On March 13–14, 1941 a regular meeting of Lithuanian representatives in the United States took place at the Consulate General of Lithuania in New York. The opportunity to consult and clarify important issues came after President Antanas Smetona arrived with his family in New York on March 10. Lithuanian representatives discussed their difficult financial situation, the possibility of finding funds to help Lithuanian refugees, the complicated relations between Lithuanians in the USA and the issues of their financial resources. The representatives of Lithuania agreed that only by merging the diaspora funds could it be possible to more seriously financially support Lithuanian affairs and help Lithuanian diplomats. The purpose of the meetings was to establish a common position on current political issues and on relations with Lithuanians in the United States.

In their memoirs, the activists of various Lithuanian-American organizations highlight their personal or their organization’s contributions to the establishment of the United Lithuanian Relief Fund of America (BALF). Getting clear on how this charitable organization was founded required researching archival documents and other sources. During the years from 1940 to 1943 Lithuanian representatives in the United States repeatedly called for the establishment of a general Lithuanian charitable agency. During these war years many funding institutions created in the emigration did not meet the needs of Lithuanian refugees and deportees. The need for one united foundation became apparent. At its conference in 1943 in Pittsburgh the Lithuanian-American Council (ALT) undertook to establish such a fund. The U.S. government recognized only registered foundations controlled by the U.S. and only allowed these to send donations it had collected to foreign countries. The only such fund in the U.S. was the Lithuanian National Relief Fund established by Lithuanian Nationalists (tautininkai) in America. This became the crux of the debate between the Lithuanian-American Council and the Nationalists in forming the united relief fund. The Nationalists made some concessions, and discontinuing their own fund they agreed to join in creating the United Lithuanian Relief Fund of America. This guaranteed a larger collection of donations and membership in the U.S. National War Fund, which eventually made available large amounts of money for the relief of Lithuanians in Europe. Even though BALF was founded on March 25, 1944 and registered, it took a while before it was admitted to the U.S. National War Fund. [...]