There were several attempts to restore independence during the occupation . On 22 June 1941 the Lithuanians overthrew Soviet rule two days before the '' Wehrmacht '' arrived in Kaunas , where the Germans then allowed a Provisional Government to function for over a month . The Latvian Central Council was set up as an underground organisation in 1943 , but it was destroyed by the '' Gestapo '' in 1945 . In Estonia in 1941 , Jüri Uluots proposed restoration of independence ; later , by 1944 , he had become a key figure in the secret National Committee . In September 1944 , Uluots briefly became acting president of independent Estonia . Unlike the French and the Poles , the Baltic states had no governments in exile located in the West . Consequently , Great Britain and the United States lacked any interest in the Baltic cause while the war against Germany remained undecided . The discovery of the Katyn massacre in 1943 and callous conduct towards the Warsaw uprising in 1944 had cast shadows on relations ; nevertheless , all three victors still displayed solidarity at the Yalta conference in 1945
Katyn massacre
Katyn massacre
Occupation of the Baltic states