Loyola University Chicago Loyola eCommons Dissertations Theses and Dissertations 1989 U.S. Nonrecognition of the Soviet Occupation of Lithuania Robert A. Vitas Loyola University Chicago Follow this and additional works at: https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss Part of the Political Science Commons Recommended Citation Vitas, Robert A., "U.S. Nonrecognition of the Soviet Occupation of Lithuania" (1989). Dissertations. 2661. https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss/2661 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Loyola eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Loyola eCommons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. Copyright © 1989 Robert A. Vitas U.S. NONRECOGNITION OF THE SOVIET OCCUPATION OF LITHUANIA by Robert A. Vitas A Dissertation S~bmitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Loyola University of Chicago in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy January 1989 Copyright (c) 1989 by Robert A. Vitas All Rights Reserved ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author acknowledges the members of his dissertation committee for their advice and encouragement: Dr. Sam C. Sarkesian, Director, Or. Vasyl Markus, Dr. Roger Hamburg, Dr. Barbara A. Bardes, and Dr. John Allen Williams. The Arthur J. Schmitt Foundation, in conjunction with the Graduate School of Loyola University of Chicago, provided funding during the 1987-1988 academic year. which enabled the author to complete the necessary research and begin the task of writing. Dr. John A. Rackauskas, president of the Lithuanian Research and Studies Center, and Mr. Ceslovas V. Grincevicius, director of archives, allowed the ·author free use of the library and archival facilities. The late Dr. Constantine R. Jurgela and Dr. Alan R. Gitelson, chairperson of political science at Loyola, helped provide the impetus for the work. Other individuals who provided moral support include Mrs. Jan R. Brynda, Mr. John J. Brynda, Ms. Kathy L. Marrero, Mr. Thomas R. Miglinas, Dr. Thomas Remeikis, Mr. Steve Sanders, Ms. Maria Smilga, and Ms. Birute Tamulynas. Finally, this study is dedicated to three people. First, as with my master's thesis, to my parents. Second, ii to the memory of the late Mr. Loy Wesley Henderson. who served his country at the U.S. State Department for thirty- nine years. Without him. there may never have been any nonrecognition policy and, hence, there would not have been any dissertation. iii VITA The author, Robert A. Vi tas, is the son of Jonas Vitas and Grace (Memenas) Vitas. He was born 12 September 1962 in Chicago, Illinois. His elementary education was obtained in the parochial schools of Chicago. His secondary education was completed in 1980 at Brother Rice High School in Chicago. In August 1980, Mr. Vitas entered Loyola University of Chicago, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts, Honors, summa cum laude in political science in May 1984. He graduated the Lithuanian Institute of Education in December 1981, where he currently teaches history and politics. Mr. Vitas is a member of the American Political Science Association, the Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies, the Center for the Study of the Presidency, the Midwest Political Science Association, Alpha Sigma Nu, and Pi Sigma Alpha. He is a Fellow of the Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society at the University of Chicago, where he has served as assistant to the executive director since June 1987. Lituanus published his article, "The Polish- Lithuanian Crisis of 1938: Events Surrounding the iv Ultimatum," in the summer of 1984. and his translated and annotated document, "The Polish Ultimatum to Lithuania: The Despatch of Lithuanian Minister J. Baltrusaitis in Moscow," in the winter of 1985. Air University Review published his book review essay, "Is Democracy in Danger?" in its November-December 1985 issue. That journal. along with one in Presidential Studies Quarterly, has published an individual book review by the author. The author is co- editor with Sam C. Sarkesian of the book. U.S. National Security Policy and Strategy, published in 1988 by Greenwood Press. Mr. Vitas presented a paper at the Fifth International Lithuanian Symposium on Science and Creativity in Chicago in November 1985. He served as a panel discussant at the 1987 and 1988 annual meetings of the Midwest Political Science Association in Chicago. He served as rapporteur at the workshop, "U.S. National Security Strategy: New Challenges and Opportunities," sponsored in 1988 by the IUS and the US Army. In August 1984, Mr. Vitas was granted an assistantship in political science at Loyola University of Chicago, enabling him to complete the Master of Arts in May 1986. In August 1987, he was granted a Schmitt Dissertation Fellowship for 1987-1988, which enabled him to complete his dissertation for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in January 1989. The present dissertation earned a prize from v the Lithuanian Catholic Academy of Sciences in Rome in 1988. Mr. Vitas was appointed vice president of the Lithuanian Research and Studies Center in September 1986. He assumed the additional duties of executive director in July 1988. He lectured in political science at Loyola in the autumn of 1988. