Baltic Musketeers in the U.S. Congress

Continuity of the Baltic countries

When Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania fell into the trap set jointly by Hitler and Stalin on August 23, 1939, resulting in their occupation and incorporation by the Soviet Union a year later, the sequence of events did not escape world attention. U.S. Acting Secretary of State Sumner Welles issued a powerful statement on July 23, 1940 that the United States of America would never recognize the acts of military or political force that seek to end the existence of free and independent countries.

This was the beginning of the continuing non-recognition policy regarding the occupation and annexation of the Baltic countries. However, at both Yalta and Potsdam the United States and Great Britain acceeded in practice to Stalin’s moves. Tens of thousands of Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians, who had fled from their homelands and found refuge in German dp camps, reached the USA under a special law starting in 1948.

Baltic refugees never failed to emphasize that their homelands were illegally occupied and they demanded freedom. Among them, Leonard Valiukas, a Lithuanian refugee living in Southern California, understood that it was not enough to confirm a desire for freedom to each other. The Baltic question needed to be disseminated to America’s political elite and mainstream media. Starting in 1961, Valiukas began to assemble a nationwide movement to influence the members of the U.S. Congress to adopt resolutions supporting freedom for the Baltic countries. An effective organization, Americans for Congressional Action to Free the Baltic States, was born. Its Estonian section chairman became Arne Kalm. With good diplomatic sense, he was able to generate the support of the east coast-based Estonian central organization, ERKÜ, while developing good cooperative relations with Latvians and Lithuanians.

ACA operated for over a decade and prepared the ground for subsequent political breakthroughs during President Ronald Reagan’s term. Men like Leonard Valiukas and Arne Kalm performed notable work. This book helps prevent the results of their work from being forgotten by history.
Trivimi Velliste

Note: Trivimi Velliste was an Estonian freedom fighter during the 1980’s, Foreign Minister of Estonia (1992-1994) and Estonian Ambassador to the United Nations (1994-1998).