magazine "Trimitas."

1) leadership personnel and regular press contributors of the party of "National Union Camp" (OZON); active pilsudskists (starting with county committee men).

2) Leadership personnel of the Polish "Non-partisan Bloc" (BB), (starting with county committee men) and regular contributors of press organs.

3) Leadership personnel of the Polish Socialist Party (PPS) and regular contributors to their press (according to available data).

4) All active members and regular press contributors of the National Democratic Party (en-dek).

5) Leadership personnel of "Strzelcy" (Riflemen) (starting with platoon commanders) and regular contributors to the press.

6) Leadership (starting with platoon commanders) of the organization of "Legionaries" and regular contributors to its press.

8) Leadership and regular press contributors of bourgeois, nationalistic and fascist organizations of youth.

a) Leadership personnel (starting with county committee men) and regular contributors to the press of the Zionist organizations.

b) Leadership personnel (starting with county committee-men) of the organization "Bund" and regular contributors to its press.

1) Association of the Jews who had fought for the independence of Lithuania (committee men),

a) All leadership personnel (starting with county committee-men) of all nationalistic counter-revolutionary White Ruthene formations and regular contributors to their press.

a) Active participants of the gangs of Plechavičius, Bermondt-Avalov, von der Goltz, Grigaliūnas-Glovackis, who had acted against the Soviets in Lithuania,

Former security officials, gendarmes, leadership personnel of the police and prison personnel, also ordinary policemen and prison employees, where compromising material is available:

9) Officers of the II Division of the General Staff of the Lithuanian Army (intelligence).

17) Former officers and non-commissioned officers of Polish frontier defense corps.

10) Members of Circuit courts who had taken part in political actions' consideration.

12) Estate owners (who had owned more than 100 hectares or secondary establishments).

14) Large merchants and house owners (who had a turnover in excess of 250,000 Litas or whose holdings were worth more than 250,000 Litas) ($25,000 gold).

15) Former prosecutors and court members of Poland, who had participated in political actions

Former officers of the armies of Poland, Lithuania and White Guards where compromising data are available:

3) All officers of the White armies, counter-espionage and punitive detachments.

Prostitutes, formerly registered in former police offices of Lithuania and Poland, and continuing to engage in prostitution.

Persons arrived from Germany through repatriation, also the Germans registered for repatriation to Germany and refusing to depart, according to compromising data concerning their antisoviet activities or suspected of connections with foreign intelligence services:

1) Persons who had registered to depart to Germany and later refused to depart (according to data or on observing suspicious contacts).

3) Contrabandists and smugglers having connections with Germany (according to available data).

5) Persons who had arrived into Lithuanian SSR from Germany or via Germany (according to data about their activities and data about their contacts with German or other intelligences).

6) Employees of foreign legations, permanent representatives of foreign firms and counter-agents of:

Members of families of the persons indicated in the first, second, third and fourth sections, who had lived with them or had been maintained by them at the time of their arrest:

1) Members of families of the participants of counterrevolutionary nationalist organizations, whose family heads passed into illegal status and are in hiding from the governmental organs.

2) Members of families of the participants of the counterrevolutionary nationalist organizations, whose family heads had been convicted by VMN.

3) Families of those against whom repressive measures were used for counter-revolutionary offences.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
	Of these
Total number of cases /persons	For arrest cases /persons	Foe exile cases /persons
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
145/255	79/79	66/176

REGARDING THE MANNER OF CONDUCTING THE DEPORTATION OF THE ANTI-SOVIET ELEMENT FROM
LITHUANIA, LATVIA AND ESTONIA.

The deportation of anti-Soviet elements from the Baltic States is a task of great political importance. Its successful execution depends upon the extent to which the county administrative triumvirates and administrative headquarters are capable of carefully working out a plan for executing the operations and of foreseeing in advance all indispensable factors. Moreover, the basic premise is that the operations should be conducted without noise and panic, so as not to permit any demonstrations and other excesses not only by the deportees, but also by a certain part of the surrounding population inimically inclined toward the Soviet administration.

Instructions regarding the manner of conducting the operations are described below. They should be adhered to, but in individual cases the collaborators conducting the operations may and should, depending upon the peculiarity of the concrete circumstances of the operations and in order to correctly evaluate the situation, make different decisions for the same purpose, viz., to execute the task given them without noise and panic.