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. ii VI TA ................ iv TABLE OF CONTENTS. vii LIST OF FIGURES ... x CONTENTS OF APPENDICES. xi Chapter 21~ I . 'INTRODUCTION. 1 A. The Unfinished War ..................... 1 B. US Application of International Law .... 5 C. Wartime Expediency Weakens the Policy .. 8 D. Incomplete Implementation of the Policy. 11 E. Methodological Questions ............... 15 I, n s ),, I I . THE TWILIGHT OF INDEPENDENCE 1939-1940 ..... 19 1}' A. Prelude to Occupation................ 19 B. The Soviet Union Intervenes............. 26 C. Lithuania's Incorporation into the USSR. 29 D. Implications for Lithuanian Municipal Law........................... 34 1 I I . INTERNATIONAL LAW & THE LITHUANIAN SITUATION ... 38 A. Self-Determination...................... 38 B. Recognition ............................. 40 C. The Stimson Doctrine.................... 46 D. Nonrecognition.......................... 51 E. Nonrecognition and Lithuania............ 58 F. Soviet Perspectives on International Law....................... 64 vii IV. GENESIS OF THE US NONRECOGNITION POLICY ....... 76 A. Lithuanian-American Actions........... 76 B. The Henderson Memorandum.............. 83 C. The Welles De~laration and its Aftermath....................... 89 D. The United States Withdraws From the Baltic............... 94 v. POLITICAL & LEGAL EFFECTS OF NONRECOGNITION .... 98 A. The Status of the Lithuanian Government. 98 B. Status of Treaties and Diplomatic Personnel ................ 104 C. The Status of Assets and Property ....... 115 VI. THE NONRECOGNITION POLICY & WARTIME POLITICS ... 126 A. The Changing Nature of the War........ 126 B. Changing Perceptions of the Soviet Uni on. 12 8 C. The Atlantic Charter .................... 132 D. The Anglo-Soviet Treaty of Alliance ..... 139 E. The Wartime Conferences ................. 143 F. The War Ends ............................ 154 VI I . EXTENDED IMPLEMENTATION OF NONRECOGNITION ...... 161 A. Executive Action ........................ 161 B. Congressional Action................... 165 C. Nonrecognition and US-USSR Relations .... 174 0. The Baltic and Implications for US-USSR Relations................. 185 VIII. PROBLEMS OF IMPLEMENTATION: CASE STUDIES ..... 190 A. Postwar Baltic Repatriation ............. 190 B. The Simas Kudirka Incident .............. 202 C. The Helsinki Accords .................... 213 0. The US Office of Special Investigations. 224 E. Concluding Remarks ...................... 232 IX. NONRECOGNITION IN COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE ...... 236 A. International Organizations ............. 236 B. Great Britain ........................... 240 C. Germany ................................. 249 O. France .................................. 252 E. Sweden .................................. 254 F. ·Switzerland ............................. 256 G. Other Countries. 2 5 7 viii H. The Australian Recognition Episode ...... 263 I. Cone 1 udi ng Remarks. 26 7 X. CONCLUSION ..................................... 269 A. Lithuanian Diplomatic Continuity ........ 269 B. Lithuania and the Philosophy of Statehood ................. 277 C. Normative Dimensions of Nonrecognition .. 285 D. A Policy Awaiting Completion ............ 292 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................... 298 APPENDIX A ............................................. 354 APPENDIX B ............................................. 358 APPENDIX C ............................................. 364 APPE~DIX 0 ............................................. 367 APPENDIX E ............................................. 369 ix LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1 . 1 Map of the Baltic Area ...... 2 8.1 Lithuanian Displaced Persons Camps in West Germany in 1948 ................... 191 x CONTENTS OF APPENDICES Page APPENDIX A Official US Policy Statement on Nonrecognition. 354 I . Background ............... 355 11. Helsinki Final Act and US Policy Toward the Baltic Republics .. 355 I I I . Reaffirmation of US Policy at the UN ... 356 IV. The Value of US Policy ................ 356 V. Baltic Diplomatic Representation ............... 356 VI. Policy Applications ............................ 356 VII. Effect on