Kersten Committee

TheSelect Committee to Investigate Communist Aggression and the Forced Incorporation of the Baltic States into the U.S.S.R.,also known as theKersten Committeeafter its chairman,U.S. RepresentativeCharles J. Kerstenwas established in 1953 to investigate theannexationofEstonia,Latvia,andLithuaniainto theSoviet Union.The committee terminated March 4, 1954, when it was replaced by the Select Committee on Communist Aggression.

Background

In 1940, in accordance with the secret protocol of the 1939Molotov–Ribbentrop PactwithNazi Germany,theSoviet Uniondirected the occupation and subsequent annexation of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. In each country, demands were made under threat of force from Moscow forpuppetcommunist governments to be formed.Fraudulent electionswere held in July 1940 with solelycommunistsbeing represented in the parliament of each country's government. Those governments then were instructed by Moscow topetitiontheSoviet governmentto be added as constituentSoviet republics.

TheUnited States,like otherWesterndemocraticpowers, such as theUnited Kingdom,Norway,France,andDenmark,never recognized the incorporation as valid and continued to accredit the legations of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. On June 23, 1940,U.S. Secretary of StateSumner Wellesdeclared the American non-recognition policyon the principles of theStimson Doctrine.The policy was maintained until the 1991restoration of independence in all three countries.

Investigation

In 1953, the House of Representatives passed House Resolution 346 calling for a special investigation into the incorporation of the Baltic states into the Soviet Union. The House Select Baltic Committee was established on July 27, 1953, to oversee the investigation, which was chaired byCharles J. Kersten.

Theselect committeeheld hearings between November 30 and December 11, 1953, and reported its findings in February 1954. During the investigation, the Baltic Committee interviewed approximately 100 witnesses including Johannes Klesment, a former Estonian government official;Jonas Černius,the formerprime minister of Lithuania;Juozas Brazaitis,theacting foreign minister of Lithuania;and formerPresident of the United StatesHerbert Hoover,all of whom provided testimony and additional information about Soviet activities in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania in 1940.

Among those accused of crimes during the Baltic occupation process were the Soviet politiciansAndrei ZhdanovandAndrey Vyshinsky.

Significance

The significance of the Kersten Committee was primarily related to the U.S. non-recognition policy of the Soviet incorporation of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. However, the investigation at the time was seen as a way for theU.S. Congressto better study the manner in which the Soviet Union was able to direct the seizure of power in foreign countries. Specifically, the investigation coincided with United States involvement in theKorean Warand was seen by investigators as a way of studying communist methods that could be used in better articulating policy related to that conflict. Continued interest in the subject led theU.S. House of Representativesto replace the Baltic Committee with the Select Committee on Communist Aggression, which continued to operate until December 31, 1954.

Sources

• Hearings Before the Select Committee to Investigate the Incorporation of the Baltic States into the U.S.S.R.,83rd United States Congress,First Session, Under Authority of H. Res. 346, Part I (1954)