The instructing of operative groups should be done by the county triumvirates within as short a time as possible on the day before the beginning of the operations, taking into consideration the time necessary for traveling to the place of operations.

The country triumvirates previously prepare necessary transportation for transferring the operative groups in the village to the scene of operations.

In regard to the question of allotting the necessary number of automobiles and wagons for transportation, the county triumvirates will consult the leaders of the Soviet party organizations on the premises.

Premises in which to issue instructions must be carefully prepared in advance, and their capacity, exits, entrances and the possibility of strangers entering must be studied.

During the time instructions are issued the building must be securely guarded by the administrative workers.

In case anyone from among these participating in the operations should fail to appear for instructions, the county triumvirate should immediately take measures to substitute the absentee from a reserve force, which should be provided in advance.

The triumvirate through its representative should notify the officers gathered of the decision of the government to deport an accounted for contingent of anti-Soviet elements from the territory of the respective republic or region. Moreover, a brief explanation should be given as to what the deportees represent.

The special attention of the (local) Soviet-party workers gathered for instructions should be drawn to the fact that the deportees are enemies of the Soviet people and that, therefore, the possibility of an armed attack on the part of the deportees is not excluded.

After the issue of general instructions to the administrative groups, they should definitely be issued documents regarding the deportees. The personal files of the deportees must be previously discussed and settled by the administrative groups, parishes and villages, so that there are no obstacles in issuing them.

After receiving the personal files, the senior member of the administrative group acquaints himself with the personal files of the family which he will have to deport. He must check the number of persons in the family, the supply of necessary forms to be filled out by the deportee, and transportation for moving the deportee, and he should receive exhaustive answers to questions not clear to him.

At the time when the files are issued, the county triumvirate must explain to each senior member of the administrative group where the deported family is to be settled and describe the route to be taken to the place of deportation. Roads to be taken by the administrative personnel with the deported families to the railway station for embarkation must also be fixed. It is also necessary to point out places where reserve military groups are placed in case it should become necessary to call them out during possible excesses.

The possession and state of arms and munitions must be checked throughout the whole administrative personnel. Weapons must be completely ready for battle, loaded, but the bullet should not be kept in the barrel. Weapons should be used only as a last resort, when the administrative group is attacked or threatened with an attack, or resistance is shown.

Should a number of families be deported from one spot, one of the operative workers is appointed senior in regard to deportation from that village, and his orders are to be obeyed by the administrative personnel in that village.

Having arrived in the village, the administrative groups must get in touch (observing the necessary secrecy) with the local authorities: chairman, secretary or members of the village Soviets, and should ascertain from them the exact dwelling of the families to be deported. After that the operative groups together with the local authorities go to the families to be deported.

The operation should be commenced at daybreak. Upon entering the home of the person to be deported, the senior member of the operative group should gather the entire family of the deportee into one room, taking all necessary precautionary measures against any possible excesses.

After having checked the members of the family against the list, the location of those absent and the number of persons sick should be ascertained, after which they should be called upon to give up their weapons. Regardless of whether weapons are delivered or not, the deportee should be personally searched and then the entire premises should be searched in order to uncover weapons.

During the search of the premises one of the members of the operative group should be left on guard over the deportees.

Should the search disclose hidden weapons in small numbers, they should be collected by and distributed among the administrative group. Should many weapons be discovered, they should be piled into the wagon or automobile which brought the administrative group, after any ammunition in them has been removed. Ammunition should be packed and loaded together with rifles.

If necessary, a convoy for transporting the weapons should be mobilized with an adequate guard.

Should weapons, counter-revolutionary pamphlets, literature, foreign currency, large quantities of valuables, etc. be disclosed, a short search act should be drawn up on the spot, which should describe the hidden weapons or counter-revolutionary literature. Should there be any armed resistance, the question of arresting the persons showing armed resistance and of sending them to the county branch of the People's Commissariat of Public Security should be decided by the county triumvirates.

An act should be drawn up regarding those deportees hiding themselves before the deportation or sick, and this act should be signed by the chairman of the Soviet-party organization.

After having been subjected to a search the deportees should be notified that upon the decision of the Government they are being deported to other regions of the Union.

The deportees are permitted to take with them household necessities of a weight of not more than 100 kilograms.

Should the contingent be deported to rural districts, they are permitted to take with them a small agricultural inventory: axes, saws and other articles, which should be tied together and packed separately from the other articles, so that when embarking in the deportation train they are loaded into special freight cars.

