Latviešu diasporas aktivitātes saistībā ar ASV Kongresa Speciālās komitejas komunistu agresijas jautājumos veikto izmeklēšanu (1953-1954)

ENOn July 27, 1953 The US Congress Select Committee to Investigate the Incorporation of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia into the U.S.S.R. was created under the leadership of congressman Charles J. Kersten, which is why this Committee is commonly known as "Kersten's Committee". On May 4, 1954 the name of the Committee was changed to Select Committee on Communist Aggression and the scope of its interests widened - it now inquired not only in the case of Baltic states, but in the communist aggressions as such. The tasks of the Committee were primarily to gather material evidence and oral testimonies on these topics from East-European former war refugees now living in the USA and other democratic countries. If the Committee could not achieve its aims without cooperation with Baltic (and other East-European nationalities) diasporas in the USA the intensely anti-communist Latvian, Lithuanian and Estonian organizations in the USA were not only willing to help, but engaged in the support of the Committee devotedly and wholeheartedly. Their main contribution was to play the role of the mediator between the Committee and the masses of former refugees. The extensive network of Latvian diaspora organizations allowed the information about what the Committee needs to reach a broad basis of people of Latvian origin and ensured that a large ammount of possible testimonies were proposed to the Committtee. Testimonies were proposed by filling out a special possible witnesses form and sending it to the Committee for consideration. These forms are now available at the USA National Archives and offer an insight not only in the actual activities of Latvian diaspora regarding the Committee investigations, but also can supplement our knowledge on the general events in Latvia in 1940 and during later years of the war. Key words: US Congress, Baltic states, Charles Kersten, Latvians in the USA.