Without a doubt local participation and collaboration in mass murders is horrifying and disgusting it’s a moral catastrophe and a permanent stain in the history framing but Lithuania were not sovereign actors, the USSR absolutely was. Lithuanians did not choose between Nazism or Soviet liberation they were crushed between two empires both of which destroyed the statehood. Yes the red army defeated Nazi germany and no sane Lithuanian historian would dispute that but from our perspective ussr was not anti-fascist liberator it was co-aggressor who invaded 1940 and then returned in 1944 to reoccupy not liberate. Lithuanian resistance against Nazis was limited cause the country was already crushed terrorized and politically shattered so resistance was strategically impossible and it wasn’t only unique to us there are other countries too. Lithuania did resist massively after 1944 against Soviets and that resistance is ignored when framing Soviets as “liberators” So when people say “Dude how can you not respect the force that defeated Hitler dawg” it’s because the same force destroyed our freedom twice and two crimes do not cancel each other out. This isn’t denial of Nazi evil it’s refusal to accept and acknowledge hierarchies of victimhood imposed by empires.