In order not to mix them with articles belonging to others, the name, father's name, and village of the deportee should be written on his packed property.

When loading these articles into the carts, measures should be taken so that the deportee cannot use them as means of resistance while the column is moving along the highway.

At the time of loading the administrative groups together with representatives of the Soviet-party organizations shall prepare a list of the property and the manner in which it is to be preserved in accordance with instructions received by them.

If the deportee has at his own disposal means of transportation, his property is loaded into the vehicle and together with his family is sent to the designated spot of embarkation.

If the deportees do not have any means of transportation, wagons are mobilized in the village by the local authorities upon directives of the senior member of the administrative group.

All persons entering the home of the deportees during the execution of the operations or found there at the moment when these operations are begun must be detained until the conclusion of the operations, and their relationship to the deportee should be ascertained. This is done in order to disclose persons hiding from the police, militia and other persons.

After having checked the detained persons and ascertained that they are persons in whom the contingent is not interested, they are liberated.

Should the inhabitants of the village begin to gather around the home of the deportee while the operations are going on, they should be called upon to disperse to their homes, and crowds should not be permitted to be formed.

Should the deportee refuse to open the door of his home in spite of the fact that he is aware that members of the People's Commissariat of Public Security are there, the door should be broken down. In individual cases neighboring administrative groups performing operations in that vicinity should be called upon to assist.

The conveyance of the deportees from the villages to the gathering place at the railway station should by all means be done in daylight; moreover, efforts should be made that the gathering of each family should take not more than two hours.

In all cases throughout the operations firm and decisive action should be taken, without the slightest pomposity, noise and panic.

It is categorically forbidden to take any articles away from the deportees except weapons, counter-revolutionary literature and foreign currency, as well as to use the food of the deportees.

All members of the operations must be warned that they will be held strictly responsible for attempts to appropriate individual articles belonging to the deportees.

In view of the fact that a large number of the deportees must be arrested and placed in special camps and their families settled at special points in distant regions, it is necessary to execute the operation of deporting both the members of his family as well as the deportee simultaneously, without informing them of the separation confronting them. After having made the search and drawn up the necessary documents for identification in the home of the deportee, the administrative worker shall draw up documents for the head of the family and place them in his personal file, but the documents drawn up for the members of his family should be placed in the personal file of the deportee's family.

The moving of the entire family, however, to the station should be done in one vehicle, and only at the station should the head of the family be placed separately from his family in a railway car specially intended for heads of families.

While gathering together the family in the home of the deportee, the head of the family should be warned that personal male articles are to be packed into a separate suitcase, as a sanitary inspection will be made of the deported men separately from the women and children.

At the stations the possessions of heads and families subject to arrest should be loaded into the railway cars assigned to them, which will be designated by special administrative workers appointed for that purpose.

It is strictly prohibited for the operators convoying the column of deportees moving along in wagons to sit in the wagons of the deportees. The operators must follow by the side and at the rear of the column of deportees. The senior operator of the convoy should periodically go around the entire column to check the correctness of movement.

The convoy must act particularly carefully in conducting the column of deportees through inhabited spots as well as in meeting passers-by; they should see that there are no attempts made to escape, and no exchange of words should be permitted between the deportees and passers-by.

At each point of embarkation the member of the administrative triumvirate and a special person appointed for that purpose shall be responsible for the embarkation.

On the day of the operations the chief of the point of embarkation together with the chief of the deportation train and of the convoying military forces of the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs shall examine the railway cars furnished to see whether they are supplied with all necessities (nary?, unitazy? lanterns, railings, etc.) and shall discuss with the chief of the deportation train the manner in which the latter will take over the deportees.

Embarkation at the station shall be detached by the soldiers of the convoying forces of the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs.

The senior member of the administrative group shall deliver to the chief of the deportation train one copy of the list of deportees in each railway car. The chief of the deportation train thereupon shall call out the deportees according to this roll and shall carefully check each family and designate their place in the railway car.

The possessions of the deportees should be loaded into the car together with the deportees, with the exception of the small agricultural inventory, which should be loaded into a separate car.

The deportees shall be loaded into railway cars by families; it is not permitted to break up a family (with the exception of heads of families subject to arrest). An estimate of 25 persons to a car should be observed.

After the railway car has been filled with the necessary number of families, it should be locked.